Missed Investing In Bitcoin? These Are The Fastest Growing Alternatives

Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency which has taken the financial world by storm in 2017 is now facing flak from central agencies and financial institutions the world over. Last week, Bitcoin fell more than 11 per cent to close to $12,000 after reports that South Korea may clamp down on trading of cryptocurrencies, driving fears among investors of a wider regulatory crackdown. While some experts have now come forward to claim that bitcoin is headed for a big correction, investor interest recouped, driving Bitcoin prices up by 10 per cent to trade as high as $12,823 by Saturday, according to cryptocurrency trading platform Coinmarketcap. The market capitalization of bitcoin is currently around $201 billion while on Friday it was about $192 billion.

While bitcoin has remained a topic of fierce debate, here are some other digital currencies inspired by Bitcoin which are gaining attention of investors:

Ethereum: With a current market cap of $106.9 billion, Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. Currently one Ethereum is priced at $1,101.5.

Ripple: The rapid rise of Ripple has attracted attention in recent weeks. At the start of 2018, its market capitalisation hit more than $100 billion. Currently one Ripple is priced at $1.43. The key difference between Ripple and Bitcoin is that Ripple is not "mined." The digital currency is controlled by a San Francisco-based company. It creates the currency and releases new batches periodically.

Litecoin: This cryptocurrency is based on an open source global payment network that is not controlled by any central authority. With a market cap of $10.6 billion, Litecoin is currently priced at $194.85 dollars currently.

Cardano: This currency claims to be the first blockchain platform to evolve out of a scientific philosophy. Cardano currently has a market cap of $16.5 billion and is priced at $0.63 per Cardano.

With the meteoric rise of Bitcoin, some countries are developing their own digital currencies, with Dubai launching its first official cryptocurrency Emcash, last year, and the Chinese central bank also reportedly developing its own digital currency after having banned the trading of Bitcoin.