Your Guide to the Top Cryptocurrencies and Cryptoassets
Bitcoin (BTC)
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Date of Creation: January 3, 2009
Creator: Satoshi Nakamoto (pseudonymous individual or group) Supply: max 21 million BTC (to be reached at aprox 2140) Mining: Proof of Work - SHA-256 hashing algorithm Bitcoin was the first proper digital currency to come onto the scene - over two decades of digital cash and cryptographic work culminated in the creation of Bitcoin in 2009, ushering in the modern crypto era. Click here to learn more about Bitcoin in our introductory Bitcoin piece. |
Ethereum (ETH)
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Date of Creation: July 30, 2015
Creator: Vitalik Buterin (Russian-Canadian computer scientist) Supply: Decreasing amount issued each year (aprox 100 million ETH expected at peak) Mining: Proof of Work - Ethash hashing algorithm (SHA3-256/SHA3-512 alternatively used); Proof of Stake coming soon Ethereum goes beyond Bitcoin by creating a blockchain with smart contract capabilities. Ethereum is a main runner up in the crypto scene. However, many in the cryptocurrency and cryptoasset industry believe that Ethereum has the potential to overtake Bitcoin as the king digital asset. Time will tell - in the meantime, click here for an introduction to Ethereum. |
Litecoin (LTC)
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Date of Creation: October 7, 2011
Creator: Charlie Lee (former Google employee) Supply: max 84 million LTC Mining: Proof of Work - Scrypt-based hashing algorithm (memory-hard and prevents ASIC overuse) Litecoin is often considered the silver to Bitcoin's gold and attempts to be a more transaction-friendly cryptocurrency. Very similar to Bitcoin, Litecoin makes three main changes: (1) lower block time, (2) more coins available, and (3) memory-hard hashing algorithm that prevents ASIC overuse. Read more about this popular and transaction-focused cryptoasset here. |
Ripple (XRP)
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Date of Creation: 2012
Creator: Ripple Labs (original authors were Arthur Britto, David Schwartz, Ryan Fugger) Supply: fixed supply of 100 billion XRP Mining: n/a - all XRP tokens pre-created and released to public; no mining to obtain XRP Unlike Bitcoin and most other top cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets, the Ripple network (and the XRP tokens which are used on that network) are privately controlled by the firm that created them. This is unique in the crypto space. Additionally, Ripple is already being used around the globe for transactions processing by large financial institutions - the volume of transactions that the Ripple network can handle far exceed what is possible currently on Bitcoin. Learn more about this fast new promising cryptoasset here. |
IOTA
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Date of Creation: June 11, 2016
Creator: IOTA Foundation (a non-profit in the IoT space in Germany); white paper published by Serguei Popov Supply: fixed supply of 2,779,530,283,277,761 (optimized for ternary computation) Mining: n/a - no mining of IOTA possible IOTA attempts to be the blockchain for the Internet of Things (IoT) - an industry just beginning but predicted to become very large in the coming decade. Created by a German non-profit, IOTA is attempting to power the coming IoT revolution. Learn more about IOTA here. |
Cardano (ADA)
Date of Creation: October 2017
Creator: 3 Organization contribute to Cardano development (Cardano Foundation, IOHK, and Emurgo) - team includes former Ethereum CEO Charles Hoskinson
Supply: max 45 billion ADA tokens
Mining: Proof of Stake - Ouroboros mining algorith
Cardano is an interesting third-gen cryptoasset that attempts to solve many problems faced by earlier cryptocurrenices and cryptoassets. Founded in part by former Ethereum CEO, based on scientific research, and using proof of state (PoS) instead of proof of work (PoW) to create blocks, Cardano (and the ADA token which trades on the Cardano network) can prove to be a disruptive force in the already distrupitve cryptocurrency and cryptoasset industry. Learn more about Cardano and ADA here.
Creator: 3 Organization contribute to Cardano development (Cardano Foundation, IOHK, and Emurgo) - team includes former Ethereum CEO Charles Hoskinson
Supply: max 45 billion ADA tokens
Mining: Proof of Stake - Ouroboros mining algorith
Cardano is an interesting third-gen cryptoasset that attempts to solve many problems faced by earlier cryptocurrenices and cryptoassets. Founded in part by former Ethereum CEO, based on scientific research, and using proof of state (PoS) instead of proof of work (PoW) to create blocks, Cardano (and the ADA token which trades on the Cardano network) can prove to be a disruptive force in the already distrupitve cryptocurrency and cryptoasset industry. Learn more about Cardano and ADA here.
Dash
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Date of Creation: January 18, 2014 (originally named XCoin)
Creator: Evan Duffield Supply: anticipated to be max 18 million DASH in existence (once inflation rate is effectively 0) Mining: Proof of Work - X11 hashing algorithm Dash attempts to be the digital cash of the cryptocurrency and digital asset space - it attempts to remedy some of Bitcoin's problems by providing a faster and more private approach to digital currency. Read more about the Dash network here. |
More coming soon...
Stay tuned - we are adding more and more cryptoassets and cryptocurrencies here constantly
Pennies and Pounds was right about Bitcoin and crypto...
Should you add Bitcoin to your portfolio?
In an article published in May 2014, we stated the risks of buying Bitcoin and the inherent problems with adding currency to a portfolio, but still recommended adding at least some Bitcoin to your portfolios - heading this advice would have been incredibly smart and profitable. Read the article here!
Bitcoin: Buy Some Today (but only a little)
In November of 2015, we reiterated that buying some Bitcoin would be a smart and prudent (and Dhando) idea - read the original article here to learn more about Dhando investing as articulated by investing guru Monesh Pabrai and how it affected out judgement regarding Bitcoin investing.
In an article published in May 2014, we stated the risks of buying Bitcoin and the inherent problems with adding currency to a portfolio, but still recommended adding at least some Bitcoin to your portfolios - heading this advice would have been incredibly smart and profitable. Read the article here!
Bitcoin: Buy Some Today (but only a little)
In November of 2015, we reiterated that buying some Bitcoin would be a smart and prudent (and Dhando) idea - read the original article here to learn more about Dhando investing as articulated by investing guru Monesh Pabrai and how it affected out judgement regarding Bitcoin investing.
2018 Crypto Price Predictions
All predictions are for entertainment purposes only - per our Terms and Conditions, you shouldn't take this as financial guidance or advice. Given that, and given the following
we think that 2018 will prove another strong year for cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets. Given last year's performance, the question on every cryptocurrency investor's (or even crypto-enthusiast's) mind is "where will cryptocurrency go in 2018?"
Given the above, we would not be surprised to see Bitcoin (BTC) reach around $30,000 and to see Ethereum (ETH) reach around $5000 by the end of 2018.
- performance of cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets in 2017 - all reputable cryptos performed remarkably in 2017
- listing of Bitcoin on CBOE and CME - crypto finally entered the proper financial sphere in 2017
- potential Bitcoin ETF on horizon with Ethereum ETF likely to come soon after
- growing media coverage of cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets - 2017 saw mainstream financial media final cover cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets
- financial word (eg. London, Hong Kong, and Wall St.) are seriously interested in cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets
we think that 2018 will prove another strong year for cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets. Given last year's performance, the question on every cryptocurrency investor's (or even crypto-enthusiast's) mind is "where will cryptocurrency go in 2018?"
Given the above, we would not be surprised to see Bitcoin (BTC) reach around $30,000 and to see Ethereum (ETH) reach around $5000 by the end of 2018.
If you've looked through the above, you know there's a big crypto world out there filled with many cryptocurrencies and crypto assets - many of these are useful but many are scams and gimmicks that we expect to die out. Click above to continue to our full list of cryptocurrency and cryptoasset articles - you'll find a ton of information on the crypto scene.