Bitcoin has not only set the whole trend of cryptocurrencies based on an independent peer-to-peer network. In fact, bitcoin has become a golden standard for cryptocurrencies, generating a continuously growing flow of spinoffs and forks.
So what is cryptocurrency in its essence?
Before diving deep into what alternatives to bitcoin we have t our disposal at present, let us take a look at what we mean by such a term as cryptocurrency. Broadly speaking, a cryptocurrency is a digital asset, which exists in the form of tokens and coins.
The part crypto in the word relates to the complex cryptography which generates a specific virtual token to be created, stored, and transferred securely and privately. Together with this meaningful “crypto” feature of currencies, there is a fundamental concept of decentralization; cryptocurrencies are usually designed as code by teams of developers who lay down the mechanism for issuance (a process, most often, called mining).
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Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin, introduced to the market in 2011, was one of the earliest cryptocurrencies which followed bitcoin. It was designed by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer. Litecoin is based on a global payment network, that is not governed by any central authority and utilizes “script” as evidence of its operation. This “script” can be deciphered with a CPUs of consumer-grade. Although litecoin resembles bitcoin in many ways, it provides a faster block creation rate and thus delivers a faster transaction confirmation.
Ethereum (ETH)
Created in 2015, Ethereum is an autonomous software platform, which allows making smart contracts and Distributed Applications (DApps). The applications built on such networks operate without downtime, fraud, or interference from a third party. The cryptographic token which runs on the ethereum platform is called ether. Thus, many developers who seek to develop their applications within the ethereum platform try ether to move around the platform.
In 2014, ethereum started an ether pre-sale which met overwhelming demand; this helped ethereum exist in the era of ICO.
Monero (XMR)
Monero states itself to be a decentralized, private currency. This open crypto was introduced in April 2014 and soon inflamed interest in the crypto industry and startup enthusiasts. The promotion of this crypto is utterly donation-based and community-driven. The main focus of Monero was to strengthen decentralization and scalability, and allow for total privacy by utilizing a special technique, named “ring signatures.”
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin cash symbolizes a significant turn in the history of cryptocurrencies because this is on the first and most successful spinoffs of Bitcoin. In the crypto industry, a hardware fork appears as an outcome of the debates and arguments between the development team and miners. Because of the decentralized nature of virtual currencies, the fundamental changes to the code must be made by general consensus; the algorithm of this process is different for various cryptocurrencies.
When different groups of one team cannot agree on a specific issue, the digital currency can be split. In such a case, the original currency stays true to its code, while the spinoff comes as a new version of the initial coin. Bitcoin cash entered the crypto market in August 2017 as a hard fork of bitcoin. The main argument which eventually caused this split was about the strict limit on the size of blocks, which was 1 megabyte for bitcoin. Bitcoin cash team increased the coin’s block size from 1 MB to 8 MB. The purpose of this alteration was that larger blocks would ensure transactions without downtimes and queues. In 2019 Bitcoin Cash had a market capitalization about $2.23 billion and a value per token of $126.49.
Metahash
Metahash is considered to be a cryptocurrency of the new generation, offering a solution to all the defects, old crypto assets bore. Metahash positions itself as an independent network for virtual exchange and a platform for building decentralized apps that operate in real-time. The developers of the coin strive to substantially increase the number of daily transactions and perform the transformation from mining to forging. The network also represents a new way of network protection, increased speed of transaction confirmation, and the process of asset “tokenization.”
MetaHash coin is a digital currency which comes as a mean of payment within the network and is supposed to provide consensus together with the financing management for network development.
