Currency

Smaller Cryptocurrencies Are Gaining Momentum

While the majority of people will have heard of Bitcoin, the behemoth of cryptocurrency, lesser known cryptocurrencies such as Neo, Ripple and Ethereum may not be on many people’s radar. It’s worth being aware of how to buy Neo and other smaller cryptocurrencies though. Here’s an update on why…

Neo (formerly Antshares)

Neo is a Chinese smart economy platform developed in 2014 by Da Honfei and Zhang. Neo, sometimes referred to as the Chinese Ethereum, is trading around $11 at present. The blockchain technology that Neo sits on is about to be given a complete overhaul. By mid-2020 it will be completely redeveloped, as Neo 3.0 is born. Holders of existing Neo cryptocurrency will have their tokens replaced with new ones via airdrop into their crypto wallets. According to the NEO Foundation’s financial report, the 2016-coin offering raised almost $100,000, and just over 8,000 Bitcoin.

Neo’s value dropped in 2018 as the founders concentrated on its sister company, Onchain. Onchain aims to create a universal network of blockchain technology that uses varying plug-ins to create an inter-operable network of chains.

Last year, China published its 5-year plan, which cited the major importance of blockchain technology as playing a significant role in the country’s economic development. Since Neo is the only cryptocurrency that has received the Chinese Government’s backing, it appears to be in pole position for some major technological advancements that could potentially see its value soar.

There are many other lesser-known cryptocurrencies out there, around 1,500 in fact, and more being developed all the time. Some of the others include…

Ripple XRP

Ripple XRP enables real-time digital payments to anywhere in the world. It operates on Ripple blockchain software, which was designed to reduce the cost and time taken to make overseas payments.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Bitcoin Cash was launched as a spin-off of Bitcoin in summer 2017. It is now one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, with its main advantage being faster processing.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is not really a cryptocurrency, but a decentralised app provider. It aims to remove the need for third parties, eg. Apple, in developing apps. It was created to decentralise the providers of services, so nobody has to rely on any one company to act as a server. As it operates across a platform of volunteer’s computers or ‘nodes’ it can never go offline – there is no single point of failure.

Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin operates on a peer-to-peer platform and is similar to Bitcoin. It was developed by Charlie Lee, a former Google employee, in 2011. The main advantage of Litecoin is it is capable of transacting four times faster than Bitcoin.

IOTA

The IOTA is tipped to be another big development. It operates as a unit of currency for the ‘internet of things’ – devices that have a connection to each other via the internet. It is feasible that in the future these internet-connected items will be able to transact between each other, without human intervention.

With some exciting developments ahead for lesser known cryptocurrencies, it could be worth keeping a close eye on them. While they may fluctuate in value, optimistic investors could view the current climate as the ideal time to snap up a bargain that may deliver good future returns.

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