What Are Altcoins?
The term altcoin is a short form of alternative coin. All cryptocurrencies except bitcoin are Altcoins. Yes, that means except Bitcoin you can say “altcoin” to every cryptocurrency.
There are many similarities between bitcoin and altcoins like they aren’t physical coins and also banks or governments do not have any right on altcoins just like bitcoin But this does not mean that they there are just exactly like bitcoin in some or another way altcoins are different than bitcoin.
According to CoinMarketCap, More than 11,000 altcoins have been created till now. All are created with different purposes like some are created for a fast transaction, some created in the hope to meet bitcoin shortcomings, some are created just as a joke.
People started using altcoins instead of bitcoin because some altcoins are better than bitcoin like they’re cheaper and faster.
How Do Altcoins Work?
As Bitcoin, Altcoins also work on blockchain technology. Blockchain is a system that records transactions in a distributed ledger.
Because of Blockchain, there is no need for a financial institute, banks, or any middle man to complete the transaction of any cryptocurrency.
Also, Blockchain technology is considered secure and unhackable.
Should You Invest in Altcoins?
A lot of people think that with an investment of altcoins they can earn a big profit on their money in less time. To some extent this is true, You can earn a good profit on your money from altcoins in less time but there is also an extreme level of risk in that.
The price of some altcoins rises very fast but then after some time, its price goes down into double speed. A similar thing just happened with the price of Dogecoin recently. Some took advantage of this and made a good profit from Dogecoin but on the other side, many lost their money because of a sudden price drop.
There are many altcoins that have a bright future, Investing in those for a long time can give you good returns on your money. To avoid losses do well research before investing your money in any altcoin.
How to buy altcoins?
To buy any cryptocurrency the simplest and easiest way is to buy with online cryptocurrency exchanges.
There is more than 380 crypto exchange according to CoinMarketCap from which you can buy cryptocurrency you can also use famous digital payment systems like PayPal and Venmo.
There are very few cryptocurrencies available on digital payment systems Therefore, Many people use crypto exchange more than digital payment systems.
You have to download a digital, or crypto, wallet on your computer or smartphone. The wallet will store all your altcoins.
Buyer Beware.
Before buying any altcoin do well research.
Before buying you should know:
- who has created that altcoin
- What are the pros and cons of that altcoin
- What experts and famous websites say about that altcoin
To be safe always buy famous altcoins never buy unpopular coins. Mostly Popular altcoins are believed to be trustworthy and safe.
There are so many cryptocurrency exchanges from which you buy altcoins but here you need to be careful Some websites do scam in the name of crypto exchanges.
There are many fake crypto exchanges be aware of them. You should only use famous crypto exchanges to purchase cryptocurrency
Use cryptocurrency exchanges like
- Binance
- Coinbase Exchange
- Kraken
- Huobi Global
- KuCoin
These 5 are top cryptocurrency exchanges right now
Top 10 Altcoins By Market Cap.
1. Ethereum
Market Cap: $375.50B
2. Binance Coin
Market Cap: $66.39B
3. Tether
Market Cap: $62.61B
4. Cardano
Market Cap: $57.37B
5. XRP
Market Cap: $46.28B
6. Dogecoin
Market Cap: $35.29B
7. USD Coin
Market Cap: $27.98B
8. Polkadot
Market Cap: $21.20B
9. Uniswap
Market Cap: $17.24B
10. Binance USD
Market Cap: $12.01B
(This list keeps changing you can check the real-time ranking on CoinMarketCap.com.)
[Disclaimer: The content of this article is not intended as financial advice, and should not be construed as such. Neither readaboutcrypto.com nor the author is responsible for any investment decision made by any reader.]