The crypto space is full of different cryptocurrencies (there are even meme-based coins such as Ugandan Knuckles that do not have monetary value), and with so many currencies available to invest in, investors get confused and sometimes invest in the wrong cryptocurrencies. If this is your issue, you are not alone, as many other investors are confused about investing in cryptocurrency. In reality, no cryptocurrency is good or bad in the crypto space, and investing in one completely depends on your risk factor, purpose, and goals. You can get rich by investing in Bitcoin with Bitcoin Prime App.
With each passing day, new cryptocurrencies are introduced in the crypto space and giving the existing ones tough competition. Knowing the cryptocurrency that is right for your goals and purposes can save your time and efforts. The new altcoins that are introduced have the potential to change the landscape of the crypto world. Every investor must be aware of the crypto market and learn about all the cryptocurrencies to make the right and informed decision to minimize the risk associated with investing in cryptocurrencies.
Most people in the crypto space have differentiated the crypto world into bitcoins and altcoins. Before you learn about both bitcoin and altcoins, we will first try to figure out why there are thousands of cryptocurrencies in the crypto space.
Why are there multiple investment opportunities?
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency in the crypto space that no one ever imagined to gained the prominence and value that it has today. The growth of bitcoin is related to its underlying technology known as blockchain that has the potential to change the way of handling businesses by changing the method of payments.
Blockchain was of great help to bitcoin enthusiasts and other entrepreneurs as they tried creating new coins based on blockchain. After creating bitcoin, they considered it an opportunity to be a contender of bitcoin by creating their new coin. The outcome is that now the crypto space has an abundance of altcoins.
Bitcoin and its advantages/disadvantages
Bitcoin is the first and original cryptocurrency. It was created in 2008 and was released in 2009 by a mysterious entity. Bitcoin was introduced with the proof-of-work consensus method and blockchain technology. This helped bitcoin become a high-flying cryptocurrency. The marketing capitalization has crossed over $1 trillion, which makes it the largest cryptocurrency. All other cryptocurrencies that exist in the crypto space come under the category of altcoins. After bitcoin, the second-largest cryptocurrency is known as Ethereum, which people prefer to invest in.
The unique advantage of bitcoin that is helping it to grow despite thousands of cryptocurrencies available is its wide acceptance in the mainstream. By far, bitcoin is the most accepted form of payment that isn’t backed by any central authority. Bitcoin offers many money-making methods to its community members. Other than this, there are some disadvantages as well that include its price fluctuations that occur in seconds. No one can even imagine how fast bitcoin’s price changes. Also, bitcoin transactions are slow as each transaction takes around 43 minutes to get verified and validated on the blockchain network. Mining bitcoins consumes heavy energy that may harm the environment.
Altcoins and their advantages
Other than bitcoin, all other cryptocurrencies are known as altcoins that are alternatives to bitcoins. Thousands of altcoins are available in the crypto space that investors choose to invest in. some of the altcoins are in high demand. They are even ready to enter into mainstream after bitcoin-like XRP and Ethereum. The altcoins that are quite popular globally are Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Monero, EOS, Dash, XRP, Stellar Lumens, and Litecoin.
The main advantage of all the altcoins is that these are built at blockchain technology but are introduced with new features and functionality different from bitcoin. Because of their unique functions, it is found that altcoins have great scope to progress more shortly. There are some disadvantages too of altcoins that are less user acceptance and lack of publicity. Bitcoin has become highly popular that people don’t even consider some of the altcoins.
The altcoins that have gained good support and prominence in the market include Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and XRP. There are only limited ways to use altcoins because these are not highly accepted in the market.