If you are thinking about investing in cryptocurrency, you may be wondering which is the best coin to invest in.
A ‘cryptocurrency’ can be defined as virtual or digital money that takes the form of tokens or coins. The ‘crypto’ refers to the complicated cryptography which allows for the creation of these coins. They are also, usually decentralized, meaning that they are free from government manipulation and control.
There are now over 2,000 types of cryptocurrency. If you are struggling to understand them all, here is a list of the … most common cryptocurrencies. Once you have picked the cryptocurrency (or cryptocurrencies) you want to trade, make sure you set up a wallet and join a cryptocurrency exchange like Crypto Genius.
- Bitcoin
This is, by far, the most popular type of cryptocurrency, and is considered by many to be the first cryptocurrency ever created. It was developed in 2008 by an unknown group called ‘Satoshi Nakatomo’. At the time of its launch, it was worth less than $0.08. Now, it is worth nearly $13,000.
Although bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrencies, with over 5 million people owning bitcoin wallets, it is very volatile. If you are thinking about investing in this currency, make sure you are certain about what you are doing.
- Ethereum
Although Ethereum has just around 1/10th of the market cap of bitcoin, it is still one of the biggest cryptocurrencies. Ethereum is a decentralized system that enables smart contracts and decentralized apps. For example, users can trade and sell without having to go through a bank or can skip using lawyers to draw up a sales contract. This can greatly reduce the risk of fraud.
Ethereum created ether, its cryptocurrency, as an incentive for people to use their platform, which can be expensive to run. Now it can be bought as a cryptocurrency that can be invested or traded.
- Ripple
Ripple is both a platform and a currency. Ripple’s platform connects banks and big institutions and allows them to send money globally. Its cryptocurrency, Ripple XRP, is used for all transactions.
One of the main benefits of Ripple is that it is speedy. Unlike bitcoin, which can only handle about 7 transactions per second, Ripple can handle 1,500. This cryptocurrency also offers very low transaction fees, making it even easier to transfer money all across the globe.
At the time of writing, Ripple was worth just $0.25 per token. It is a cheap currency to invest in, but it might not reap rewards for a long time.
- Litecoin
Litecoin was an early bitcoin spinoff, and has been called ‘the silver to bitcoin’s gold’. Although it does have a lot of similarities, it offers much faster transaction rates than bitcoin.
It is the 6th largest cryptocurrency in the world, and is currently worth about $59, making it the 6th largest cryptocurrency in the world.
