The 21st-century unicorn – Cryptocurrency – is so benefiting to the investors that they started calling it the money of the future. Why not? It’s absolutely a gold mountain today that is making investors millionaire. This introduction explains how Bitcoin is popular and glorifies the most important thing about cryptocurrencies. Keep on reading to know like most other humans.
Today, cryptocurrencies have turned out to be a global phenomenon known to most of the people. How many of you know that cryptocurrencies emerged as a side product of another invention? A very few people are aware of this fact. Bitcoin is the first and still most important cryptocurrency. The unknown Bitcoin’s inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, was never intended to invent a currency. He mentioned in his announcement of Bitcoin in late 2008 that he developed a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Satoshi Nakamoto’s goal was to invent something that many people tried and failed to create before digital cash.
How Were Cryptocurrencies Discovered?
The single most imperative part of this invention was that Satoshi has found a secret way to put up a decentralized digital cash system. There have been many attempts made in the nineties to fabricate digital money but all the efforts have gone into vain till Satoshi made it possible. Before Satoshi, all of them keep a central entity in their digital cash system; but Satoshi Nakamoto was the one to think out-of-the-box and build the system without a central entity just like a peer-to-peer network for file sharing. This is the sole decision which gives birth to the cryptocurrency. Although the digital cash is so technical and complex, if you get it you will know more about cryptocurrencies.
So, let’s give it a shot to make it easier for understanding:
To realize digital cash in detail, you need a payment network with accounts and balance for making transactions. The system with central entity or server will have the ability to keep the record and transaction details along with balances. As there’s no central entity of decentralized Bitcoin network; and thus, you need every single entity’s help of the network to do the job. Each peer in the network desires to have a list with all transaction details to check if the future transactions are valid or an attempt to double spend.
How These Entities Keep a Consensus about the Records?
If one of the peers from the network disagrees regarding one single minor balance, everything is fallen apart. They need an absolute consensus to work without any break. Usually, a central entity helps to declare the correct state of balances. But how can you achieve consensus in a decentralized network and that too without having central entity? Nobody did know until Satoshi Nakamoto emerged out of nowhere with the model. No one believes that it was even possible in fact. But Satoshi proved it can. His major invention was to achieve consensus without having a central entity. Cryptocurrencies are a part of this solution which is thrilling, fascinating and at the same time helped it to roll over the world.
Existence of Cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin
Bitcoin today is the trendsetter, leading the wave of cryptocurrencies built on the decentralized peer-to-peer network and turned out to be the de facto standards for cryptocurrencies. Inspired by Bitcoin, the currencies made over the period are collectively called altcoins and have tried to justify their significance as modified or improved Bitcoin versions. While some of the cryptocurrencies are easier to mine than Bitcoin is, there are tradeoffs including greater risk brought on by lesser liquidity, value retention, and acceptance. Since the price per Bitcoin is soaring new highs, there are other cryptocurrencies have started to add to this virtual gold mine.
Also Read: Meet the Richest Cryptocurrency World
List of Cryptocurrencies Other than Bitcoin:
Litecoin (LTC):
Litecoin was introduced to the world in 2011 and has become the first cryptocurrency to follow Bitcoin chain. Often Litecoins are symbolized as silver to Bitcoin’s gold. An MIT graduate, Charlie Lee, coupled with former Google engineer has created Litecoin which is entirely based on an open source global payment network concept. Litecoin doesn’t have any central entity and uses the script as a proof-of-work which can only be decoded with the help of CPUs of consumer grade. Though Litecoin is similar to Bitcoin in many ways, it comes with an upgraded version which makes block generation rate faster and hence offers a faster transaction confirmation. Today, there is an increasing number of merchants other than developers who accept Litecoin globally.
Ethereum (ETH):
Ethereum was launched in 2015. With a decentralized software platform, Ethereum enables smart contracts and distributed applications to be built and run without any downtime, control, fraud or interference from a third party. The applications on Ethereum are run on its platform-specific cryptographic token called Ether. It is like a vehicle for moving around on the Ethereum platform and is popular among developers mostly seeking to develop and run applications inside Ethereum.
Ripple (XRP):
While much of the cryptocurrency space was created in disobedience of the traditional banking space, the intent of Ripple has always been to help the sector, exclusively by facilitating global payments. Ripple is a real-time global settlement network that offers certain, instant and inexpensive international payments.
Other than these three cryptocurrencies in this 21st century, there are some more getting added to the list frequently and are named as Zcash (ZEC), Darkcoin (Dash), and Monero (XMR). Bitcoin, however, continues to lead the pack of cryptocurrencies in terms of user base, market capitalization, and popularity. Going by the current trend, cryptocurrencies are here to stay but how many of them will emerge leaders amid the growing competition within the space will only be coming into the limelight with passing time.
Some Great Cryptocurrency Investors to Follow:
Looking for some advice about cryptocurrencies? Check out the important voices to follow from those who have put their millions of money where their mouth is. Globally residing investors who have poured large sums of their money into cryptocurrencies are not just telling other people what to do. They have real skin in the money-making game. Seeing and following them, you can be confident that they really do have faith in trendsetting digital currencies.
Major Cryptocurrency Investors Ready to Share What They’re Doing!
Marc Van Der Chijs:
He knows an emerging opportunity is knocking his door when he sees cryptocurrency for the first time. Marc used to be based in China where his investments included tudou.com – a Chinese YouTube. Later after moving to Canada, he has started digging the cryptocurrency world and is now the director of FirstCoin.com, an investment bank for token and coin offerings. Follow him for an optimistic but pragmatic view of cryptocurrency.
Ari Paul:
The CIO and co-founder of BlockTower Capital – a specialized cryptocurrency investment company – Ari Paul is in investment management prior to starting cryptocurrency investment. He also keeps himself with managing a blogging site (TheCryptocurrencyInvestor.com) about crypto investing. It’s a website that every cryptocurrency holder should bookmark now.
The Winklevoss Twins
Though the world remembers them for accusing Mark Zuckerberg as the thief for stealing their idea of a social network, they are now the successor of Gemini which is a cryptocurrency trading platform. When bitcoin value was worth $120 in 2013, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have bought $11 million worth of coins. That purchase has since made them among the first Bitcoin billionaires.
Besides, there are many other cryptocurrency investors today to follow, and each one of them has a different story to hear and a path to follow.
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