As most cryptocurrency enthusiasts are well aware of, there are different groups of currencies to take into account. The major cryptocurrencies are all offering something seemingly different, whereas the rest are mostly copy-and-pasted clones. However, there are some big differences between the major cryptocurrencies, otherwise, there would be very little point in distinguishing between them.
Dash
One of the main things Dash does well is providing its users with additional privacy when completing transactions. The network of Dash Masternodes provides these services, while also incentivizing users to not spend their wallet balance. Additionally, Dash is making quite an impact in the point-of-sale industry, through strategic partnerships.
Monero
Having a hard time finding anonymous cryptocurrencies? Look no further. Monero is leading the change in the anonymity race due to some innovative concepts. Monero has also been embraced by darknet markets because it provides privacy and anonymity one cannot find in bitcoin. For other uses of Monero, it is pretty limited.
Ripple
Many people have contrasting opinions regarding Ripple, but you can’t ignore the benefits it brings to the table. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Ripple is not about speculation but strongly focuses on transactional utility. Dozens of banks around the world are looking at Ripple to improve their transactions and other day-to-day operations moving forward. Over the past few days, Ripple’s XRP token saw its price increase significantly due to a new banking partnership.
Ethereum
Over the past year or so, many people have compared Ethereum to bitcoin. That is like comparing apples to oranges since both ecosystems are nothing alike. Ethereum focuses on the technical side of blockchain development, including native tokens, smart contracts, and decentralized applications. It is possible all of these features will come to bitcoin in the future, but it is good to have some competition among cryptocurrency ecosystems.
Litecoin
To a lot of people, litecoin is either a bitcoin clone or one of the first “original” outcomes to gain traction. Litecoin offers a different mining algorithm and faster transactions. Interestingly enough, there are some development similarities between bitcoin and litecoin. Segregated Witness, for example, may very well activate on the litecoin network first before it will go into effect among bitcoin users.