Explanation of Every Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin (BTC)Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency and its own digital payment system• Most widely used cryptocurrency
• The oldest and most well known
• No centralized governing body• Slow transaction time
• High transaction fees
• Not segwit-readyLitecoinCurrencyCoinbase, everywhereBitcoin may be headed for some problems soon with BIP148 and a possible coin split looming. Users are attempting to force the miners to accept segwit and get Bitcoin moving forward. http://www.uasf.co/ http://segwit.co/Bitcoin

Ethereum (ETH)Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference.• Programmable money
• Smart contracts
• Ability to issue your own tokens
• Huge community - Ethereum Enterprise Alliance consists of companies like Microsoft, Intel, and more
• Fastest growing developer community
• Super sexy marketing• Higher inflation than bitcoin
• Larger block size and network complexityWaves, AntsharesPlatformCoinbaseCurrently based on a Proof of Work (PoW) system and is ASIC proof. GPU miners may become upset when they switch to Proof of Stake (PoS) instead. If Bitcoin is digital gold, Ethereum is digital oil. The creators of Ethereum are from Russia and there is a wide international appeal. Many people are using the platform to launch their own tokens and raise money through ICO'sEthereum

Ripple (XRP)Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS), currency exchange and remittance network operated by Ripple. XRP will be supplied to banks to be used as liquidity in cross-border transactions• Near instant transaction time
• Free from DoS attacks
• Settlement infrastructure used by banks
• Huge corporate backing and a large team working on it (200+ Ripple staff)• Founders of Ripple control ~60% of XRP
• Network is mostly controlled by Ripple
• Haters online claim it's not a real "crypto" cause it's backed by the banksStellarPayment NetworkGatehub, Bittrex, PoloniexThis is the coin that has been choosen by the banks. It's purpose is cross-border settlement. If you want to cut ways with the current financial system this may not be your coin. Ripple is also developing Interledger to connect multiple blockchains: https://interledger.org/Ripple

Litecoin (LTC)Litecoin is a peer-to-peer Internet currency that enables instant, near-zero cost payments to anyone in the world.• Faster transaction time than bitcoin
• Can handle more transactions than bitcoin
• Segwit-ready
• More coins in circulation than bitcoin• Weak marketingBitcoinCurrencyCoinbaseLitecoin is based on Bitcoin but is being developed at a faster pace, many Bitcoin developers are working on it cause it allows them to test their ideas without altering Bitcoin. Founder of coinbase quit to work on Litecoin full time, this could have a powerful effect. Expect people to move to LTC if BTC experiences any major turbulence. If BTC is digital gold, LTC is digital silver.Litecoin

NEM (XEM)NEM is the first private/public blockchain combination. It's one of the most popular Japanese based blockchains• Unique proof-of-importance (POI) algorithm
• Variety of usecases - can send payments and messages securely globally and is recognized by some Japanese banks
• Incredibly scalable - 3000 transactions/sec/
• Low transaction fee - 0.01% fee• No private transactions
• No mining available
• Unclear roadmap
• Lack of enterprise features
• No substantial development updates recentlyStellar, Dash, RipplePayment Network, PlatformBittrex, PoloniexNEM

Ethereum Classic (ETC)The original Ethereum blockchain. Allows the creation of smart contracts and custom tokens the same as Ethereum and it's much cheaper• Continuation of the original Ethereum blockchain - the classic version preserving untampered history• Community of developers vehemently against Ethereum
• Supports a theif who stole millionsEthereumPlatformBittrex, PoloniexMaintains the original Ethereum blockchain. It's created much controversy as it goes against the wishes of the core Ethereum team. They mostly copy updates from Ethereum.

Ethereum Classic

Dash (DASH)Dash (formerly known as Darkcoin and XCoin) is an open source peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that offers instant transactions (InstantSend), private transactions (PrivateSend) and token fungibility.• Instantaneous transaction time about 1.2 seconds
• Private transaction possible with privatesend
• Low transaction fee• Core team is secretive about their roadmaps
• Decentralized governance is immature - few masternode owners make the decisionStellar, NEM, RipplePayment Network, CurrencyBittrex, PoloniexDash is short for "digital cash". They have a self-governance voting system in place for users to participate. It's faster and cheaper than Bitcoin.Dash

Stratis (STRAT)Stratis offers full service capabilities for the development, deployment and management of blockchain applications and solutions utilizing C# on the .Net framework.• Block chain as a service. (Private & public blockchains for corps)
• Segwit-ready.
• Master nodes provide extra services like making the network transactions more private, enabling instant transactions, etc.
• Smart contracts using C#• No actual corporate customers as of June 18th 2017
• Smart contracts available only on sidechainsEthereum, Lisk, AntsharesPlatformBittrex, PoloniexStratus could be very promising. It allows the creation of private blockchains, tokens and smart contracts like Ethereum. It uses C# as it's programing language which is an industry standard that many programmers would already know how to use. Their goal is to sell their services to businesses looking to run their own blockchains.Stratis

Monero (XMR)Monero (XMR) is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that is not based on Bitcoin's code.• Unttraceable payments & Unlinkable transactions
• Second most used cryptocurrency in the dark web
• Cryptonote-based• Untraceability makes it challenging to go mainstream
• No mobile wallet yetBytecoin, ZcashCurrencyBittrex, PoloniexArguably the most secure and private of the top cryptocurrencies. Monero uses a unique ledger system that automatically scrambles addresses and transactions to maintain complete anonymity. This is a currency that will become very popular on the darknet as Bitcoin is not as anonymous as previously advertised.Monero

Zcash (ZEC)Zcash is the first open, permissionless cryptocurrency that can fully protect the privacy of transactions using zero-knowledge cryptography.• Unttraceable payments & Unlinkable transactions
• Fungable Cryptocurrency with no past transactions linked to current coins
• Encrypted transactions• 20% of block reward goes to the developersBytecoin, MoneroCurrencyBittrex, PoloniexThis is one of the top GPU minable coins other than Ethereum. It's price is similar to Ethereum's as well.Zcash

Bytecoin (BCN)Bytecoin allows safe and secure transactions around the globe and offers the convenience of instant fee-free money transactions.• Free instant international payments.
• Unntraceable payment
• Cryptonote-based• 80%+ were premined prior to public releaseZcash, MoneroPayment NetworkBittrex, PoloniexSeems like a solid crypto although there is nothing that really makes it unique in my opinion. It's secure and fast but so are many of the other choices.Bytecoin

Waves (WAVES)Crypto-platform for asset/custom token issuance, transfer and trading on blockchain• Allows for trading on its decentralized exchange
• Straightforward custom token creation process
• Fast transactions and future-proof scaling
• Friendly community• Many fake coins created as a result of easy creation process
• Very little mainstream adoption or succesful ICO's yetEthereum, BitShares, LykkePlatform, Decentralized ExchangeBittrex, PoloniexThis is another Russian based cryptocurrency. What sets them apart is the built in currency exchange system and the easy ability to create new tokens. They allow smart contracts and the ability to "stake" your coins and collect interest on your accountWaves

Stellar Lumens (XLM)Stellar is a platform that connects banks, payments systems, and people.• Instant payment (2-5 seconds)
• Customizable payment infrastructure• No mining available. 90% of Lumens are owned by the foundersRipplePayment NetworkBittrex, PoloniexCreated by the founder of Ripple, it has virtually the same technology but it's meant to be used more by people than banks. They claim to be organized as a non-profit and their goal is to provide low-cost financial services to the world. They are currently giving away some XLM to Bitcoin and XRP holders.Stellar Lumens

Dogecoin (DOGE)Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency featuring a likeness of the Shiba Inu dog from the "Doge" Internet meme as its logo.• Easy to send payments online
• Has been around for a long time and has a passionate fanbase• Coin is not taken seriously
• No unique technical featureBitcoin, SteemCurrencyBittrex, PoloniexThis coin started out as a joke on Reddit and has gained popularity as a meme. It could have some real value some day but currently is worth less than a penny. There are currently 109,855,092,820 DOGE in existence and with such an astronomically large amount the odds of 1DOGE being worth much is very unlikelyDogecoin

Golem (GNT)Golem is a global, open sourced, decentralized supercomputer that anyone can access. It's made up of the combined power of user's machines, from personal laptops to entire datacenters.• You get rewarded for renting out computing power• No Mining available
• No working demo of the techSiacoin, StorjComputing NetworkBittrex, PoloniexFrom what I've gathered, GNT is built using Ethereum tokens. They want to allow people to rent their unused computer power. The network could be used for video rendering, advanced calculations, machine learning and more. The project is promising but the tech isn't quite there yet.Golem

Siacoin (SC)Sia is a decentralized network of datacenters that, taken together, comprise the world's fastest, cheapest, and most secure cloud storage platform• You get rewarded for renting out your computer storage
• Files are split across the network & encrypted so no need to worry about privacy• Low adoption
• May not be a good use of blockchain techStorj, GolemStorage NetworkBittrex, PoloniexCould be a great alternative to Amazon Cloud or google for cloud storage. It's cheaper and open source. Their goal is to make cloud storage cheap and accessable for everyoneSiacoin

Lykke (LKK)Trading platform with zero commissions and a powerful mobile app• You can trade colored coins that are associated with physical assets
• 0 trading fees
• Each Lykke coin represents a share in the company• No mining available
• Coin is available only via their mobile app
• Not available in the USWaves, BitsharesDecentralized ExchangeLykke AppThey've created an app that allows you to trade currencies with virtually no fees. They support crypto currencies as well as traditional currencies/Forex. They also let you issue your own shares for Lykke users to trade.Lykke

Bitshares (BTS)BitShares offers a stack of financial services including exchange and banking on a blockchain• Allows for trading on its decentralized exchange
• Extremely fast transaction time - handles tens of thousands/sec
• Allows for creation of smartcoins and user-issued assets akin to Waves' custom tokens• Declining developer interest
• Marketing could use some workWaves, LykkeDecentralized ExchangePoloniexTechnology seems unique but adoption rates are very low.BitShares

Augur (REP)Augur is a fully open-source and decentralized prediction market platform built on Ethereum• It allows you to forecast events and be rewarded for predicting the outcome correctly• Not much activity in the prediction market
• Still only in beta with limited featuresGnosisPrediction MarketBittrex, PoloniexThis is probably the most popular Ethereum token. The project can be a success if the software is developed properlyAugur

Gnosis (GNO)Speculate on anything with an easy-to-use prediction market built on Ethereum• Can create a customizable prediction market app• Only a few apps built so far
• Has competition in the perdiction market placeAugurPrediction MarketBittrex, PoloniexAnother Ethereum based perdiction market tokenGnosis

Steem (STEEM)Steem is a blockchain-based social media platform where anyone can earn rewards• Content creators on steemit.com get rewarded when their posts get upvoted• Vulnerable to voting manipulation via sybil attack
• Main developer left to work for BitsharesCurrency, PlatformBittrex, PoloniexSteem is a social network with its own economy and tradable token. Users are rewarded for post engagement and can tip other users.Steem

Antshares (ANS)Smart assets & application platform based in China. C#, DPOS Ethereum, a partnership with Alibaba and KYC compliant, connected to major exchanges.• Allows the creation of smartcontracts and custom tokens
• Basically the Chinese Ethereum
• AVM: Antshares' light-weight stack-based virtual machine• Poor marketing
• Lack of adoption in the US