Top 5 cryptocurrency

1.Bitcoin

The original cryptocurrency and the one that started it all, Bitcoin was created and released in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, an anonymous figure. Bitcoin has the biggest market cap to date around $10billion, overshadowing all other cryptocurrencies in this list, combined.

2.Ether

Ether is the cryptocurrency for Ethereum, a decentralised platform that can execute peer-to-peer ‘smart contacts’. As of September 2016 and as a result of an attack to The DAO, Ethereum was split into 2: Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).

Created by Vitalik Buterin and launched in mid-2015 after a successful crowdsale, this platform was marketed as the “next generation cryptocurrency and decentralised application platform” and has a market cap of $1.1 billion.

Peer-to-peer smart contracts are what Ethereum is known for, aside from the cryptocurrency. It enables people to code and enact contracts without third parties. For example, this guide explains how you can set up a smart contract for a conference, where organisers can sell tickets, set a maximum number of attendees, and provide refunds automatically.

3.Litecoin

Litecoin was released in October 2011 by former Google employee Charles Lee as an alternative to Bitcoin. Overall, Litecoin is similar (and familiar) – it can be mined, used as currency and transacted for goods and services.

It has a market cap of roughly $180 million, a far cry from its highest peak of $1.2 billion back in 2013.

4.Monero

Bitcoin is frequently mislabeled as an ‘anonymous’ currency (it’s not). Monero, on the other hand, is a cryptocurrency that focuses on privacy – using the ring signature technology, Monero is ‘secure, private and untraceable’.

At fourth place with $138 million in market cap, Monero is mostly used by individuals wishing to remain incognito on the web.

5.Ripple

The next on the list, Ripple, is actually a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange and remittance network. The cryptocurrency is called ripples. Released in 2012 and with a current market cap of $243 million, the Ripple system has been integrated into a few banks and payment networks to reduce costs.

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