The idea to have a sole internet currency that can be used all over the world was thought up by Satoshi Nakamoto, who released Bitcoin in 2009. Since then, the blockchain-based currency has grown in stature and boomed in price. It was virtually worthless, to begin with, but at its peak was being traded at over $19,000. The question is, will it be adopted on a global scale and one day negate the need for fiat currencies? The problem for Bitcoin is the fact that it has inspired a number of other cryptocurrencies, which are now vying for top spot. Could this be another case of Betamax and VHS where the original is usurped by a newer copy with a similar design?
Litecoin
Litecoin was one of the original forks of the Bitcoin chain, which occurred in 2011. It is technically nearly identical to its forefather but has a much larger supply limit of 84 million LTC to 21 million BTC. It also has a decreased block generation time of 2.5 minutes to Bitcoin’s ten minutes. For these reasons, the currency founded by former Google employee Charlie Lee has been dubbed the silver to bitcoin’s gold.
Because of the size of Litecoin in comparison to Bitcoin, experts believe it should be worth about 25 percent of the value of its predecessor. As it stands, though, the altcoin is only worth around 2 percent of Nakamoto’s currency. This could mean that now is the perfect time to invest in Litecoin because going by this theory it should be worth over $2000 at the time of writing. Between its inception and 2017, Litecoin did very little, remaining virtually worthless and unheard of.
But early last year the coin was added to the world famous cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and this brought it into the spotlight. In fact, Litecoin was in the top ten rising coins of 2017 with a 5046 percent gain. In mid-December, the coin hit a high of $375, highlighting its potential not just as an alternative to Bitcoin, but as a challenger. With its speedy transaction times, Litecoin has the capacity to be used for day-to-day payments, while Bitcoin has become a great option for moving larger sums of money.
EOS
EOS is a newcomer to the cryptocurrency scene, but people are getting extremely excited about its potential. It’s currently a token on the Ethereum network, but on June 1 will be released as its own open source software. Anyone holding it now needs to register their tokens before that date. According to Betway Casino, Ethereum has been the smarter choice for cryptocurrency enthusiasts to date due to its faster transaction times and smart contracts. But EOS is now being touted as a more advanced alternative to Vitalik Buterin’s coin. In fact, the newer platform is similar to Ethereum in many ways, but it aims to surpass its predecessor by solving the scalability issues and eliminating all fees for users.
Fans of Ethereum will certainly be interested in investing in EOS, as the newer currency has been dubbed the “Ethereum Killer” with some believing that Buterin’s platform could be rendered obsolete. The fact that Ethereum is yet to gain mass adoption could work in the favor of EOS. If the new currency can prove to do all the same things as Ethereum and more, it might boom. The picture is likely to become a lot clearer after it is released properly in June.
OmiseGo
Among some of the most exciting cryptocurrencies on the market is OmiseGo, and it has been backed by Ethereum founder Buterin for success. OMG is a subsidiary of Omise, a leading online payment provider in Southeast Asia. The developers have been working alongside the Ethereum community since it began in 2015, and the coin is designed to combat the scalability issues of Ethereum. It also has a heavy focus on enabling payments and transactions in crypto and fiat currencies.
In a big recent move, OmiseGo has collaborated with two of the top financial institutions in South Korea, Shinhan, and Woori. The huge banks will use OMG’s blockchain platform to execute their transactions. The company has also struck a deal with the government of Thailand to develop a payment and identification system for the country using its blockchain. These steps could pave the way for mass adoption in the near future, and with the currency currently trading around the $18 mark, it could be an ideal time to get involved.
Of course, anyone wanting to invest money into cryptocurrencies should understand that it’s a purely speculative market. There is a chance that none of these coins will ever come into widespread usage and the money people have invested could be lost. There is no denying the potential of these Bitcoin rivals, though, and those HODLing the coins now could reap the rewards later down the line.
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