Did you know BITCOIN is not the only cryptocurrency out there? There are over 5000 more cryptocurrencies that exist and are performing at their best, if not at par with their senior counterpart. While Bitcoin was and is the first cryptocurrency ever launched, it was soon followed by a number of players that introduced subsequent other cryptocurrencies that work on a the peer-to-peer basis. If you are new to cryptocurrency and all of this sounds like gibberish, read this article here - What is BITCOIN and how does it work.
*Breaking News*
As per the latest action in the Indian market, all private banks have rebuked payment towards cryptocurrencies. This has resulted in every crypto exchange not accepting payment in INR for the purchase of various cryptocurrencies. It might be a following to what the Finance Ministry of India had stated in 2018, “ The Government does not consider Cryptocurrencies “as Legal Tender or Coin” and will take all measures to eliminate the use of these Crypto Assets in Financing “Illegitimate Activities” or a Part of the Payment System The Government will explore the use of Blockchain technology proactively for assuring in Digital Economy.”
This statement was later followed up by a circular from the Reserve Bank Of India that prohibited all entities governed within it to stop any kind of assistance or services to entities dealing in cryptocurrency or digital currency. However, soon next year on May 22, 2020, the RBI negated the claims that it had not levied any form of probation on the transactions of cryptocurrency.
RBI’s response to RTI filed by Unocoin CEO, Harish BV states, “no such prohibition exists.”
That said, with all the hype about cryptocurrency, where almost every financial outlet is loudly broadcasting their thoughts on it, you might also want to explore your options, while being on the safer side considering the extremely volatile nature of the market.
If you are going forward about investing in Crypto whenever a window of opportunity flashes again, here is a list of currencies that you can consider that are rather high on the performance radar.
Ethereum - Ether
While Bitcoin is the first influential cryptocurrency out there, you might want to know more about this one. The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, founded by Vitalik Buterin, from Russia, was launched in 2015. It is an open-source, decentralized software platform that is blockchain-based and uses its own cryptocurrency/token - Ether, that users can access features of the platform. Ethereum is also a programming language (Turing complete) and an operating system. It helps developers create and publish varied applications. So all the applications that run on Ethereum, have to use Ether, the cryptographic token that is specific to the platform in order to have access to its features. Let’s say it's the visa that is mandatory to be able to visit/work within the platform. Thus Ether is primarily ‘that’ token that helps developers to run applications within Ethereum and be able to monetize the same; and on the other hand, Ether also can be traded as a virtual currency like other cryptocurrencies trending. Ethereum apparently can be utilized to “codify, decentralize, secure, and trade just about anything.” A major feat around Ethereum is that Microsoft works around the platform in partnership with Consensus where they offer “Ethereum Blockchain as a Service (EBaaS) on Microsoft Azure so Enterprise clients and developers can have a single click cloud-based blockchain developer environment.” - Microsoft
“Ethereum provides the flexibility and extensibility many of our customers were looking for. With the Frontier Release last summer, Ethereum is real and has a vibrant community of developers, enthusiasts, and businesses participating.” Microsoft with their ideology behind why Ethereum!
Behind only Bitcoin, it is easier to mine Ethereum - 15 seconds as against 10 minutes of Bitcoin (read Bitcoin Mining) and also way more Ether units in quantity versus Bitcoin.
All time high: $ 4382.73 / INR 320,949.23
Current Price: $ 3,536.98 / INR 2,59,015.00
2. Ripple (XRP)
Launched in 2012 , XRP by Ripple Labs, is an innovative and efficient decentralized mode of payment. With a benchmark pace of clearing up transactions in a mere 4 seconds tab, it is way faster than Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. It also has bare minimum costs involved and is known primarily for its digital payment network. The XRP payment solution is utilized by many major banks. XRP is dues by Ripp
le to enable quick conversions amongst different currencies. It is like an in-house currency developed by the company for payment settlements for its products. The XRP is way lesser in competitiveness than Bitcoin and uses lesser efforts since it is pre-mined.
All time high: $ 3.40 / INR 248.98
Current Price: $1.54 / INR 112.55
3. Bitcoin
The most famous cryptocurrency out there, BITCOIN has its own fan following. While all the hype and tweets are going hey-wire, this still happens to be a secure investment simply because of the number of bitcoins out there. It is one of those cryptocurrencies that have seen some nerve-wracking highs and lows but now seems to be constant with marginal variations. It grows and is a loyal cryptocurrency investment out there. Being the highest value crypto, it leaves the investor, not much to consider. Know all about Bitcoin here.
All time high: $ 64,829.19 / INR 3.35 Million
Current Price: $ 45,698.29 / INR 4.75 Million
4. Cardano - ADA
Hitting an all-time high recently, Cardano was created by Ethereum’s co-founder. It is the third most advanced Blockchain technology available and has its own native currency called ADA. With Elon Must tweeting “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions” and slashing Bitcoin from Tesla’s payment lineup, Cardano is more sustainable in this regard, consuming 6 GWU of power in mining the currency.
All time high : $ 2.47 / INR 157.6
Current Price: $ 2.14 / INR 180.81
5. Dogecoin (DOGE)
Dubbed as a ‘meme cryptocurrency’ Dogecoin initially was a lighthearted response to warm up people towards the market of Cryptocurrency. An open-source, peer-to-peer digital currency, Dogecoin has a Japanese breed dog - Shiba Inu as its mascot. Unlike Bitcoin, Doegecoin has no extinction limit and have over 100 Billion Dogecoin out in the market. Founded by Billy Markus and Jakson Palmer, two software engineers, the entity support a varied social causes and charitable endeavors. With a number of memes and tweets by popular celebrities such as Elon Musk, Snoop Dog, and Gene Simmon, in favor of the cryptocurrency, the prices have seen a hike and look promising.
All time high: $ 0.7407 INR 54.25
Current Rate: $ 0.5077 INR 37.18
Dogecoin all over the global financial system?
Where to Buy Cryptocurrency
There are a number of portals where you can purchase cryptocurrency across the world.
Here are some exchanges where you can sell Bitcoin based on your country:
India: Bitbns, WazirX, Coinswitch Kuber
Malaysia: Luno
Australia: Independent Reserve
Taiwan: Maicoin
South Africa: Luno
Russia: Coinmama
Sources:
Investopedia.com
Analyticsinsight.net
Azure.microsoft.com
*All currency rates are as per Coindesk as we write this.