The Top 5 Alternative Crytpo Coins of 2018

The Top 5 Alternative Crytpo Coins of 2018

The exponential rise of Bitcoin late last year has certainly piqued the world’s interest in cryptocurrency. Individuals and large companies alike are hoping to capitalize on the Bitcoin mania by either trading or mining Bitcoin. As the pioneer coin of the digital currency world, BTC enjoys the largest market cap and market value with a single coin trading for almost $20,000 USD at its peak. It has since seen some heavy corrections this 2018 and 1 BTC now equates to $7,400 USD as of publishing.

With developers further improving on the blockchain technology started by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, different coins soon rose into existence. Today, there are over 1,368 alternative coins to choose from. While naysayers would say that it’s too late to trade in Bitcoin, many investors and traders believe that alt coins are to bring even bigger gains moving forward. This cryptocurrency converter shows the valuation of all digital coins against fiat money and BTC. For those looking to invest in cryptocurrency this 2018, these are the top coins with the most potential and are the best to invest in.

Monero

A popular misconception with Bitcoin is that it is anonymous and private. The reality is that Bitcoin transactions can actually be seen by the public. If a wallet address is known, all transactions made using that address can be viewed by the general public. For cryptocurrency users who value the privacy of transactions, Monero offers a way to use a stealth address and a cryptographic hash that can only be deciphered by the recipient and the sender. Furthermore, Monero separates transaction and records it into smaller transactions to make dealings harder to track. Launched in 2014, Monero has continued its development through donations with the help of the cryptocurrency community. Additionally, the currency’s anonymity feature made it popular with the darknet, where most illegal transactions happen, all the while boosting the coin’s growth.


Steem

Steem is a digital currency that powers Steemit, a social media blogging platform where users can monetize content. Steemit can be compared to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Instead of earning likes, RTs, and favorites for each post, users earn Steem for posting quality content. To make the social network run, Steem also boasts its transaction speed and fees. Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum where the transaction speed is based on how much pay for fees, Steem is an advanced blockchain that has no fees and a remarkable transaction speed of only three seconds.

Ethereum

Mostly known for introducing smart contracts, Ethereum is considered as the top alt coin with the second largest market capitalization next to Bitcoin. Smart contracts aim to execute the terms of a contract without the need for a third party while still being transparent and trustworthy. Unlike Bitcoin, which simply consists of sending and receiving tokens, Ethereum allows the users to set conditions as to when the tokens will be released. This feature is mostly appealing to businesses who have to deal with multiple transactions every day.

Siacoin

Based on the blockchain technology, Sia allows users to store files without the control of a third party company like Dropbox, iCloud, or Amazon. Unlike traditional storage providers, Sia is decentralized and users across the globe can rent or sell their storages in exchange for coins. The appeal of Sia as a storage platform lies in its decentralization. Since the files are stored in various locations, hackers will have a difficult time hacking the data all at once. Their prices are also relatively cheaper compared to those offered by existing competitors.

Ark

Ark is the token that supports the Ark ecosystem, which is a collection of blockchains linked to each other. Ark, with its flagship smart bridge technology, is able to communicate and take advantage of the technologies available to other blockchains. Like Ethereum, Ark also uses smart contracts and allows the creation of new tokens and blockchains. With regards to speed, Ark is one of the fastest coins in the industry with an eight-second transaction speed. Plans for optional privacy feature like in Monero and storage spaces like in Siacoin are also in place.

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