Bitcoin was first introduced in 2009 primarily to offer a cheaper alternative to the US dollar for international transactions. Since their introduction, cryptocurrencies have raised controversies, experienced resistance, and have seen both ups and downs. However, no amount of debate and opposition could threaten its existence. It thrived over the years, and the crypto world has grown exponentially in the past two decades. The market that started with only one crypto coin now has more than 15,000 cryptocurrencies. Here we talk about the 3 most popular cryptocurrencies currently dominating the market.
Bitcoin (BTC)
A pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency ever introduced in the market. Many consider Bitcoin the most reliable and valued digital currency. Bitcoin’s proof-of-work blockchain serves as a template to create other cryptocurrencies. Since its inception, Bitcoin has attracted millions of investments and has seen colossal growth. The supply of Bitcoin is somewhat limited and only 21 million Bitcoin will ever be mined. The price of crypto has skyrocketed during the last few years with the growing popularity of investment in digital currencies. In 2016, the price of a single Bitcoin was around $500. In five years, it has increased to $44,000.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is the second-largest name in the crypto world. Russian-Canadian program developer Vitalik Buterin and British computer scientist Gavin Wood introduced Ethereum in 2014. The USP of the Ethereum blockchain platform is its ability to enable smart contracts within decentralized applications. This feature makes Ethereum immensely popular among programmers. Many use the blockchain platform to build the most decentralized finance projects. It is still undetermined the total number of Ethereum coins that they will mint; the community members will decide it in due course of time. Ethereum will soon move from the proof-of-work mechanism to the proof-of-stake-mechanism. Like Bitcoin, Ethereum has also experienced exponential growth over the last few years. In 2016, you could buy a coin for only $11, and now in 2022, the price for a single Ethereum coin is more than $3,000.
Litecoin (LTC)
Charlie Lee, a former Google employee, created Litecoin as a faster alternative to Bitcoin. Lee introduced Litecoin in 2011 and it grew in popularity ever since. In the case of Bitcoin, a new block can be created at a 10-minute interval; with Litecoin, the block generation is four times faster. Litecoin also relies on the proof-of-work mechanism but operates on a different algorithm. Individual investors prefer LTC because mining is easier. The supply of LTC is significantly high as they will mint 84 million Litecoin. The price of LTC has been unstable in recent years, and the price swing was considerably high.
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