Cryptocurrency market is booming and it has entered almost every business sector. Internet payments using crypto coins and investing in the crypto market has become a norm these days. But even if you don’t trade, you most definitely have heard of Bitcoin.
The top profitable cryptocurrency has reached such high prices (above $10,000 by November 2017) that for a new trader, it is almost impossible to trade in Bitcoin. Still, there is a chance for you to start trading with other cryptocurrencies. There are as many as 2000 alternatives to Bitcoin.
What are Altcoins
As the name suggests, altcoin is a cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Namecoin was the first alternative to be created. It aimed at decentralising domain-name registration and made the internet censorship even more difficult. Other coins also were created to improve any one or more aspects of Bitcoin, or they try to replace it altogether.
When you plan to buy cryptocurrency, it is better to start with one which is at a lower price, so that you can reap rewards in the future. Let us have a look at the list of these coins:
Ethereum
Created in 2013, Ethereum has remained in the second position in the top coins to trade. It has smart contracts that run on a decentralised program network without censorship or fraud. This true outlier rose rapidly over 1000% in a couple of months. It is now available as Ethereum classic and hardforked Ethereum of the blockchain. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase offers Ethereum on its platform.
Steem
Steem, created in March 2016, earns reward posters for Steemit, a blockchain-powered open-source platform. With no coin limit and 100% annual inbuilt inflation, Steem provides the answer to the question of whether you can acquire cryptocurrencies for free. The user-friendly platform has the fast-paced environment and a graphical wallet client.
Steem dollars are reward units you get when you post content. You can transfer them to Bittrex exchange and convert them to bitcoins. You can earn thousands of dollars by blogging, making it the best advantage to buy cryptocurrency.
Ripple
Any new altcoin can be seen as a healthy competition to bitcoin. Unlike many crypto technologies that use decentralised transactions, Ripple takes a traditional route of banking and SWIFT. Normally, fiat currency exchanges take a long time to travel many intermediaries and there is a risk of collapse of receiving bank. Ripple provides an upgrade for blockchain technology by offering cost-efficient and instant transactions.
Ripple, created in 2012, offers a single currency XRP and its worth has gone sky high in the recent months. It is touted as the coin recommended by governments across the world, with almost 100 banks currently using Ripple. This makes Ripple a worthy and sizeable investment for the future.
This guide on buying Ripple in Australia is a good starting point, with the exchanges mentioned in the article also available to US, UK, and Canadian users.
Zcash
Zcash uses proof constructions known as zk-SNARKs, which allow users to exchange information anonymously. It is an improvement over bitcoin as bitcoin blockchain stores records of who participated in the transaction. Zcash only records the transaction itself and not the participants, nor the amount.
Created in October 2016, Zcash has received criticism that cybercriminals can easily engage in transactions on the dark web. But it is actually the best solution for all the individuals and business entities seeking extreme privacy measures for various reasons.
Stellar
Stellar is a peculiar case where the price of the digital token is less than a dollar and it has seen a huge improvement over bitcoin blockchain. Stellar blockchain takes only few seconds to complete a transaction, which can answer the scalability issues of bitcoin.
In addition, fiat currency exchange will be finished with lightning speed. So, conversion from dollars to euros and vice versa can be sped up without depending on slow and cumbersome procedures of banks and financial institutions. IBM (International Business Machines Corp.) uses stellar blockchain for payments with major banks.
Conclusion
If you plan to buy cryptocurrency, this is the best time to start. Making payment using an altcoin has seen a huge increase in the recent days. Cryptocurrencies are the future of internet payment methods, which have already been accepted by many global companies.