world coin crypto.
A cryptocurrency is a
digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it
nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are
decentralized networks based on blockchain technology distributed ledger enforced by
a disparate network of computers. A defining feature of cryptocurrencies is
that they are generally not issued by any central authority, rendering them
theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the world’s
first cryptocurrency that works on a completely decentralized network known as
the blockchain. The blockchain network consists of a link of blocks that are
secured using cryptography and record all the transactions. Bitcoin was first presented
to the world in 2009 by an anonymous identity known as Satoshi Nakamoto. As
Bitcoin works on a decentralized network, it is completely free from the
involvement of third-party financial institutions or central banks. The Bitcoin
blockchain facilitates instant peer-to-peer transactions at minimum
transaction fees required to maintain the network. The total number of
Bitcoins is fixed at 21 million with its smallest unit being referred to as
Satoshi. Each Satoshi represents a hundred millionth part of Bitcoin which
means that 100,000,000 Santoshi = 1 BTC. Additional Bitcoins are generated by a
process known as mining. Bitcoins are mined by professional miners solving
complex computational equations. For each Bitcoin mined, the miners are
rewarded with either more coins or transaction fees. The miners also validate
all transactions on the Bitcoin network as well as look after the network
security. Bitcoin can be exchanged with fiat currencies or other digital
currencies. There are over 100,000 merchants and vendors accepting Bitcoin all
over the world.
Litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) is a
digital currency which operates on a peer-to-peer basis and facilitates
lightning-fast currency exchanges and payments across the globe. The software
is open source, allowing for the creation and exchange of coins based on a
cryptographic protocol, without being managed by any centralized authority.
Created in 2011 by former Google engineer, Charles
Lee, Litecoin offers a faster mining block generation time and a much-increased number of coins to Bitcoin. It was and remains one of the most successful forks
of the Bitcoin network, and paved the way for future Bitcoin forks.
In May of 2017, the world’s first ‘Lightning
Network’ transaction took place using Litecoin, where 0.00000001 LTC was
transferred from Zurich to San Francisco in less than one second. The
open-source Litecoin software can be downloaded, used, modified, and distributed
by individuals without fear of corruption, as the independent verification of
source code and binaries make for a completely transparent process.
Ethereum
Ethereum is basically an
open software platform based on blockchain technology which allows
developers to building several decentralized applications called DAPPS.
Ethereum is also called a distributed public blockchain network that focuses
on running the programming code of any application.
Ethereum was first created in 2013 by founder
Vitalik Buterin and Ether is the cryptocurrency that is generated on the
Ethereum platform. The Ether tokens can be used to make payments by
transferring them between accounts as well as to compensate the mining nodes
for the computations performed on the Ethereum blockchain.
The Ethereum platform has been designed in a way
to allow developers for the creation of smart contracts. The smart contract is
basically a computer code or script which can automatically execute tasks when
certain conditions are met. This tasks can include anything like an exchange of
content, money, property, or anything of value.
‘Gas’ is an internal pricing for running a
contract or a transaction on Ethereum network. The value of one Gas is
one-millionth of an Ether.
Ripple
Ripple was co-founded by Jed McCaleb and Chris Larsen and was released in 2012. Ripple facilitates the seamless transfer of money by connecting banks, payment providers, corporates and digital asset exchanges through the RippleNet. The Ripple XRP tokens provide banks and other financial institutions an on-demand solution to sources liquidity for instant global transfers.
As the Ripple network is based on blockchain technology it allows for low-cost global funds transfers just in a matter of few seconds.
Ethereum Classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) is
a decentralized blockchain platform that lets anyone build and use
decentralized applications that run on blockchain technology. Like Bitcoin, no
one controls or owns Ethereum Classic – it is an open-source project built by
people around the world. Unlike the Bitcoin protocol, Ethereum Classic was
designed to be adaptable and flexible. It is easy to create new applications on
the Ethereum Classic platform.
In 2014, Ethereum founders Vitalik Buterin, Gavin
Wood and Jeffrey Wilcke began work on a next-generation blockchain that had the
ambitions to implement a general, fully trustless smart contract platform. What
is Ethereum?
In 2016, after a controversial hard fork, Ethereum
mainline spawned a new network with new consensus
rules. Ethereum Classic continued following the original network rules and has
maintained the original Ethereum vision ever since.
