Digital currencies are the methods of payment for the future. These currencies are changing business, money and the world. As some governments accept the digital currency as a mode of payment, therefore it is important to know some of these digital currencies and how they operate. some types of currencies other than bitcoin and their working are as follows:
1) Ethereum
Ethereum is a decentralized computing platform that features smart contract functionality. It offers the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), a decentralized virtual machine that executes peer-to-peer contracts using a cryptocurrency known as ether. The Ethereum platform allows multiple uses concerning smart contracts. With Ethereum, business can be done safely with a person you don’t know; because all terms are spelled out in a “smart contract” entrenched in the blockchain.
2) Ripple
Ripple is a real-time currency exchange, remittance network, and settlement system. It offers instant, certain, low-cost international payments. The Ripple protocol or the Ripple Transaction Protocol (RTXP) is framed upon a decentralized open source Internet protocol and the native currency referred to as XRP (ripple). Based on the public ledger, Ripple uses a consensus process to all exchange, remittance and payments in the distributed process. Designed for peer to peer debt transfer. Not based on bitcoin.
3) Litecoin
Litecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency released under the MIT/X11 license. Litecoin is majorly inspired by the bitcoin and also it is technically almost identical to bitcoin. Litecoin formation and transfer are based on an open source protocol. The first cryptocurrency to use Scrypt as a hashing algorithm.
4) Dash
Dash, formally called Darkcoin is a more secretive form of Bitcoin. It provides more privacy because it makes the dealings nearly untraceable as it operates on a distributed masternode network. It is a bitcoin-based currency featuring instant transactions, decentralized governance and budgeting, and private transactions. Dash was launched in 2014, and since then this currency has an increasing fan. This cryptocurrency has X11 ASICs that presently mine Dash and CPU mining is not profitable anymore since a while ago.
5) Peercoin
Peercoin is also known as PPCoin, Peercoin was created by software developers Scott Nadal and Sunny Kingand was launched in 2012. It is the first digital currency that uses a combination of proof-of-stake and proof-of-work. At first, the coins are mined using the proof-of-work hashing process. The users are rewarded coins using the proof-of-stake algorithm that requires minimal energy to generate blocks as the hashing difficulty increases over time. The first cryptocurrency to use POW and POS functions which follows the SHA-256d algorithm.
6) Dogecoin
Launched in 2013, Dogecoin is largely based on the Bitcoin protocol, but with some modifications. The currency uses the technology of scrypt as a proof-of-work scheme. Its block time is 60 seconds. The production of the dogecoin is unlimited. The digital currency deals with many coins that are lesser in value individually. Therefore, it is good for carrying out smaller transactions and has a low entry barrier.
7) Primecoin
Primecoin was developed by Sunny King. Its proof-of-work is built on prime numbers, and therefore, different from the common system of hashcash utilized by many cryptocurrencies built on the Bitcoin framework. The algorithm is based on finding the prime chains made of Cunningham chains and bi-twin chains for proof-of-work, which leads to useful by-products.
8) Chinacoin
This currency is a litecoin-based digital currency which uses the scrypt password-based key derivation function. At the moment, It’s generated in 60-second blocks with about 88 coins per block.
9) Ven
Ven is a global digital currency which was designed to allow trade among members of Hub Culture. Launched in 2017, Ven is aimed at reducing the risk of inflation. The value of Venis determined on the financial markets from a basket of commodities, currencies and carbon futures.
