Bitcoin gets all the attention whenever someone talks about cryptocurrency, but the actual marketplace incurs thousands of other digital currencies as well. Cryptocurrency except BTC is popular as altcoins. Moreover, if you are planning to use bitcoin to trade, then you may use https://bitcoin-storm.app/ as this trading website is reliable and safe.
Even though bitcoin is still a pinnacle in this marketplace, another cryptocurrency seems to have a better use case in decentralized finance. Some of these Altcoins have created a niche for themselves by offering a better platform for investors. Although, in context to market cap, only a few of the cryptocurrencies are ruling the digital investment market, let’s discuss the top five of these digital currencies.
(i) Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) entered the digital market in 2009 and still outstands to be the first-ranked cryptocurrency in market cap, trade volume, and other parameters. Despite the rise of altcoins, bitcoin is still ruling the digital currency marketplace with its most significant share in trading volume & market cap.
It is used to purchase goods and services but can also be exchanged for other currencies or products. Bitcoin was the first ever cryptocurrency that started trading in the digital market.
This digital currency has advantages over fiat currency as it removes the middle man transaction costs and its transactions are fast, cheap, and secure. However, the most significant advantage of this currency is that you don’t have to trust someone else like a bank or government with your money; it’s under your control only.
(ii) Ethereum
Ethereum is one of the best alternatives to bitcoin; it is a platform for developing decentralized applications (dapps). Ethereum has been in the market since 2013 with tiny positions and has risen like crazy to the top 5 cryptocurrencies. This virtual currency can be used as a platform that runs smart contracts, where multiple parties verify each other’s identity and execute agreements across borders and blockchains.
Ethereum can be a part of ICOs, an investment, or a crowdfunding campaign like an Initial Public Coin Offering (IPCO).
(iii) Tether
Tether is the cryptocurrency tied to the dollar and one of the best alternatives to bitcoin. The goal of a Tether is to maintain a 1:1 USD peg with USDT using distributed ledger technology. Tether Ltd. and redeemable for dollars issue the USDT tokens. Currently, they have raised around $2 billion worth of bitcoins via an ICO, which has brought them many other benefits like better liquidity, technical independence, and international exposure.
(iii) Litecoin
Litecoin appeared on the scene in 2011 and has held firm ever since. It is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that enables payments to follow a trail of digital signatures. As one of the first altcoins, many early adopters helped make it a great success.
You use it to pay small transaction fees on the network. It has more robust characteristics than BTC and can provide faster transaction processing.
(v) Ripple
Ripple was introduced in 2012 by Chris Larsen, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto, and its vision was to create an Internet of Value or ILP (Internet of Loans). Ripple works as a distributed financial settlement system that guarantees liquidity on demand and minimizes counterparty risk.
Ripple wasn’t built for any specific type of currency but can be used for transferring other currencies. Ripple is one of the most stable cryptocurrencies on the market cap list due to its low rate volatility & maximum transparency regarding value distribution by all stakeholders in the network.
Ripple is number 5 in the market cap and has made significant gains in recent years. It is a real-time gross settlement system. It enables banks to transact directly and instantly, which reduces delays and costs when making cross-border payments.
Cross-border payments are now even cheaper than using SWIFT or bank wire transfers. This cryptocurrency was formed by OpenCoin, a company based in San Francisco, California, with its primary development team in Singapore and San Francisco.
Summary
Bitcoin is the pioneer of the cryptocurrency market, and its price has skyrocketed many times. The reason is that Bitcoin is now considered a safe investment because of its existence and relevancy in online transactions. However, Bitcoin is also complicated to steal from because it is not centralized in any way; when used correctly, it can protect your money from theft while protecting you from frauds like bank robbery, for example.
