The Most Common Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency is defined as an encrypted, peer-to-peer (P2P) network for mediating or facilitating a digital barter. To date, cryptocurrencies have not replaced traditional fiat currency. While it seems unlikely that they will take over traditional fiat currency even in the future, one fact remains clear: Cryptocurrencies have the power to change the way that internet-connected global markets interact with each other.

Multiple kinds of cryptocurrencies exist in the world, but there is no doubt that Bitcoin is one of the most popular ones. In particular, Bitcoin has been disrupting the largely unchanged financial payment system that has existed for many decades.[1]

The most common cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is undisputedly the king of cryptocurrencies, and its popularity has only risen over the last 12 years.

One major fact about Bitcoin is that, when making transactions on the platform, the name and identity of the individual is not disclosed, and only the public address is available.

Likewise, Bitcoin’s blockchain is a permanent ledger wherein anyone who knows a person’s public address can see how many bitcoins that person is holding.. On the other hand, those who wish to hide their transactions may do so using a VPN that hides their trade details. Even then, it is not entirely impossible to find out how many bitcoins the person is holding.

Bitcoins are mined on the blockchain network, and they come into existence whenever miners successfully mine Bitcoin blocks. It takes a network of computers to authorize transactions, which, in turn, allows users to exchange hashes as if they were exchanging physical currency.

Still, the supply of Bitcoin is finite. There will only ever be 21billion bitcoins and not one more. The limited number of Bitcoin ensures rarity.

Ethereum

Ethereum has come to be known as the public blockchain platform with a smart contract functionality feature. It is a form of decentralized virtual machine[2] that executes P2P smart contracts and tends to use a self-anchored cryptocurrency called Ether (ETH).[3]

Every 12 seconds, a new block gets added to the blockchain with the latest transactions processed by the network. In exchange, every computer that generated a new block will be awarded 5 ETH per block.

Ripple (XRP)

Ripple (XRP) is the largest bank-targeted blockchain protocol . With its low fees and efficient systems, Ripple hopes to become a mainstream cryptocurrency and even surpass Bitcoin.

Ripple is slightly different from other cryptocurrencies. In particular, Ripple, being a startup venture, provides a financial-based settlement arrangement to various banks, which, in turn, gives Ripple even more leeway to make direct transactions across country borders.

Ripple protocol is widely accepted by banks and financial institutionsand has even been given the green light by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Litecoin

Litecoin was released in 2011. The “L” symbol represents Litecoin. Since Litecoin is governed by P2P technology, it provides instant payments at zero-cost throughout the world. This is also the reason why it has gotten a larger market share in recent years.

Coin base experts also believe that Litecoin and Bitcoin are also the best cryptocurrencies to invest in and will stand the test of time. Currently, people primarily invest in Litecoin due to its high liquidity rate.

TTN

Titan Coin (TTN) is a cryptocurrency known for its instant cross border transactions.

Just like its competitor cryptocurrencies, TTN uses P2P technology.

TTN is not preferred by investors because of its low value. Today, the current value of TTN is only 0.001 USD . This makes it unstable and unprofitable in the global market. Unfortunately, the highest value TTN has ever reached is 0.03 USD in October 2019.

Dogecoin

Dogecoin, one of the many variations of Litecoin, is often associated with the Shiba Inu mascot and is known for it shorter blockchain creation time of about one minute.

Compared to most other cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin has the greatest number of coins in circulation. In 2015, the Dogecoin community reached its target of mining about 100 billion units in that year alone. This is also one of the main reasons why investors long to see it grow in the future. Put simply, there seems to be an infinite supply of Dogecoin. Hence, Dogecoin is also called “inflationary cryptocurrency.”[4]

Dash

Dash is another early variation of Litecoin. In its initial years, it was called “Dark Coin.” Dash makes use of master codes that help increase the speed of transactions on the platform.

Dash is attractive because of its quick speeds and high levels of privacy. In fact, it currently has a capitalization of around 2.4 billion.

Ox is traded on a Linux operating system, an open-source operating system that can be downloaded at no cost. One of the unique features of Ox is that it utilizes smart contracts over the infrastructure-combining strategies like state channel and automated market marker (AMM), which ensures both security and quality.

Conclusion

It is easy to see how one of the main advantagess of cryptocurrency is the ability to facilitate international transactions. Cryptocurrencies improve the ease and speed of carrying out transactions because of their P2P systems.

On the other hand, it is also true that money can be easily wired internationally but not received in full because of an unexplained fee while crossing borders. This makes it extremely tough to send the correct amount to another entity or business using cryptocurrency.

Reference:

[1] Peter D. DeVries, An Analysis of Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and the Future, International Journal of Business Management and Commerce Vol. 1 No. 2, (September 2016).

[2]A virtual machine (VM) is an operating system or application environment that is installed on software, which imitates dedicated hardware so that the end-user has the same experience on a virtual machine as they would have on dedicated hardware. Available at: http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-machine [Accessed 21 September 2016].

[3]Available at: https://www.google.ca/search?q=Ethereum&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=L7a7V6KAMIO8eKCVvYAK [Accessed on 11 October 2020]

[4] TOPBROKERS STAFF, “The Basics of Cryptocurrency: Types of Cryptocurrencies”, AUGUST 6, (2017).