Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that’s been with us for quite some time. Since it first appeared, its value wasn’t that big and it was literally worthless. However, in the past few months, Bitcoin’s worth is much, much higher. I understand the hype over this bad boy, but hey, can you rely on a different cryptocurrency and what cryptocurrencies should you use instead of Bitcoin? Well, that’s what we are going to talk about today. I’ll give you the 10 best Bitcoin alternatives and the list is just below.
1. Litecoin
Litecoin was launched in 2011 and it was created by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer. Its worth isn’t even close to Bitcoin, but it’s a part of an open-source global payment network similar to those that use Bitcoin. This means that it’s not controlled by any central authority, so you can pay and receive Litecoins without any fees. Sure, Bitcoin is much more popular, but we now have many merchants and developers that accept Litecoin, so there’s a hope for this cryptocurrency in the future.
2. Ethereum
Unlike Litecoin, Ethereum launched in 2015, but still, it’s one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. The main mission of Ethereum is to present decentralized tools for the world to use. But, how does it work? Well, unlike Bitcoin’s blockchain technology limitation, Ethereum is a platform that allows anyone to use decentralized apps using pre-existing blockchain technology. The users can also create their own decentralized apps, meaning that the developers can easily build applications without the need to build a blockchain first.
3. Dash
Dash is directly inspired by Bitcoin and it’s focused mainly on payments. Using a decentralized master code, Dash is here to provide you much more anonymity than Bitcoin, which is a plus. Furthermore, Dash can be mined using both GPU and CPU, unlike Bitcoin which relies solely on GPU power. It’s much easier to get a hold of, but its value isn’t even close to Bitcoin. If you value security over its worth, then Dash is probably the best option for you.
4. Zcash
Zcash launched about a year ago and the goal of this cryptocurrency is to offer maximum anonymity. Their ultimate goal, however, is to build an economic platform where no one can be excluded. So, how does Zcash manages to stay “private”? Unlike Bitcoin transactions which can be traced, Zcash offers you an option to hide your transaction. This means that no info about the buyer, amount of cash transferred, seller or the time of the transaction can be found and traced. Woah, that sounds great! Yes… and no, as only a small amount of transactions are hidden due to the high computational power required to process every single transaction.
5. Ripple
Ripple is still quite a fresh cryptocurrency released in 2012. This real-time global network has a goal of enabling the banks to settle cross-border payments in real time, at lower costs. Well, that’s what they say! On top of that, Ripple doesn’t require any kind of mining, saving you a lot of energy costs and your beloved GPU and CPU. Basically, Ripple is all about speed and efficiency when it comes to your payments, and that’s great.
6. NEO
NEO is an open-source network that allows for creating decentralized apps and smart contracts. Hey, wait, isn’t that Ethereum? Both yes and no. Think of NEO as a Chinese Ethereum. The reason for this is that NEO is backed by the Chinese government, unlike Ethereum who is backed up by no one. However, simplicity isn’t on NEO’s side. It has its own language called Solidity which you first must learn in order to write apps. But don’t let that steer you away from NEO; it still supports languages like Java and C#.
7. Monero
Monero is for those that value security over anything. That sounds very familiar and reminds a lot of Zcash. Both of those networks are private, and most importantly, both of them CLAIM to be completely private. Is that some trick or what? No, it isn’t any kind of trick, but a great way to secure your payments and make them untraceable. This means that every transaction you made and every account you create is completely private and only you know the info. Unlike Zcash that offers an option to make a transaction private, Monero automatically makes all of your activities private, like it or not.
8. Safecoin
As its name says, Safecoin is a digital token distributed by the certain algorithms inside the safe network. That means that the info about its distribution isn’t accessible by anyone, even human beings who aren’t involved in the process. The whole concept of Safecoin is recycling, meaning that there will be a limited amount of Safecoins available for the users and they can be exchanged for network services in order to ensure availability.
9. Primecoin
Primecoin is a derivative from Satoshi’s Bitcoin and it’s a very authentic cryptocurrency. It’s tightly secured by cryptography and can only be issued through a centralized mining market. So yes, you’ll have to do some mining to get Primecoin. You probably think that Primecoin is very similar to Bitcoin, but it actually isn’t, except being a cryptocurrency. As the developers say, Primecoin is “energy-multiuse” unlike Bitcoin. One is sure, and that’s security, which is a stronger side of Primecoin. As for the existence, we still don’t know if there’s an unlimited number of them.
10. Stellar
Created in 2014, Stellar is another open-source network that allows for quick and efficient payments. You can use Stellar to pay in various currencies like Australian and US dollars or quickly convert your payment from one currency to another. Security-wise, Stellar relies on the use of Lumens in order to pay fees regarding transfer of other currencies. This helps to prevent DDoS attacks from external malicious users and works pretty well here. Lumens isn’t exactly the most valuable cryptocurrency, but it does a fine job of keeping Stellar safe and secure place for your cash.