Beginning with , cryptocurrencies have flourished and took over the digital world. They have become the de facto of the entire Blockchain world. To make it even more precise, cryptocurrencies broadly fostered to conduct transactions to buy goods and services across the world. In this article, you will get to know about the top trending cryptocurrencies.
For those who are new to this cryptocurrency world, it is virtual or digital money that is in the form of tokens or coins. And ever since, Bitcoin was launched (a decade ago almost), cryptocurrency became the digital currency in the industry. While a few cryptocurrencies came into the real world in the form of credit cards or any other projects, the majority of them remained intangible. These cryptocurrencies allow users to conduct digital transactions across decentralized systems. These are bought through a process called mining and miners dig them and bring them into the digital world.
Cryptocurrencies are independent. They are free from government control. The currencies that were generated after Bitcoin are often called altcoins. They are all the updated versions of Bitcoin. Although Bitcoin is well known, thousands of cryptocurrencies came into the picture. Let’s check out a few well-known cryptocurrencies that are ruling today.
(ETH)
Ethereum tops the list of cryptocurrencies and ranks second after Bitcoin. Ethereum is a decentralized software platform that offers smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps). ETH is specially designed without any intermediaries, no downtime, and kept away from the fraudulent zone. Its applications are running upon the ether, a platform-specific cryptographic token. Ether plays a vital role in offering digital currency purchases to investors. It also enables developers to build and run applications inside Ethereum. It is known as the second-largest digital currency by market cap after Bitcoin.
Well, according to Ethereum, “it can be used to “codify, decentralize, secure and trade just about anything.” However, post-attack on the DAO in 2016, Ethereum was split into Ethereum (ETH) and (ETC). Also, the Ethereum blockchain can be used to launch decentralized finance (DeFi) projects. It supports leading companies such as Amazon (NASDAQ:) Web Services, Microsoft (NASDAQ:) Azure, and even helped JP Morgan launch its digital coin.
Several investors consider Ethereum as one of the most important cryptocurrencies with a great long-term investment.
(LTC)
Among the top players, Litecoin is one of the leading and most important cryptocurrencies. Litecoin is a decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and open-source global software which is not controlled by any central authority. It is technically similar to Bitcoin as it enables cross-border payments and serves as digital cash. It is so often referred to as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold”. More than Bitcoin’s SHA-256, Litecoin’s algorithm Scrypt is more appealing to the miners and so makes an impact on the investments.
Tether (USDT)
It’s altogether a different point now! Tether was one of the first and most known stablecoins. Tether is a blockchain network to store value and execute currency transactions. It is used to conduct global money transactions without relying on any expensive intermediaries. These stablecoins are usually backed by a Fiat currency to minimize unpredictability and attract investors to the crypto market.
According to data, “Tether accounted for 80% of Bitcoin volume, making Tether a major source of liquidity in the cryptocurrency market.
(XRP)
Ripple has revolutionized cross-border payments. Ripple offers both crypto and real-time global settlement network that allows instant, low-cost, and easy international payments. It is a widely accepted cryptocurrency in cross-border payments. Ripple “enables banks to settle cross-border payments in real-time, with end-to-end transparency, and at lower costs.” Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Ripple doesn’t require mining. All of Ripple’s XRP tokens are pre-mined. Thus, there is no creation involved in creating XRP’s overtime. It stands out among the other currencies since it minimizes the network latency and reduces the usage of computing power.
Ripple remains one of the most revolutionary financial institutions among traditional cross-border payments.
Libra (LIBRA)
As of date, Libra is still a thing. Reports say that Facebook’s digital currency project Libra will launch soon in 2021. Even before it is launched, Libra seems to create a sensation in the entire crypto market. Alike Bitcoin, Libra was expected to launch with similar features. While the project is still awaiting approval from FINMA (the Swiss-based Financial Market Supervisory Authority), it is expected to launch as a stablecoin, moving far from the payments systems too.
Though Facebook (NASDAQ:) doesn’t take the entire control of Libra, several are getting anxious as their financial information will be a target to Facebook Ads. To add to this, recently Libra Association changed its name to Diem.
Monero (XMR)
Monero is one of the popular crypto coins. Its origin can be traced back to Bytecoin. It is said that an anonymous forked Bytecoin’s codebase and created Monero. Monero came up with this simple idea to make transactions private and anonymous. It took up the responsibility to protect users’ identities and secure their transactions.
Using a ring signature verification, Monero makes cryptocurrency 100% secure, private, and untraceable with advanced cryptography. Although it offers users clear control over their data, its anonymity has been criticized around the world.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Binance Coin just stands next to Bitcoin. It is the token of one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world – the Binance exchange. Binance turned all the heads by offering secure and quick global crypto trading. Binance rewards its users with a rebate after 5 years, who pay for transaction fees using Binance Coin. Launched and issued as ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum network in 2017, and in no time, Binance Coin shifted to their platform – Binance Chain mainnet.
So, the future of Cryptocurrency
These are all a few top trending cryptocurrencies. And undoubtedly, we will be flying with thousands of new digital currencies soon. The game of cryptocurrencies will be seen in full-swing with high potential and likely to beat the variety of purposes in the new-age digital world. However, Bitcoin will continue and forever remain as a trendsetter in the crypto world.