Different types of Cryptocurrencies you can Invest Apart from Bitcoin.
1) Litecoin (LTC)
2) Ethereum (ETH)
3) Zcash (ZEC)
4) Dash (Darkcoin)
5) Ripple (XRP)
6) Monero (XMR)
1)
Litecoin (LTC or Ł) is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and open source software project released under the MIT/X11 license. Creation and transfer of coins is based on an open source cryptographic protocol and is not managed by any central authority.
 |
| NOW |
Litecoin, launched in the year 2011, was among the initial cryptocurrencies following bitcoin and was often referred to as ‘silver to Bitcoin’s gold.’ It was created by Charlie Lee, a MIT graduate and former Google engineer. Litecoin is based on an open source global payment network that is not controlled by any central authority and uses “scrypt” as a proof of work, which can be decoded with the help of CPUs of consumer grade. Although Litecoin is like Bitcoin in many ways, it has a faster block generation rate and hence offers a faster transaction confirmation. Other than developers, there are a growing number of merchants who accept Litecoin.
2.)
Well, sort of, but not really. Like Bitcoin, Ethereum is a distributed public blockchain network. ... Beyond a tradeable cryptocurrency, Ether is also used by application developers to pay for transaction fees and services on the Ethereum network.
Launched in 2015, Ethereum is a decentralized software platform that enables Smart Contracts and Distributed Applications to be built and run without any downtime, fraud, control or interference from a third party. During 2014, Ethereum had launched a pre-sale for ether which had received an overwhelming response. The applications on Ethereum are run on its platform-specific cryptographic token. Ether is like a vehicle for moving around on the Ethereum platform, and is sought by mostly developers looking to develop and run applications inside Ethereum. According to Ethereum, it can be used to “codify, decentralize, secure and trade just about anything.” Following the attack on the DAO in 2016, Ethereum was split into Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). Ethereum (ETH) has a market capitalization of $41.4 billion, second after Bitcoin among all cryptocurrencies.
3) Zcash (ZEC)
Zcash (ZEC) is another Crypto currency like bitcoin but with a few different features. Like Bitcoin it is based on a decentralised blockchain but allows for anonymity behind transaction amounts and parties involved. In Bitcoin if you know someone's address you can follow their transactions and you can see which all the addresses and their transaction amounts - so its quite clear how much money is moving around, with ZCash all the information is encrypted.
Zcash, a decentralized and open-source cryptocurrency launched in the latter part of 2016, looks promising. “If Bitcoin is like http for money, Zcash is https,” is how Zcash defines itself. Zcash offers privacy and selective transparency of transactions. Thus, like https, Zcash claims to provide extra security or privacy where all transactions are recorded and published on a blockchain, but details such as the sender, recipient, and amount remain private. Zcash offers its users the choice of ‘shielded’ transactions, which allow for content to be encrypted using advanced cryptographic technique or zero-knowledge proof construction called a zk-SNARK developed by its team.
4) Dash (Darkcoin)
Darkcoin is a cryptocurrency — a digital, decentralized, secure payment method that is designed to keep its users' identity secret. The "coins" are denoted by a digital signature and are recorded in a public ledger, so they can't be forged. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, debuting in 2009.
Dash (originally known as Darkcoin) is a more secretive version of Bitcoin. Dash offers more anonymity as it works on a decentralized mastercode network that makes transactions almost untraceably. Launched in January 2014, Dash experienced an increasing fan following in a short span of time. This cryptocurrency was created and developed by Evan Duffield and can be mined using a CPU or GPU. In March 2015, ‘Darkcoin’ was rebranded to Dash, which stands for Digital Cash and operates under the ticker – DASH. The rebranding didn’t change any of its technological features such as Darksend, InstantX.
5) Ripple (XRP)
Ripple is both a payment network (RippleNet) and a cryptocurrency (Ripple XRP) created in 2012. RippleNet connects banks and other big institutions and allows them to transfer money and other assets through the network. All transactions are recorded on the decentralized XRP Ledger.
Ripple XRP is the currency used in the payment network for all transactions, reducing the time and money associated with cross-border payments. Each transaction through the system is processed in only four seconds. For comparison, Ethereum takes more than two minutes, Bitcoin over an hour, while traditional systems can take between three and five days.
6) Monero (XMR)
Monero (XMR) is an open-source cryptocurrency created in April 2014 that focuses on privacy, decentralization, and scalability that runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, and FreeBSD. Monerouses a public ledger to record transactions while new units are created through a process called mining
Bitcoin continues to lead the pack of cryptocurrencies, in terms of market capitalization, user base and popularity. Nevertheless, virtual currencies such as Ethereum and Ripple which are being used more for enterprise solutions are becoming popular, while some altcoins are being endorsed for superior or advanced features vis-à-vis Bitcoins. Going by the current trend, cryptocurrencies are here to stay but how many of them will emerge leaders amid the growing competition within the space will only be revealed with time.
