Bitcoin has become the standard for cryptocurrencies, with more and more people using it and making their versions. It was the first cryptocurrency to use a peer-to-peer network without a central server. Its success made it possible for many others to do the same.
Since Bitcoin isn’t the only option, knowing which other cryptocurrencies do well is essential. Some of these coins are still in circulation even though their prices have gone up and down a lot.
You may have heard of a few lesser-known cryptocurrencies, but Bitcoin is the most well-known and has been around the longest. Ethereum and Litecoin are two of the most famous altcoins. Still, there are hundreds of them, each with its own goals, values, benefits, and drawbacks.
If you want to get into crypto or think that Bitcoin’s bubble could burst soon, you should know about some of the most popular alternatives.
1. Ethereum
One could say that, after Bitcoin, Ethereum is the second most important cryptocurrency. It is also one of the most traded digital currencies. Some optimistic people have even said that ETH will surpass BTC as the future’s most valuable and traded cryptocurrency.
This argument is based on the fact that the most interesting new crypto technologies can be found on Ethereum. It also has several partnerships with businesses on and off the blockchain. As crypto and blockchain use overgrows over the next few years, both will significantly affect the price of ETH.
Ethereum is the essential cryptocurrency right now because of how well it has done and how much it is expected to grow. For example, by the time it reached its all-time high of $4,890 in late 2021, its ICO price had risen by almost 16,300 times. Also, its value is expected to go up by another 750% by the end of the decade, reaching over $100,000.
2. Bitcoin cash
Bitcoin Cash is one of the best cryptocurrencies. It is a branch that successfully split off from the original Bitcoin. It was made in 2017 as an alternative to Bitcoin that would be faster, safer, and more secure than Bitcoin itself. Bitcoin cash was created because Bitcoin’s high miner fees and slow transaction processing times made it hard to use.
Bitcoin Cash is now ten times faster than Bitcoin. It can handle more than 100 transactions per second, while Bitcoin can only take a maximum of 10. More block space and the fact that BCH isn’t used as much have made it so that transactions on the blockchain only cost a small fraction of a penny.
People who think BCH will do well believe that as crypto or blockchain technology improves, users and institutions that want speed and efficiency will move toward the Bitcoin split. They think this will be a big reason BCH will go up by as much as 10% by the end of the decade.
3. Tether
The dollar is tied to Tether. Because it is what’s called a “stablecoin.” The value of the Tether is linked to the value of the US dollar. Tether is often used as a bridge when switching from one cryptocurrency to another. They don’t go back to dollars. Instead, they use Tethers. But many people are wary of Tether because dollars don’t back it in reserve. Instead, it is a short-term debt that doesn’t have to be paid back.
4. Cardano
Cardano differs from Bitcoin because it doesn’t use a Proof of Work algorithm. Instead, it uses a Proof of Stake algorithm. Without getting too technical, this means that a security system similar to Bitcoin’s is in place, with the same goals of ethical and sustainable development and almost no adverse environmental effects. Cardano has a vast supply of 45 billion ADA, which is still a problem but won’t be considered “in demand” for a while. This may be why it isn’t as popular as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Cardano’s long-term goal is to become the world’s best financial operating system. Whether or not it gets there by solving problems like voter fraud and tracking legal contracts is still up in the air. It’s the eighth most significant cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Still, people are just starting to use it, like with Litecoin and other currencies that have been around longer.
5. XRP
Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency is only used on the 2012-launched XRP payment network and XRP ledger. The XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol, used for consensus and validation, doesn’t use either proof-of-work or proof-of-stake. Instead, clients sign transactions and send them to servers that are part of the distributed ledger. The servers will look at the transactions carefully and decide if they should be added to the log.
After the servers send candidates for a transaction, validators check to make sure the servers are correct before adding the candidates to the ledger.
6. Stellar
Stellar is different from most other cryptocurrencies because it was made to be a blockchain that can handle huge transactions, like those between investment firms and banks. Before XLM, this kind of crypto transaction could take days or weeks and cost a lot of money. Now, XLM has made it almost instantaneous.
Even with this application, anyone who wants to use the blockchain can still do so. This includes anyone who wants to make a substantial transaction in almost any country’s currency. Stellar is proud to be backed by the Stellar Development Foundation, whose money helps people from even the poorest countries participate in the global economy.
7. Polkadot
The rapid rise of Polkadot to one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap has more than one goal. It stores blockchains and makes it easy for them to talk to each other, ensuring they are safe and handling their transactions. It also links the Polkadot blockchain to the blockchains of other networks, such as Ethereum and Bitcoin. Even though Polkadot is still considered a popular currency, many people no longer trust it after a disastrous hacking attack in 2017.
On the cryptocurrency market, there is nothing like it, but on the other hand, it doesn’t have any serious competitors. In contrast to Bitcoin and Ethereum, Polkadot wants to make it easier for dApps to be built and for blockchains to work together. Even if you don’t like Polkadot, it might be interesting to learn more about it.
8. Binance Coin
You may already know about Binance, the best place to buy and sell crypto, and Binance Coin, its cryptocurrency. BNB is used on the site to pay for a listing, exchange, and withdrawal fees. It was meant to be a temporary incentive for early platform users by giving those who used BNB a discount on transaction fees. However, this discount, which can be as high as 25% for some transactions, is still available today.
Another reason it’s so popular is that, unlike Bitcoin, there will never be more than 200 million BNB coins made. It is still a vast amount of money, but Binance has burned currency to increase demand even more. This happens every once in a while to keep people interested in buying and holding on to the currency.
Binance has so many users that Binance Coin can be used for many things. It can be used for everything a Visa card can be used for, like buying something, paying bills, earning interest, and trading.
9. Dogecoin
Dogecoin was the first “meme coin,” made from a picture of a confused Shiba Inu in a meme. Everyone was shocked by how quickly it rose to fame. Since then, businesses like SpaceX and Kronos have used it more and more. It may be because of Elon Musk. Due to its design, Dogecoin is a funny alternative to more severe cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Up to 10,000 new coins can be “mined” every minute. But this could be why it changed so much. But since Dogecoin is wholly based on Litecoin, any changes to Litecoin are also reflected in Dogecoin.
It makes Dogecoin the best cryptocurrency to look into if you’re starting. Its long-lasting popularity maybe because it was made to be easy to use and not because it did anything new.
10. Monero
Monero, one of the best-known cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies, came out in 2014 with a focus on keeping user privacy safe. Like Bitcoin, it mainly uses blockchain technology. Still, it improves on it with “Ring Signature” and “Stealth Address” to make network transactions more private.
We put this controversial digital content on our list of important cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin because it protects the privacy of its users. It’s possible that Monero will keep getting more popular as the use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies grows, and people want more privacy.
We put it on our list of the best Bitcoin alternatives because it has been around for a long time and has a very bright future. Even during the worst market crashes, it has been going up, and the data suggests it will keep going up for the foreseeable future.
Summary
Bitcoin has changed the way money works. But Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency you should think about.
Two well-known cryptocurrency platforms, Ethereum and Cardano, have taken the financial and investment worlds by storm.
Based on how fast technology is getting better, it looks like this is just the beginning. The ten digital assets listed above are the most well-known alternatives to Bitcoin, whose prices will likely go up soon. If you’re a new investor looking for alternatives to Bitcoin, you might want to look at the above digital assets.
But it would help if you kept in mind that the cryptocurrency market is still young and hard to predict. Before putting down a lot of money, investors should look into and evaluate a coin’s past performance.
Bitcoin isn’t the only choice out there, for sure. As you can see, many good options exist in the cryptocurrency world. Many of these coins aren’t even trying to replace Bitcoin.