Bitcoin is undoubtedly the most popular cryptocurrency worldwide. Being the first crypto coin, this is not a surprise. As a result, it is the most used and owned asset in the DeFi industry. Any industry, be it in the online casino space, online gaming, or entertainment that accepts cryptocurrency payment, Bitcoin is at the forefront.
As a result, many people are oblivious of the other coins in the industry. They do not even know that there are alternatives to Bitcoin. In that case, we have curated five different alternatives to Bitcoin that you can check out. Keep reading to find out.
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Ethereum (ETH)
Many altcoins were created after Bitcoin gained traction, but most didn’t break the market, and they remained unpopular. However, when Ethereum came around, it stormed the industry as it is more than just a cryptocurrency. Ethereum is a decentralized application platform that allows smart contracts and dApps to run without downtime, fraud, interference, or control.
In that case, most of the products created on the blockchain were built using ETH technology. It was launched in 2015, and over the years, the value has grown to over $2,500, making it the most valuable altcoin out there.
Tether (USDT)
Tether is unlike other cryptocurrencies. It is one of the stablecoins that put their market value to fiat currency or other reference points to limit volatility. Tether’s price is pegged to the US Dollar, and it enables users to transfer funds from other cryptocurrencies to the US Dollars quickly. It is even more instant than converting the USD to an everyday currency.
Tether was created in 2014 and has since effectively allowed users to use blockchain technology to transact in standard currencies with reduced volatility and complexity found in digital currencies. It is currently the 4th-largest cryptocurrency by a market cap of about $80 billion.
Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin was one of the first altcoins to enter the digital space. It was created by a former Google engineer, Charlie Lee. The currency uses an open-source global payment network that doesn’t use any central control and utilizes scrypt as a Proof of Work decodable with customer-grade CPUs.
Litecoin is similar to Bitcoin in many ways. However, it offers a quicker block generation rate, and as a result, it has a more instant transaction confirmation time. Therefore, many merchants and e-commerce operators accept Litecoin, pushing LTC to about $7 in market cap. In addition, it has a value of around $100, taking it to no. 21 on the biggest cryptocurrency list.
Cardano (ADA)
This cryptocurrency comes on the back of extensive experiment and peer-review research. The creators of ADA have over 120 papers on blockchain published, covering various topics. It is a Proof of Stake coin, and because of its extensive creation process, it stands out among the rest.
Although Cardano is still in its early stages, it has beaten ETH to the Proof of Stake consensus model. However, the coin still has a long way to go for DeFi applications. The system’s goal is to establish DeFi products, making it a global financial operating system. It currently has the 8th largest market cap with $26.7 billion. But it is yet to reach the $1 value mark.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Binance Coin is one of the various utility cryptocurrencies that doubles as a payment option for the fees connected to trading on the Binance exchange network. As a result, it has grown to become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. BNB’s blockchain also controls Binance’s decentralized exchange operations.
At first, BNB was an ERC-20 token that relied on the ETH blockchain. But after a while, it had its mainnet, and the network utilizes the PoS consensus model. Binance Coin is currently worth about $380 with a market cap of $62.9 billion.
Bottom Line
These alternatives are perfect for individuals that want to enter the cryptocurrency space. They are not yet as expensive as Bitcoin, which currently has more than $35,000 to one. So, you can pick one that you think has a robust technology that can take it all the way to massive valuations.
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