Cryptocurrency is all the rage and we don’t know a person who doesn’t know about this revolutionary digital currency. The digital currency is curated to operate as an exchange medium for digital assets or coins. With the evident popularity of digital currency, there are different types and forms of cryptocurrency that you must know to make sure you thrive in this evolving world!

Bitcoin

You must be living under a rock if you don’t know about Bitcoin because that’s where it all started. Bitcoin is one of the most common currencies out there and is an original cryptocurrency. Known as BTC, it was first launched in 2009 and gained popularity as open-source software. It first came out with a whitepaper which was launched with the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bitcoin is based on blockchain technology that allows users to create transparent transactions. In particular, it has peer-to-peer transactions and the users can check out the transactions and have a full record but everything is secured with a high-end algorithm in the blockchain. It’s already mentioned that everyone can see the transactions but only the owner has the power to decrypt it with the help of a private key that’s provided to the owner. You should also know that Bitcoin transaction is anonymous.

If you are concerned about the control, there is no centralized authority with Bitcoin because the users are the ones who control the transactions, be it sending or receiving. As a result, the transactions will be anonymous, irrespective of where they are taking place.

Litecoin

Litecoin was launched into the market in 2011 and it was launched as an alternative to Bitcoin. Also, just like other cryptocurrencies, Litecoin was designed to be an open-source and global payment network. In simpler words, it is based on this global payment network that’s fully decentralized, so there are no central authorities controlling the transactions.

For the longest time, it has become a topic of comparison, especially when Bitcoin is on the other side. However, Litecoin tends to have quicker transaction time and has an amazing coin limit. For instance, the current coin limit for Bitcoin is 21 million while the limit is 84 million for Litecoin. Litecoin also operates on the script while Bitcoin on SHA-256.

Ethereum

Created back in 2015, this is an open-source cryptocurrency that is based on blockchain technology, just like Bitcoin. It is focused on running the programming codes of the decentralized apps. As a result, it can be used by application developers to pay for the services and transaction fees on the network (yup, the Ethereum network).

Bitcoin Cash

Commonly known as BCH is the crypto world, this is a digital currency that was first designed to improve several aspects and features of Bitcoin. BCH has already managed to increase the block sizes, which promises faster processing of transactions, making it one of the leading choices.

Ethereum Classic

Termed as ETC, this is a special version of Ethereum blockchain and is known to run or operate smart contracts on decentralized platforms. For those who don’t know, smart contracts are basically the apps that run as programmed apps without any chances of downtime, fraud, third-party interference, and censorship. Also, it has a value token, known as the classic ether which is a promising way of paying for the services and products.

Zcash

Known as ZEC, this is a digital currency that was developed on the code base of Bitcoin and was conceived by Johns Hopkins and other scientists at MIT. Also, it is developed on decentralized blockchain technology but privacy is the most important aspect of this currency. The users can receive and send ZEC without disclosing information about the transacted amount, receiver, or sender.

Stellar Lumen

It usually goes by the name XLM as an intermediary currency that can easily support the currency transaction and exchange. It allows the users to send currencies that they own to another person in a different currency. This currency was launched by Jed McCaleb as an open-source network and it was first made in 2014 as a native currency!

Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision

This is BSV and it became a part of the cryptocurrency world as a result of the 2018 hard fork or split of the Bitcoin Cash. It can replicate the original functionality of Bitcoin, including the decentralization, and can be used for making payments!