Top 10 Cryptos Explained: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, BCH, EOS, Stellar, LTC, Cardano, Tether, TRON
Bitcoin (BTC)
The original cryptocurrency and basically a form of electronic cash. It is a decentralized digital currency without a central bank or a single administrator. Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency and one that has the most adoption
Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain.
My opinion: Bitcoin will be around for a long time becuse of the current infrastructure but with time will probably lose dominance.
Ethereum (ETH)
Open-source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality. It provides a decentralized virtual machine, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)
Ether is a cryptocurrency whose blockchain is generated by the Ethereum platform. Ether can be transferred between accounts and used to compensate participant mining nodes
My opinion: Ethereum is one of my main holdings, it has more use cases than Bitcoin and has first mover advantage against other blockchains.
Ripple (XRP)
Specialist funds transfer systems, currency exchange and remittance network created by Ripple Labs Inc
It is built upon a distributed open source internet protocol, consensus ledger and the decentralized native digital asset is known as XRP. The network can operate without Ripple company.
My opinion: Ripple has some promising partnerships and is one of the most adopted cryptos but I feel like there are better options.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Just like Bitcoin Bitcoin Cash is a peer-to-peer electronic cash for the Internet. It is fully decentralized, with no central bank and requires no trusted third parties.
Bitcoin Cash is very similar to Bitcoin with only few minor differences mostly concentrating on scalability. At the time of implementation it supposed to deal with issue of high transaction cost of Bitcoin.
My opinion: Ever since Bitcoin fixed scalability and fees (segwit/LN) Bitcoin Cash lost it's purpose and since it has less adoption I see no reason to get it.
EOS (EOS)
EOS offers an operating-system-like set of tools and services for the creation, hosting and execution of commercial-grade dapps. EOS coin is the native currency within the system.
Often branded as 'Ethereum killer' EOS aims to do what Ethereum does – but in a new way with some major differences and more centralisation.
My opinion: EOS is already worth a lot based on speculation and while it might be widely adopted in the future I'm not a fan for now mostly due to centralisation
Stellar Lumens (XLM)
Stellar is a distributed hybrid blockchain platform that aims to help facilitate cross-asset transfer of value. XLM is a native currency on the platform.
They are aiming to be an open financial system that gives people of all income levels access to low-cost financial services. In many ways similar to Ripple but with less centralisation
My opinion: Due to lower valuation, IBM partnership and less centralised approach I value Stellar more than Ripple. Very solid choice.
Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin has plenty of similarities to Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash and is essentially a decentalised electronic cash system.
There are some small differences mostly with fees, processing speed and how the coins are created. Also Litecoin is one of the most adopted coins after Bitcoin and can be easily accepted where Bitcoin is accepted
My opinion: Litcoin has smaller fees and is faster than Bitcoin but I feel it doesn't offer enough differences to survive long term.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is a platform composed of a settlement layer to handle cryptocurrency transactions. And a computing layer which is built to handle smart contracts.
Cardano team claims that they are developing the most advanced smart contract platform with several improvements over existing ones.
My opinion: Cardano is showing a lot of potential with plenty of promising features but I do feel that the current valuation is inflated since the project is at early stages of development.
Tether (USDT)
Tether is a cryptocurrency that represents real currencies in a Blockchain market. It is basically stable money on a blockchain designed to always hold the value of the real life fiat money.
My opinion: Only useful during bear market when you are using it to store your assets without them losing value.
TRON (TRX)
Tron is a decentralized entertainment and content-sharing platform which uses blockchain and peer-to-peer (P2P) technology.
Tronix is the basic unit of accounts in Tron’s blockchain. It is the currency that pays the creators for their content, and is often referred to as its ticker symbol, ‘TRX’.
My opinion: There is alot of competition in this segment but Tron is the most popular one. I do feel the current valuation is too high for the development stage.