Generally, when people think cryptocurrency, they think bitcoin. While it is the most popular cryptocurrency, there are many other competitors in this market.  Altcoin traders use the term ‘altcoins’ when referring to cryptocurrencies that aren’t bitcoin; i.e alternatives to bitcoin. Altcoin trading grew in popularity during bitcoin’s period of harsh volatility. But are they worthy of their own buzz though?

What is your favorite altcoin to hold for the next 1-2 years?$BTC $ETH $LTC $NEO $XRP $OCN $TRX $LINK $HOT $BCH $WAN $ETC $LISK pic.twitter.com/udvqiOJjwa

— Muse 🎢 (@cryptomuse) September 26, 2018

What are Altcoins?

At its root, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, but technically it is more than just a currency. It’s a software that people can run (Bitcoin Core), as well as a blockchain that keeps track of every transaction that takes place on the bitcoin network. The blockchain determines who owns which bitcoins. Though the concept of a blockchain was developed by the creator of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, other people are free to create their own blockchains and cryptocurrencies. This is how altcoins came into existence, as this is generally what cryptocurrencies are.

Altcoin traders are any traders who trade in currencies that are not bitcoin. These coins may include Ethereum, XRP Ripple, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Monero.

Litecoin:

• Litecoin was originally a “copy” of bitcoin. Its focus is to use a different proof-of-work system, focusing on using more memory as opposed to bitcoin; which uses more energy and processing power. The Litecoin network attempts to complete blocks 4x faster than bitcoin in order to speed up a transaction.

 XRP Ripple:

• Ripple is a private company. Some banks use Ripple to negotiate cross-border payments, though, at the moment they’re only sending digital IOUs, then settling the deal with traditional fiat currency instead of XRP tokens. Its stability is often a big selling point for XRP, but it lacks blockchain technology making it more private. This is a benefit for users that want anonymity but opens XRP up to misuse in the process. There are serious concerns over the issuance/decentralisation of XRP

Bitcoin Cash:

• Another bitcoin fork introduced in August 2017. Now, bitcoin cash has become a separate cryptocurrency completely, despite the name. Bitcoin cash has a focus on architectural changes resulting in faster transaction speeds and lower fees compared to bitcoin. As it stands, most bitcoin cash users are simply waiting for infrastructure (payment services and wallets) to become available.

Ether:

• The Ethereum platform generates the currency known as Ether. As a result, this cryptocurrency is often known as Ethereum. The Ethereum platform is a public ledger technology for applications, making it possible for companies to build on. Ethereum brings about smart contracts that are able to be coded in a variety of programming languages, allowing for automatic payments to be set up.

Monero:

• Monero offers more anonymity than bitcoin does. Even though Monero also uses public addresses
  (example: 73RC3omZSUYCmJRskCUx2tV5oB5tLFrp58AeMYLrFhcz2gmUVQHiHu65nG5CS2mvcfgKFC5fPtq6DHkJ), the amount of funds the public address owns is not shown on the blockchain. Bitcoin users have all their transactions on the blockchain, allowing anyone to see when you’re sending bitcoins, and how much. Monero doesn’t.

Altcoin Traders

If you’re considering becoming an altcoin trader, it may be worth noting that analyzing charts on face-value alone will not depict the whole scene. In the case of BTC (Bitcoin) and altcoins, both parties are in a highly speculative state in the current market. Despite this, altcoins can provide a valuable alternative to bitcoin. Though it can often be difficult to decide which one you should invest in, it may be a good idea to keep your eye on both markets to see what happens. As it stands, bitcoin is highly volatile. For traders, this is a ride they’re willing to go on, but for those new to the cryptocurrency industry, a more stable, a cheaper alternative may be better.

There is currently no feature that bitcoin has that will keep people using it even if something better comes along.

Even if cryptocurrency is the future of currency, and blockchain technology becomes used worldwide, Bitcoin could still become entirely worthless. A switch to altcoins could leave bitcoin in the past, and we wouldn’t be missing out on anything special in the process. Altcoin traders are well aware of this situation and are often trying to find out which altcoin will be next up to follow in bitcoin’s footsteps to be the biggest cryptocurrency.