The Tech Quiz - Season 17

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What are Altcoins?

When discussing altcoins, I'll start by saying that an altcoin is a cryptocurrency developed after Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the premier and most important type of cryptocurrency, with all others falling under the category of altcoins.

There are currently thousands of altcoins, and the number keeps increasing every year. Each one is unique, with its own distinct features and use cases. For example, Ethereum is created for the implementation of smart contracts, while Ripple is designed for the banking system. There is a long list of altcoins, but they all share certain similarities: their value fluctuates like Bitcoin, they are based on cryptography, and they are mined.

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The most important thing is that altcoins completely differ from the fiat currencies; no issuing or controlling authority is there. They are decentralized; one can use them throughout the world and get facilities for anonymous transactions. But they are volatile in value and have legality issues due to being unregulated, among other risks, like cyber attacks.

More importantly, though, it is with its own decentralized blockchain technology that Bitcoin works, and the vast majority of altcoins are served by an independent one. This raises the question of why there should be a necessity for altcoins to have independent and distinct blockchains.

The reason is that altcoin developers want to keep their creations separate. They want features that are different from Bitcoin and, therefore, look for faster transaction speed, privacy, and other mechanisms of consensus. The Altcoin developers want to find new technology and a use case for them to develop even better cryptocurrencies. That way, altcoins would offer a great way of shaping a great future for the industry of cryptocurrency.

Could you list some of the best altcoins currently in the cryptocurrency market?

I have little experience with trading, but sometimes I do trade some coins. Below are a few of them that actually appeal to me; however, remember that the crypto market is very risky, and I advise on nothing but always doing your own research (DYOR) before investing in any coin.

^{The images featured are screenshots sourced from the CoinMarketCap website. Just a heads up: if you notice any prices dipping in red, don't worry—it's just a small correction happening today. 🙂}

Which altcoin do you favor the most, and could you explain why?

Well, honest to say, the coin that attracts me a lot and I keep looking around for these days is the STEEM coin. STEEM is a kind of cryptocurrency with the total potential to base the entire social media world on it. As we all are aware, it is a kind of blockchain-based rewarding platform from where people share their blogs and get an equivalent reward in terms of coins of STEEM.

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I like STEEM because it's a novel and innovative idea. Generally, we post free content on social media platforms, and those companies make money off it. But STEEM reverses this – it makes our content valuable and rewards us.

STEEM has some unique features that set it apart from other altcoins. It has a 'Proof of Brain' mechanism that doesn't validate irrelevant or useless content. Then there are features like 'Steem Power' that define a user's authority and reputation, indicating their level of contribution to the platform.

With the current bull run, STEEM's price has appreciated significantly, but it still has a lot of volatility. As for risks, it wouldn't be wrong to say that STEEM is a high-risk, high-reward altcoin, especially if you're future trading. The risk is lower in spot trading compared to future trading.

And the best part is, if you do not wish to trade or invest, you can earn STEEM coins simply by producing good content, which you can then take to a crypto exchange and sell at the market price – this is what sets this coin apart from other altcoins.

I trust that you found the information in my article to be valuable. 😊

^{I would like to invite @josepha, @wilmer1988, @elrazi, @sahmie, @steemdoctor1, @el-nailul, @lirvic, @eliany and @harferri to join this contest through this link, if they have not already taken part in it.}