Cryptocurrencies are still a big buzz even in 2021 which has been quite financially volatile for investments. These types of currencies are intended to be independent of government exploitation and control. After the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of people lost their faith in the state’s ability to control the situation and offer stability, therefore more and more investors turned their eyes towards alternative currencies and commodities that are not under the state’s influence.
For quite some years, there have been quite a lot of cryptocurrencies on the market, accepted by more and more businesses in transactions, facilitating fast and secure trades.
Bitcoin is the most popular currency since it has been on the market for more than a decade and now it’s even accepted in the gambling industry, one of the largest consumer markets in the world. Players can use cryptocurrencies at any online gambling india sites making safe, fast, and most important, anonymous transactions.
Because the market has changed a bit and there are so many new crypto platforms and currencies emerging we decided to talk a little bit about the most popular and the ones that are definitely worthy of an investment.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin appeared officially on the market somewhere in 2008 or 2009 and was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto which is actually a pseudonym as the real name or the identity of the creator is unknown. This currency is very simple and it’s based on a peer-to-peer network without intermediaries. It also doesn’t have any sort of central bank or administrator.
The price is self-regulated since network nodes use cryptography technology to verify transactions. After verification, these transactions are registered in a public ledger called a blockchain.
By 2010, some businesses had already started accepting this currency and by 2013 Bitcoin was already worth $22.
In 2021, this currency started to go down after a hint that Testa will sell all its Bitcoin holdings and not accept it as a valid payment method anymore. At this moment Bitcoin dropped to near half of its worth and since 19 of May 2021, buying Bitcoin was blocked on all trade platforms. While its price is still very high, Bitcoin is currently going through a rough period and has high volatility.
Litecoin
Litecoin is a cryptocurrency that came on the market at the end of 2011 and was invented by Charlie Lee who is the former Google and Coinbase engineer. This cryptocurrency was designed to be a cheaper version of Bitcoin. It has exactly the same codebase as Bitcoin but new blocks are created twice as fast. Only about 84 million Litecoins will ever be created, four times more than Bitcoin.
Bitcoin processing time for one block is 10 minutes while Litecoin aims to cut that time to as little as 2.5 minutes. Right now Litecoin stays around $200 per piece with a market capitalization of $12.8 billion. It’s far less volatile than Bitcoin and a good investment for the future.
Ethereum
Ether is a bit different from other cryptocurrencies. It is built on top of the open-source Ethereum blockchain and it involves smart transactions which power up smart contracts. Usually, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are just a unit of currency that is based on a peer-to-peer transaction network. Ethereum is used for decentralized finance and produces exchangeable tokens.
Because of this, Ether is not capped like other cryptocurrencies and its supply is determined by the number of members in Ehtereum’s community.
This cryptocurrency is the second largest after Bitcoin and its capital is around $195.54 billion, recorded on 20 March 2021.
Ether is one of the most stable cryptocurrencies on the market, sitting right now around $2,800. It operates differently than other cryptocurrencies so it’s impossible to predict its future, however, based on its history and evolution, Ether will most likely remain the most stable one.
Cardano
Cardano is the first cryptocurrency ever to be founded on peer-reviewed research. It is considered to have the best security out of all cryptocurrencies on the market and increased sustainability. The platform has three separate bodies responsible for its development and maintenance and its coin is called ADA.
The one that started the whole Cardano project is Charles Hoskinson, who is also one of the co-founders of Ethereum and BitShares.
ADA is now around $2 and has been at this price for quite some time. Its increased security and stability attract many investors. The price has not gone up too much but this cryptocurrency can be considered a real option for all those who prefer stability.
Ripple
Ripple is very different from any other cryptocurrency or platform. It is a real-time gross system and remittance network that also deals with currency exchange. It was created by Ripple Labs Inc and started the initial coin offering on the market in 2012. The platform is built upon an open-source protocol and supports tokens representing anything from cryptocurrencies, commodities, fiat currencies, and any other units of value.
Rippled had some issues in 2020 being accused of selling XRP tokens, however, it still remains one of the most stable currencies and platforms sitting at around $1 for multiple months in a row without many ups and downs. Another key element to Ripple’s stability is the fact that it collaborates with large banking operators including Bank of America.
Final Words
Without a doubt, cryptocurrencies have gained a lot of popularity and the evolution of technology allows faster improvements to an already rapidly-growing market. There are new platforms, systems, and currencies appearing each year and they are gaining more power, even if some classical financial systems would do anything to stop them.
If you are looking to invest your money in something that the state has no control over, any of the systems above are a great choice.
