NEW DELHI: Ever since cryptocurrencies arrived on the world investment scene in 2009, their journey has been astonishing.
Although there has been a rush of investors jumping on to the crypto bandwagon in the past few years, their volume has not reached anywhere near that of stocks, precious metals, forex and commodities.
Online platforms such as Bloomberg and Investopedia have estimated that there are around 1.5 crore crypto investors in India already.
More than 350 start-ups have been working in the blockchain and crypto space in India. They estimate that crypto investment from Indians have shot up from $923 million in April 2020 to around $6.6 billion in the last fiscal.
But many investors continue to sit on the fence, unable to fully grasp the viability of cryptocurrencies as an investment. To ease them into the system, here we have dope on 7 top cryptocurrencies.
1) Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to be born and remains the most powerful until today: very high in value and the most preferred one by investors globally.
However, it is also highly volatile and sometimes its price oscillates widely. Some of those who have invested in Bitcoin in the past decade are now millionaires.
In Indian Rupee, the cost of one Bitcoin has never come down below Rs 35 lakhs and during the fiscal year 2020-21 it even hit Rs 56 lakh.
The volatility had not worried investors as those who invest in whole Bitcoins got their value back plus the premium.
Investors buying in fractions need to follow the graphs closely to get a bang for their buck and not lose money. There are hardcore Bitcoin investors who have invested sums as low as Rs 100 and improved their earnings 20-30 times in value. Bitcoin is also a favourite of day traders.
Bitcoins are also perceived as precious as they were meant to be finite – there can be no more than 21 million bitcoins created.
2) Dogecoin (DOGE)
Believe it or not, this came out of a dog meme that went viral on the internet. Dogecoin was created in 2013 as a lighthearted alternative to traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Unlike Bitcoin, which is designed to be scarce, the Dogecoin is intentionally abundant — 10,000 new coins are mined every minute and there is no ceiling on the maximum supply.
Due to their abundance, small investors are picking them up in sizable volumes. Though its base price is lower than most of the other digital coins, the sheer volume it generates on the exchanges is astounding.
Investors are currently wondering if the Dogecoin will ever reach $1 in price. When it does, it will be bonanza time.
3) Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum works on a decentralized software platform. It has inbuilt smart contracts and a decentralized applications system.
It can be built and operated without any time lag. You can steer clear of dubious transactions and gain full control as an investor in terms of value, transaction and transfer.
One extraordinary feature of Ethereum is that it is bereft of any interference or control from any non-specific operators. Ethereum was launched in 2015. Currently it has 19 percent of market capitalisation of the dominant counterpart Bitcoin.
4) Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin came into being in 2011. It was one of the first cryptocurrencies following the birth of Bitcoin.
It is touted as the silver alter ego of the Golden Bitcoin. But looking at the excitement it has created among the new generation of investors, it may strike gold soon.
Litecoin works on a faster block generation rate, which enables the investor to get faster transaction confirmation. So far in 2021, the Litecoin capitalised $10.1 billion and boasts of a value of $153.88 on a per token basis. It is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency in the world.
5) Cardano (ADA)
Its founder Charles Hoskinson was one of the five co-founders of Ethereum and it is created in the same genre.
Being unhappy with the direction of Ethereum, Hoskinson parted ways and founded Cardano on the environmentally sustainable, Ouroboros proof-of-stake protocol with the help of mathematicians, engineers, and cryptographists.
Cardano has established a market capitalization of $9.8 billion and each coin trades at $ 0.39.
6) Polkadot (DOT)
With high interoperability within the blockchains of the same genre, Polkadot perches comfortably among the cryptocurrencies of its size.
Polkadot is embedded with systems that enable its developers to create their blockchains.
At the same time it is said to be uncompromising on security and safety. At $11.2 billion market capitalization, one DOT has traded for $12.54 since January 2021.
7) Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Coming from the stable of Bitcoin, BCH has the unique advantage of automatically being connected to Bitcoin. But investors will do well to compare it with non-Bitcoin stable currencies, coins or tokens.
Although there has been a rush of investors jumping on to the crypto bandwagon in the past few years, their volume has not reached anywhere near that of stocks, precious metals, forex and commodities.
Online platforms such as Bloomberg and Investopedia have estimated that there are around 1.5 crore crypto investors in India already.
More than 350 start-ups have been working in the blockchain and crypto space in India. They estimate that crypto investment from Indians have shot up from $923 million in April 2020 to around $6.6 billion in the last fiscal.
But many investors continue to sit on the fence, unable to fully grasp the viability of cryptocurrencies as an investment. To ease them into the system, here we have dope on 7 top cryptocurrencies.
1) Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to be born and remains the most powerful until today: very high in value and the most preferred one by investors globally.
However, it is also highly volatile and sometimes its price oscillates widely. Some of those who have invested in Bitcoin in the past decade are now millionaires.
In Indian Rupee, the cost of one Bitcoin has never come down below Rs 35 lakhs and during the fiscal year 2020-21 it even hit Rs 56 lakh.
The volatility had not worried investors as those who invest in whole Bitcoins got their value back plus the premium.
Investors buying in fractions need to follow the graphs closely to get a bang for their buck and not lose money. There are hardcore Bitcoin investors who have invested sums as low as Rs 100 and improved their earnings 20-30 times in value. Bitcoin is also a favourite of day traders.
Bitcoins are also perceived as precious as they were meant to be finite – there can be no more than 21 million bitcoins created.
2) Dogecoin (DOGE)
Believe it or not, this came out of a dog meme that went viral on the internet. Dogecoin was created in 2013 as a lighthearted alternative to traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Unlike Bitcoin, which is designed to be scarce, the Dogecoin is intentionally abundant — 10,000 new coins are mined every minute and there is no ceiling on the maximum supply.
Due to their abundance, small investors are picking them up in sizable volumes. Though its base price is lower than most of the other digital coins, the sheer volume it generates on the exchanges is astounding.
Investors are currently wondering if the Dogecoin will ever reach $1 in price. When it does, it will be bonanza time.
3) Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum works on a decentralized software platform. It has inbuilt smart contracts and a decentralized applications system.
It can be built and operated without any time lag. You can steer clear of dubious transactions and gain full control as an investor in terms of value, transaction and transfer.
One extraordinary feature of Ethereum is that it is bereft of any interference or control from any non-specific operators. Ethereum was launched in 2015. Currently it has 19 percent of market capitalisation of the dominant counterpart Bitcoin.
4) Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin came into being in 2011. It was one of the first cryptocurrencies following the birth of Bitcoin.
It is touted as the silver alter ego of the Golden Bitcoin. But looking at the excitement it has created among the new generation of investors, it may strike gold soon.
Litecoin works on a faster block generation rate, which enables the investor to get faster transaction confirmation. So far in 2021, the Litecoin capitalised $10.1 billion and boasts of a value of $153.88 on a per token basis. It is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency in the world.
5) Cardano (ADA)
Its founder Charles Hoskinson was one of the five co-founders of Ethereum and it is created in the same genre.
Being unhappy with the direction of Ethereum, Hoskinson parted ways and founded Cardano on the environmentally sustainable, Ouroboros proof-of-stake protocol with the help of mathematicians, engineers, and cryptographists.
Cardano has established a market capitalization of $9.8 billion and each coin trades at $ 0.39.
6) Polkadot (DOT)
With high interoperability within the blockchains of the same genre, Polkadot perches comfortably among the cryptocurrencies of its size.
Polkadot is embedded with systems that enable its developers to create their blockchains.
At the same time it is said to be uncompromising on security and safety. At $11.2 billion market capitalization, one DOT has traded for $12.54 since January 2021.
7) Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Coming from the stable of Bitcoin, BCH has the unique advantage of automatically being connected to Bitcoin. But investors will do well to compare it with non-Bitcoin stable currencies, coins or tokens.