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âBitcoin, Bitcoin, Bitcoin,â is all we hear from the media. Yet Bitcoin is only one of many cryptocurrencies that are transforming our markets. There have been blockchain innovations, new applications of blockchain and hard forks diverging from Bitcoin.
Who are they? What do they do? Why will they be critical to our markets? Letâs take a look at the ten cryptocurrencies with the highest market cap after Bitcoin, starting with Ethereum.
1. Ether (ETH)
What is it? The Ethereum blockchain is a public blockchain that you can use to create your own custom smart contracts. Ethereum has its own cryptocurrency, called Ether, which is the form of payment. It was proposed by Vitalik Buterin in late 2013 and launched in August 2014.
Why is it important? Ethereum is important because it has pioneered smart contracts. Smart contracts can be used to exchange the ownership of anything from shares, to money to intellectual property. Because the smart contracts are on the Ethereum blockchain network, it removes any opportunity for fraud, censorship or third-party interference.
Market Cap: USD $17,927,027,219
2. Ripple (XRP)
What is it? Ripple is an open payment network and digital currency exchange with a centralized ledger where transactions are settled. It was released in 2012 by Arthur Britto, David Schwartz and Ryan Fugger. Many large banks are working with Ripple to manage their transactions.
Why is it important? Ripple is aiming to replace SWIFT as the global transaction network by providing a more reliable solution with lower transaction costs. The centralized nature of Ripple has encouraged large banks and governments to work together to grow the Ripple network.
Market Cap: USD $13,404,979,360
3. Litecoin (LTC)
What is it? Litecoin was created based on the Bitcoin protocol. Like Bitcoin, it is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. It was created in October 2011 by Charlie Lee while he was working at Google.
Why is it important? Litecoin is a significant development because it offers the same opportunity for peer-to-peer transactions as Bitcoin, but it has much lower transaction fees. While Bitcoin remains most popular for making large transactions, Litecoin is proving to be a popular alternative for smaller day-to-day transactions.
Market Cap: USD $4,481,511,455
4. Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
What is it? In August 2017, a group of Bitcoin developers created Bitcoin Cash by making a hard fork from Bitcoin. Essentially, a hard fork is when a group of developers alter the Bitcoin protocol so much that it diverges from Bitcoin and becomes a new cryptocurrency. The hard fork was made to improve the scale of the blockchain technology by increasing the block size to 8MB.
Why is it important? Bitcoin Cash is important because the upgraded version of the Bitcoin core software makes it faster, cheaper and more reliable to use.
Market Cap: USD $5,078,941,691
5. EOSÂ (EOS)
What is it? EOS.IO is a blockchain protocol that is powered by the cryptocurrency EOS. It operates much more like a real computer than other blockchain technologies. It was launched in 2017.
Why is it important? EOS has gained market traction because like Etherium, it allows you to create smart contractsâââbut unlike Etherium, it does it without transaction fees. Thatâs why it gained the nickname âEtherium Killerâ.
Market Cap: US $4,827,986,150
6. Binance Coin (BNB)
What is it? Binance is one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. They created the Binance Coin so users could easily pay exchange fees, withdrawal fees, and listing fees.
Why is it important? The Binance Coin is significant because it demonstrates the success of a currency being created to be used within one specific network. The success of Binance Coin may encourage other marketplaces to develop their own cryptocurrency.
Market Cap: USD $3,171,147,742
7. Stellar (XLM)
What is it? Stellar was founded in 2014 by Jed McCaleb, who is also the co-founder if Ripple. Like Ripple, Stellar is designed to handle cross-platform transactions and microtransactions between both cryptocurrencies and fiat-based cryptocurrencies. However, unlike Ripple, Stellar are supported by a non-profit.
Why is it important? Stellar are important because they give people at lower income levels access to low-cost financial services. They allow people to sent currencies to anyone in the same or a different currency.
Market Cap: USD $2,097,618,638
8. Cardano (ADA)
What is it? One of the co-founders of Etherium, Charles Hoskin, launched Cardano in September 2017. Like Etherium, Cardano is a smart contract platform. However, Cardano is developing more advanced features to overcome limitations such as interoperability and scalability that are plaguing competing blockchain solutions.
Why is it important? Cardano is important to pay attention to because they are developing the platform with the most rigorous academic and commercial software standards in the industry. There focus on quality standards and innovation may lead to further breakthroughs for cryptocurrencies.
Market Cap: USD $1,900,070,357
9. Tether (USDT)
What is it? Tether is a cryptocurrency that is designed to mirror the value of the US dollar. The idea is to âtetherâ the price to the dollar so that they will have a stable currency to deal with (without having to actually use US dollars). This function is why Tether is called a âstable coinâ.
Why is it important? Tether is important because unlike many other cryptocurrencies, its price isnât so volatile. This gives businesses and individuals the advantage of transacting with cryptocurrencies, while removing the price uncertainty.
Market Cap: USD $2,700,935,956
10. Tron (TRX)
What is it? Tron is the currency of the decentralized protocol project, also called Tron. The Tron Protocol is built on blockchain technology which could allow creators to freely publish, store, and own their content.
Why is it important? Tron is aiming to build a content distribution platform for the entertainment industry. They envision creators sharing content with consumers over the platform at no cost.
Market Cap: USD $1,599,803,365
Remarkably, at $89 billion Bitcoin still has a market cap higher than those above ten cryptocurrencies combined. The growth of these ten cryptocurrencies has not come at the expense of Bitcoin. Rather, they are helping grow the cryptocurrency ecosystem as they all prosper.
Which of these cryptocurrencies will still exist in a decade is unclear. However, we can see cryptocurrencies arenât only transforming money, theyâre transforming industries from finance to entertainment.
If the conversation was âBitcoin, Bitcoin Bitcoinâ, itâs quickly become âBitcoin, Ethereum, RippleâŠâ
10 Critical Cryptocurrencies Beyond Bitcoin was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.