Is there a cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin? The world turns to Bitcoin as the forerunner of cryptocurrencies, but actually, that is just the tip of an iceberg. Blockchain, the technology that drives Bitcoin, has the potential to disrupt many different industries. Let’s dive headfirst into this colorful and exciting world of cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and check out some of the new projects at work in shaping a future for our digital world right now.
Understanding Blockchain
But before getting into the different cryptocurrencies available, let’s briefly get an understanding of blockchain. Imagine a digital ledger on which transactions are recorded and verified across a network of computers, and there one gets an understanding of what Blockchain is. It is decentralized, transparent, and secure—very much applicable far beyond digital currencies.
This week I read a book called Beyond Bitcoin Economics of Digital Currencies and Blockchain Technologies. This book offers a detailed and current examination of the economic factors influencing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It also delves deep into the concept of decentralization, exploring what can truly be decentralized and how it works in practice. The book has been updated to include a new chapter on cryptocurrency, as well as fresh chapters on smart contracts and enterprise blockchains.
I will summarize this book into articles that are easier for you to understand. Check out this article on cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin.
Before you continue reading, it wouldn’t hurt to check out our article on Preventing Ransomware Attacks. It will help you avoid the threat of Ransomware when you start joining the cryptocurrency world.
Beyond Bitcoin: The Altcoin Universe
Altcoins are simply all other cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin. They extend the base laid by Bitcoin, usually adding some new features or fixing a certain problem. Let’s look at some of the well-known altcoins:
Ethereum
Ethereum, dubbed “the world’s computer,” is much more than just a currency and provides the means to create decentralized applications, dApps. It serves as the backbone for many innovative projects.
Why Ethereum? The smart contract functionality of Ethereum empowers developers to create self-executing contracts with predefined conditions. This has resulted in a huge ecosystem of decentralized finance applications, non-fungible tokens, and much more.
Ripple
Ripple is a system designed for quick and cheap international payments. It mainly targets banking and financial institutions. Its token, XRP, has played a huge role in cross-border transactions.
Why Ripple? Ripple, with all concentration on speed and cost-effectiveness, turns out to be very relevant to banks and financial institutions looking to optimize their international payments. Its network can actually revolutionize the global payment industry.
Litecoin
Litecoin, called “silver to Bitcoin’s gold,” facilitates faster transaction times along with a higher number of coins when compared to Bitcoin.
Why Litecoin? Faster transaction confirmation times make Litecoin ideal for everyday payments and transactions. It is more user-friendly compared to Bitcoin.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Although initially an ERC-20 token built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, today, Binance Coin (BNB) is the native cryptocurrency for the Binance exchange. It gives several utilities within the Binance ecosystem.
Why Binance Coin? The holders of the BNB coin receive discounts on trading fees when trading on the Binance exchange. Further, the Binance ecosystem is fast growing, and with that, there are new ways for BNB holders to profit from its utility token status.
The Rise of Stablecoins
Unlike Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency, whose values swing, the stablecoin would look to maintain their price. Most of the time, they are pegged to fiat money, for example, the US dollar, or are backed by reserves. Stablecoins have started picking up steam for the potential to fill in the gap between traditional finance and the world of cryptocurrency.
Blockchain Beyond Finance
The uses for blockchain extend far beyond the realm of finance. Here are a few examples:
- Supply Chain Management: Blockchain can offer great improvements in supply chains in terms of transparency, traceability, and efficiency by tracking product origin to the consumer.
- Healthcare: Prospective benefits of blockchain in healthcare include secure, private management of patient data and efficient pharmaceutical supply chains and increasing the speed of clinical trials.
- Voting Systems: An immutable record of the votes, like that possible through Blockchain, will help provide improved security, transparency, and efficiency in voting systems.
- Real Estate: Smart contracts and tokenization can make a difference in the field of real estate with much ease of transactions and the creation of fractional ownership opportunities.
The Future of Cryptocurrencies
In the world of cryptocurrency, things change every second. New projects are coming out and the existing ones are expanding in powers, so the future seems to hold great potential. However, one needs to be careful, do a lot of research in the world of cryptocurrencies, and beware of the risks involved.
Conclusion
That’s the world of blockhains and cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin. They have many benefits to offer. If you have other opinions, we invite you to join our write for us technology campaign. Please contact us via the Contact page.
While Bitcoin initiated the cryptocurrency revolution, there are a million other possibilities stored in blockchain technology. From the smart contracts of Ethereum to Ripple’s focus on payments and beyond, innovation and disruption seem very much at hand in this world. We will observe even greater and more radical applications once the technology matures and transforms industries and our lives.
