The two most dominant cryptocurrencies in the world are Bitcoin and Ethereum. Altcoins – which stands for “alternative coins,” refers to all currencies produced after Bitcoin and Ethereum. As of March 2023, there were 22,904 cryptocurrencies in circulation, however, not all cryptocurrencies are useful or in active circulation – leaving only about 8,832 active cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoineer mentions that most altcoins created after Bitcoin and Ethereum solve problems with the existing coins and blockchains’ operational and technological aspects. Some alternative coins aim to set themselves apart from Bitcoin and Ethereum by offering new or additional features or objectives, while others employ alternative consensus processes to validate transactions and open new blocks. Below is a list of the most promising Altcoins in 2023:
Top 10 Altcoins in 2023
Ethereum
Although ETH is a dominant coin, it was formed after Bitcoin, classifying it as an Altcoin. This token has a market cap of Market cap: $240.2 billion. Out of the vast array of over 26,000 cryptocurrencies available today, Ethereum stands as the largest altcoin, with a market capitalisation exceeding $200 billion.
Ethereum is a global network of computers that adhere to the Ethereum protocol, a set of guidelines. The Ethereum network serves as the building block for open-source communities, applications, businesses, and digital assets.
The embedded computer of Ethereum (also known as the Ethereum Virtual Machine) must perform some work for many network operations. The native cryptocurrency of Ethereum called ether (ETH), is used to pay for this computation. This means that in order to use the network, you must have some ether at the very least.
Tether USDT
The largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalisation is Tether (USDT). Stablecoins like Tether are used by cryptocurrency traders to transfer funds between cryptocurrencies or to move their investments into and out of fiat currencies. USDT’s value is linked to the US dollar.
Tether has achieved progress by enabling users to use traditional currencies to deal across the blockchain without the inherent volatility and complexity often associated with a digital currency. Tether has democratised international trade on the blockchain as the first blockchain-enabled platform to permit the digital use of traditional currencies (a well-known, reliable accounting unit).
Stellar XLM
The open-source network Stellar is designed for the issuance of assets and payments. You may create, send, and trade digital representations of all types of wealth on Stellar, including US dollars, Argentine pesos, Bitcoin, real estate, and pretty much anything else. It is set up so that, over a single network, all of the financial systems in the world can freely interact with one another.
Stellar is a public network; hence, it has no owner; the public owns it. The software handles Millions of transactions daily and operates on an open, decentralised network. Like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Stellar depends on blockchain to maintain the network in sync, however, compared to typical blockchain-based systems, Stellar is significantly faster, cheaper, and more energy-efficient.
Stellar was made to support digital representations of any currency, but it also has its own native token called the lumen (XLM). The lumen fulfils a special role in the network. By design, Stellar requires that each account always hold a small number of lumens.
Ripple – XRP
As the native token of Ripple, XRP is a cryptocurrency. The currency code for XRP is comparable to Ethereum’s Ether (ETH), just like other cryptocurrencies available on the market.
The Ripple team launched the XRP ledger in 2012, which contained the XRP native coin that would act as its currency. The development of this coin largely benefits international money transfers and the trading of other currencies.
Despite the fact that XRP is frequently used interchangeably with Ripple, it is important to understand that Ripple is a technological business and that XRP is an open-source digital asset. The technology used by Ripple in its solutions to assist clients in maintaining compliance is XRP, which is quick, efficient, dependable, carbon-neutral, and fast.
Cardano – ADA
The first proof-of-stake blockchain platform to be built on peer-reviewed research and created using evidence-based techniques is Cardano. It integrates cutting-edge technologies to give decentralised applications, systems, and society unmatched security and sustainability.
Cardano was created with the help of a top engineering team to shift power from unaccountable systems to the margins — to people — and to be a catalyst for advancement.
ADA tokens power the Cardano platform similarly to ETH tokens power the Ethereum platform. They are staked by validators (and delegators) who wish to contribute to the upkeep of the network’s security and stability in exchange for receiving incentives and are used to pay transaction fees.
Solana – SOL
Solana is a blockchain designed for widespread adoption. It is a high-performance network used for various applications, including gaming, NFTs, payments, and banking. Solana functions as a single global state machine that is open, interoperable, and decentralised.
SOL is the native cryptocurrency of Solana. It is employed for staking and to pay transaction fees. SOL may be bought and sold on exchanges like Coinbase.
Binance – BNB
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers more than 350 cryptocurrencies to users worldwide. In addition to bitcoin trading, it provides a number of services that improve the user and blockchain development experience.
This crypto exchange further consists of the BNB Chain ecosystem, which is powered by the BNB native token. Since BNB is one of the most well-known utility tokens in the world, you can use it for a variety of purposes in addition to trading it like any other cryptocurrency. In addition, BNB can be used to purchase goods and services, pay transaction fees on the Binance Smart Chain, take part in restricted token sales, and more.
Dogecoin – DOGE
Dogecoin is an open-source peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that makes use of blockchain technology, a highly secure decentralised method of storing data as a public ledger that is maintained by a network of computers known as nodes.
The native token – Doge, is then utilised as a digital currency on the blockchain for payments and immediate transactions. Within seconds and for a small transaction fee, users can send and receive DOGE using their Dogecoin (DOGE) wallets.
In May 2021, Dogecoin’s market capitalisation reached a new record high of over $70 billion. A great cryptocurrency to purchase during a crash is dogecoin. Gains of over 13,600% were attained by investors who made their initial investments in 2021 and cashed out in May of the same year.
Polygon – Matic
Polygon is a Layer 2 blockchain that seeks to assist Ethereum in becoming more scalable. Polygon doesn’t try to imitate Ethereum’s features; rather, it operates as a Layer 2 protocol that assists with improving transactional speeds and reducing developer expenses.
The native cryptocurrency token of Polygon is MATIC. This native coin uses the PoS consensus operating system to operate the Polygon plasma chains. All transactions on the plasma chains will be paid for using MATIC. Because of the aforementioned, demand for MATIC rises as more companies adopt Polygon as a scaling option.
According to research, MATIC is in a good position to realise its full potential in the years to come. The price of MATIC coin could increase over the next five years if Polygon is successful in improving market sentiment among cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Litecoin – LTC
The original intent of Litecoin was to address the developer’s fears that Bitcoin was becoming overly centralised and to make it more challenging for large-scale mining companies to have the upper hand in mining. Litecoin has evolved into a mineable coin and a peer-to-peer payment system, although ultimately failed to stop commercial miners from monopolising the majority of the cryptocurrency’s mining.
In essence, Litecoin is an open-source, decentralised global payment network that was made public in 2011 by former Google developer Charlie Lee. As the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold” according to Lee, Litecoin is a “lite version of Bitcoin”.
With 150 pre-mined coins initially available, Litecoin’s native coin, LTC, has a coin supply cap of 84 million. To maintain the coin’s value, the Litecoin supply is intended to decline over time, inherently making it a rarer and more valuable asset.
In addition to the aforementioned, Litecoin has a high level of liquidity, making transactions simpler. In fact, those who hold Litecoin will discover that businesses like Newegg, SlingTV, and even charities like the American Red Cross are glad to take their digital money.
Since the emergence of Bitcoin, numerous cryptocurrencies have since been introduced to the crypto market. All of these have different aims and functions, which include expanding the use of decentralised coins and scaling and addressing the limitations of long-existing coins. As time progresses and more people adopt cryptocurrencies, Altcoins are bound to increase in popularity and profitability as they are already.
