The currency of the future? The popular Bitcoin competitors

 

The currency of the future? The popular Bitcoin competitors

Doubts are growing about the future of the most famous cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. At the same time, more and more alternatives are emerging - at the moment there are more than 1000 alternatives.

After a rapid soar, the value of Bitcoin has meanwhile collapsed. Slow transactions, exorbitant electricity consumption, and impending regulations are raising more and more doubts about the future of the most famous cryptocurrency.

But the technology behind it is attracting interest even from central banks. One hopes for a great benefit, said the head of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi. At the same time, new Bitcoin alternatives with different properties are constantly emerging -Now there are over a thousand. Here are six examples currently popular with the community:

ISSUE 2: After Bitcoin, ether is the second-largest cryptocurrency by total value.

Currently, all Ethereum "coins" in circulation are worth around $ 99 billion. Ether is particularly suitable for so-called smart contracts. Contractually agreed payments flow automatically. For example, the flight cancellation insurance holder can automatically receive a payout when a cancellation is registered in the air traffic database. The customer no longer needs to report a claim for damages and the insurance no longer has to investigate the case. The principle is currently being tested in many industries.

THE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY: Peercoins are considered a climate-friendly alternative to Bitcoin, the operation of which eats up more and more computing power - and thus electricity. The example of Iceland shows how serious the problem is: According to the energy company HS Orka, the Bitcoin producers located there are likely to consume more electricity this year than all Icelandic private households put together. There is no eco-problem with peer coins. Here, the security of the network does not depend on the computing power of the participants. However,

 

Peercoin has not yet arrived in broad terms. The environmentally friendly cyber currency ranks 159 out of around 1500 cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of around 125 million dollars. THE FAVORITE OF BANKS: Some crypto fans already consider Ripple to be a possible replacement for the so-called Swift system, which is usually used to process payments between financial institutions. According to the inventors from California, Ripple can process an average of 1500 transactions per second, with a single payment process taking around 4 seconds. Some large financial institutions such as the Spanish Santander Bank or the Swiss UBS are now taking advantage of this. The total value of all Ripple coins was last around 50 billion dollars.

THE MACHINE CURRENCY: Thanks to digital networking, household appliances, and industrial machines can increasingly trade independently. For example, if the home refrigerator registers that it is running out of milk, it will automatically order more. When it comes to payment, Iota can come into play, because the cryptocurrency is particularly suitable for a large number of transactions with small amounts. In addition, there are no costs for the transfers. With a total value of around 5 billion dollars, Iota is currently the 10th most important cyber-coin.

THE ANONYMOUS: The cryptocurrency Dash offers its users special discretion. Due to a special obfuscation technique, the transactions in the blockchain cannot be publicly tracked - a welcome benefit for many. Critics warn, however, that Dash attracts criminals. In addition, there was skepticism that the Dash developers programmed the algorithm in such a way that a large amount of the cyber coins initially flowed into their own pockets. Because of the criticism, the currency has already been renamed twice. With a total value of over 6 billion dollars, it is still one of the most important currencies in the crypto universe.

A particular is now taking restrictive action against cryptocurrencies. But they are also increasingly coming into focus in Europe. That should be one of the reasons why Cardano has now risen to the top 5 of the cryptocurrencies. (DPA)LEGAL COMPLIANCE: The still very young cryptocurrency Cardano is seen by some crypto fans as a bearer of hope because its inventors claim to be able to react and adapt particularly flexibly to government regulations. The topic of regulation has recently come into focus. China, Japan, and South Korea in 

Ethereum

Peercoin

Ripple

IOTA

Dash

Cardano.