The cryptocurrency market is a big deal these days and not as unfamiliar as it once was. Crypto is now something that people across Wales know a lot more about and are more comfortable getting involved with. This can be seen by the number of people in Wales who invest in top coins now. Despite there being thousands of coins to choose from, Bitcoin is still the big draw for many.
However, it may surprise you to know that these other coins (known as altcoins) can be worth putting money into. Of course, it pays to know what you are doing first and taking time to find out which of these altcoins make the best investment! For an in-depth look at buying altcoins, AskTraders is a great place to start. AskTraders is a trusted source of advice for traders around the UK and can help you grasp what these alternative coins are about.
When looking for other coins to put money into, many will try to go for those that might rival Bitcoin in terms of popularity or value one day. If you want a quick rundown on which altcoins this includes, the below should prove helpful.
Ethereum
For many, one of the best Bitcoin alternatives is Ethereum (with the symbol ETH). It has been around for a while now and this means that it is becoming as trusted as Bitcoin. This increasing level of credibility could soon see it challenging BTC as the top coin around. In addition, Ethereum is the second biggest coin in terms of market capitalisation. This is currently a figure of $41.4bn and means that it is quickly growing in size to rival Bitcoin.
Ethereum also includes smart contracts, which give it a real advantage over many other coins. These are tiny pieces of code that live on the blockchain and help to formalise agreements without a third party being involved. Smart contracts give ETH a practical use in the real world, and this makes it one of the altcoins that could soon rival Bitcoin.
Cardano
Crypto is still one of the most popular investments to make in 2021, and Cardano is on many trader’s radar. While ETH is an older altcoin that comes with certain legacy issues, Cardano (with the symbol ADA) is something of a newer token. With a mission to not only solve real-world issues that people care about and also resolve problems that older coins such as Bitcoin face, it could easily become very big soon.
ADA is also one of the few altcoins that focuses on work in Africa. Projects such as storing the academic records of 5 million Ethiopian students on its blockchain ledger have caught the attention of many people lately. This coin also consumes far less energy than Bitcoin (just 6 gigawatt hours per year). This on-trend reputation for social responsibility could well see Cardano become a major crypto rival to BTC soon.
Polkadot
Polkadot, or DOT, is another altcoin that could soon grow to become as big as Bitcoin. This digital currency is a proof-of-stake coin that delivers interoperability among other blockchains. This is naturally very handy because it allows multiple systems to work together. It also offers developers the chance to not only build their own blockchain code but also use the security measures inherent in the DOT blockchain. This is a lot easier than having to create everything from scratch! Due to this practical real-world use and growing market cap (it now stands at over $4bn), DOT is fast making a name for itself.
Will we be using any of these altcoins in business transactions in the future?
Although altcoins such as those above have specific uses in terms of networks, systems and smart contracts, many people wonder if they will ever be used in business transactions soon. To really rival BTC in this area, altcoins must become a useful method for making business transactions. But can they do this? In short, it all comes down to the processing times that transactions take. If altcoins can improve on how quickly it takes Bitcoin transactions to process, then they may well be used more for this as time moves on.
Altcoins have a way to go yet
Although the above altcoins all look like they could become as big as Bitcoin one day, they have a way to go yet. BTC has a market cap of around $199bn currently, which is a lot bigger than its nearest altcoin challengers. Bitcoin also has a bigger media presence and a greater use in daily life than altcoins at present. However, if this can all change as time moves forward, we could see the coins listed above giving BTC a run for its money.