What are the Alternatives to Bitcoin?
Table of Contents
What is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin Cash is an alternative version of bitcoin that is currently in beta.
A Bitcoin fork happens when a group of people come together to create a new version of the bitcoin network.
It is different from the original version of the network in that it is not set up to handle large transaction volumes.
The Bitcoin Cash blockchain can only handle a small number of transactions per second.
If Bitcoin Cash becomes the real bitcoin, it will be more expensive to use because fees will have to be paid in bitcoin, making the use of Bitcoin Cash a lot more expensive than using the original bitcoin network.
It is likely that most people won’t notice the difference, because most people currently use the original bitcoin network.
What is Litecoin?
Litecoin is an alternative cryptocurrency that was created in 2011 by Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin.
It is based on the bitcoin protocol, but instead of a limited number of coins being produced, Litecoin produces two for every single bitcoin.
Currently, the total number of Litecoin in existence is around 17.5 million.
This is close to the amount of bitcoin available to the public.
It is currently in the process of merging with bitcoin, which will mean that around three-quarters of the total available Litecoin currency will be included in the new cryptocurrency.
The new version will be named ‘Litecoin’, but people will continue to call the old version ‘Litecoin’.
As well as making the name a bit confusing, this will result in Litecoin gaining about half the total supply of bitcoin in its database.
This is more than the amount of total supply of bitcoin that will be in bitcoin once the fork happens.
Litecoin can also be traded in exchanges and is known for its low fees.
What is Ripple?
Ripple was developed to reduce transaction fees for businesses, and so it provides an alternative to existing systems like Paypal.
Ripple has no transaction fees because it is built on blockchain technology.
It was created in 2012 by Jed McCaleb, Ryan Fugger, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen.
The project is managed by a volunteer team of software developers.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is an open source, peer-to-peer platform that was created in 2014.
It has no physical existence, unlike bitcoin or Litecoin.
Ethereum allows users to write smart contracts, also known as decentralized applications, on the platform.
It is an incredibly powerful and reliable platform that has caught the attention of many of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency world.
This has led to its price skyrocketing to record levels.
Ripple, Litecoin and Ethereum are trading on different exchanges, so to determine the price of each coin you will need to calculate the weighted average of all of these exchange rates.
This is calculated below.
- Litecoin (LTC): XBT/XTC = 1
- Bitcoin (BTC): XBT/XTC = 5
- Ethereum (ETH): XBT/XTC = 10
As a result, Litecoin has the highest expected value at the moment.
Ripple has the lowest expected value at the moment.
What is Ripple (XRP)?
Ripple (XRP) is a digital currency which was developed in 2012 by Jed McCaleb, Chris Larsen and Adam Milne.
Ripple aims to connect banks and payment systems by connecting currency exchanges around the world.
It is designed to become the third largest digital currency in the world.
Ripple is in a race against bitcoin and ethereum to become the third largest cryptocurrency.
But ethereum has the lead, currently with almost 28% of the market cap.
Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency is currently trading for just 1 cent.
Ripple’s currency is used in many of the financial technology solutions that support the adoption of blockchain technology.
This allows for more efficient, cheaper and faster transactions.
How much is bitcoin worth?
Bitcoin is currently trading for almost $40,000.
When it first started, it had a value of $1,000.
Bitcoin can only be used as a currency for payments or as an investment.
In the UK, Bitcoin can only be bought with British pounds and Euros.
This means that if you want to purchase bitcoin you need a bank account in the UK or other European country.
In 2014, the government of China outlawed the use of bitcoin.
This effectively halted most international investment in bitcoin for a while.
As the popularity of bitcoin increases, China’s ruling may change.
What is Ether?
Ether (ETHER) is the native token of the Ethereum network.
Its purpose is to facilitate access to the Ethereum network and to allow traders to leverage Ethereum.
An ether token is similar to an American dollar or other global currency.
Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, ether is not an entry point to the network.
Instead, it acts as a token for transactions with Ethereum.
ETHER allows traders to leverage and reduce the risk of Ethereum transactions.
Ethereum runs on the blockchain technology and has similar features to bitcoin.
However, it runs as a smart contract.
Instead of digital signatures or confirmations, every transaction has to be recorded on the blockchain.
This means every transaction can be verified by network nodes around the world.
This also means that there is a ledger of every transaction on the network.
This ledger cannot be changed by anyone.
The system is still in its infancy and remains a decentralised network, where every node is essential to the functioning of the network.
These nodes store, update and verify transactions on the blockchain.
NEXT READ: