In 2009, the first virtual currency bitcoin was developed by an anonymous name Satoshi Nakamoto. Before this, many attempts have been made to create cryptocurrencies but failed. Thanks to blockchain technology and bitcoin, which made it possible by solving the double-spending problem. 

Unlike traditional currencies, Bitcoin can be transferred very fast from one place to another without the help of banks. Furthermore, it also has very low transaction fees, even for cross-border transactions. 

The only concern with bitcoin is if you lose them, you can’t recover your fund. So it’s recommended to store in a hardware wallet. Again, it set a record in the investment world, and nobody has ever thought that it would give such high-returns. 

Bitcoin fascinates investors, but the problem is it has a high valuation in the market now. However, are there any crypto coins which can be used as alternatives to Bitcoin. In this article, I will be sharing some major alternative cryptocurrencies for bitcoin.

Alternative Cryptocurrencies for Bitcoin

In fact, there are thousands of cryptocurrencies, but here are the top 5 digital coins other than bitcoin. Apart from investment, the following digital currencies are used for many real-world applications.

● Ethereum
● Ripple
● Dash
● Litecoin
● NEM

Now let us discuss each cryptocurrency and what they are useful for. If you want to discover more digital coins, you can find them on the website bitcoin blueprint. 

1. Ethereum

Ethereum is popular for providing smart contract solutions to industries. It is also a decentralized network like other altcoins and also backed by blockchain technology. It came into existence in 2015 and the second-largest crypto network in the world after bitcoin in terms of market capitalization. 

Ethereum is an open-source platform and allows developers to offer decentralized software and applications. It rewards the miners with Ether, which is the digital token used for the Ethereum network. 

The digital token used in the network for different operations, and it can also be for exchanging it with other cryptocurrencies. That means you can buy bitcoin or other altcoins with ether. 

2. Ripple

Unlike bitcoin and Ethereum, Ripple does not require mining. It is one of the best alternatives to bitcoin and is mainly used for cross-border transactions. Ripple is helping the economy by providing a suitable platform for banks for international payments. 

It was developed in 2012, and since then, there is no mining of this digital coin. The total number of digital coins were already mined. As a result, the latency of payments is reduced, and it enables faster transactions. 

3. Dash

Dash is the largest blockchain network due to the highest number of master nodes. It was launched in 2014, and it became one of the most secure blockchain networks.

The platform provides better service to the users, and it rewards the miners for securing the blockchain network. The miners are also rewarded for securing the master nodes and validating transactions. 

4. Litecoin

Litecoin was developed by a former Google engineer Charles Lee. He developed it under the license of MIT, and it is an open-source platform. One of the best advantages of the network is it can be mined with normal computer hardware.

Litecoin is one of the best blockchain networks that allows instant global payments to its users. Mathematics is used for securing the network, and it offers users to control their digital money. 

It is one of the best cryptocurrencies due to its faster transactions and good storage efficiency. The supply limit of Litecoin is 84 million, which is four times the bitcoin supply limit. 

5. NEM

NEM is also a peer-to-peer network that was designed with Java in 2015. This is providing many features in the updated version. The features include multi-signature accounts, proof of importance algorithm, and encrypted messaging. The blockchain network is now integrated with Mijin, which is a commercial blockchain. 

Conclusion 

No doubt, bitcoin has been on the top position in terms of market capitalization since its inception, but the above cryptocurrencies also have potential in the future. If you want to invest in cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin, consider the list of altcoins mentioned above. 

Hopefully, the above information has helped you to know about the top five cryptocurrencies other than bitcoins. If you have any queries, ask them in the comment section and share your thoughts on this post.