The Most Important Cryptocurrencies Besides Bitcoin
Everyone has heard of Bitcoin, even if they don’t fully understand it. There are
numerous other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin. According to Wikipedia, there are 19
active cryptocurrencies, and most of these were released in the last couple of years.
Coinmarketcap.com lists 100 cryptocurrencies. Many experts believe the numbers
will continue to climb.
Bitcoin has a considerable head start on the other offerings. Several
cryptocurrencies are slight variations on the Bitcoin platform and may be more
attractive to conventional financial institutions.
The first cryptocurrency to be welcomed by the banking industry will likely dominate
the market. Which one will it be? Only the future will reveal the one that comes out
on top.
Currently, these are the top five cryptocurrencies after Bitcoin:
- Ripple. Ripple has a market capitalization of nearly $150 million. For
comparison purposes, Bitcoin is almost $5 billion. This cryptocurrency was
released in 2012 and has been making strong inroads into the banking industry
and payment networks.
A “Bitcoin Bridge” permits Ripple currency holders to make payments to
Bitcoin users without ever holding Bitcoins themselves.
Some financial experts believe that Ripple will eventually overtake Bitcoin
and become the dominant digital currency. - Litecoin. Litecoin is the third largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $137