What are Top 5 Cryptocurrencies?

Top 5 Cryptocurrencies

Below is a description of the top 5 cryptocurrencies in the market according to market cap. There are hundreds of other crypto and altcoins available today but most have not gained any significant market share yet.

Bitcoin

It was the first cryptocurrency to be introduced in the trading market in 2009. Currently, it is the most popular cryptocurrency since it is accepted as a payment in an ever growing number of establishments both on and off line. It is accepted by the NBA’s Sacramento Kings in exchange of merchandise, tickets and food for example. Most vendors and retailers including Amazon accept Bitcoin for many of their transactions. Bitcoin is quite volatile since it was able to rapidly increase in value from about $100 in October 2013 to $1200 in December 2013. Surprisingly, it encountered a sharp decline back to $600 in January 2014. Despite its popularity, not everyone is enthusiastic about it. For instance, the governments have banned Bitcoin transactions within their sovereign territories. It has however become popular in the P2P dominated web and has been used to purchase every item that allows its use. Bitcoin ATM’s are also being installed all over the world, making local currency accessible to all bitcoin holders. Learn more about Bitcoin here.

Litecoin

litecoinLitecoin was designed to provide its users with an alternative cryptocurrency that is mined on a similar protocol to that of Bitcoin. It is easier to mine, has four times the maximum coin supply as compared to bitcoin – with 84 million coins to be mined – and can be attained easily by the consumer. It does not compete with Bitcoin but rather complements it. The computers used in mining Bitcoin can also be used to mine Litecoin without decreasing the efficiency required in Bitcoin mining. Regardless of the similarities, the list of customers accepting litecoin payments is not as long as that of Bitcoin. Learn more about Litecoin here.

Ethereum (Ether)

Ether coinIt is a revolutionary blockchain that goes beyond simply enabling P2P transactions. The Ethereum blockchain allows anyone to program smart contracts on it – self executing contracts. The cryptocurrency that powers Ethereum is called Ether, and it is currently the second most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap. Ethereum also allows people to program tokens on its blockchain, which in effect act as another kind of cryptocurrency for specific purposes like distribution of dividends to investors. Learn more about Ethereum and Ether here.

Ripple

Ripplecoin - It has attracted less media attention than the other cryptocurrency. It ranked second to Bitcoin according to its market cap and has evolved to popularity without the help of Bitcoin. The Ripple network has been used severally to exchange any type of currency whether cryptocurrency or traditional country currency. Ripples XRP serves as a bridge that allows for exchanges to take place on this network. This is because users are required to spend a small amount of it in order to complete a transaction. According to the last update, over 7.2 billion of XRP has been distributed to its users.

Monero

Monero coinDeveloped to give its users complete anonymity, surpassing bitcoin’s pseudonymous nature. It effectively protects the identity of people who make transactions with it, making it very difficult for law enforcement to trace users and transactions. As a result, it became the cryptocurrency of choice in the dark web, but it is not alone. Other cryptocurrency projects like Shadowcash and Zcash also offer complete anonymity, albeit with different mechanisms. Nevertheless neither has ben able to threaten Monero’s popularity. Monero currently rounds up the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Learn more about Monero Here.

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