Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul><li><keyword id="5294933" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cardano" source="Orion">Cardano</keyword>’s Alonzo upgrade introduces smart contracts to the network and makes it more useful.</li><li>The ADA token has become over 100% more valuable over the past month.</li><li>The Alonzo upgrade has made Cardano the direct competitor for <keyword id="2810876" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ethereum" source="Orion">Ethereum</keyword>.</li></ul>Two days after Bitcoin produced its 700,000th block amidst much fanfare, another important cryptocurrency has announced a milestone. ‘<keyword id="11993734" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ethereum-killer" source="Orion">Ethereum killer</keyword>’ Cardano revealed that it has successfully rolled out the scheduled <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/after-ethereum-cardano-update-alonzo-hard-fork-will-create-new-use-cases/articleshow/85592973.cms">Alonzo upgrade</a>, which introduces the much awaited ‘smart contracts’ feature — the same feature which allows for non-fungible tokens (<keyword id="902592" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nfts" source="Orion">NFTs</keyword>). But the creators of the platform have warned that the first use cases may not be seen for years to come. <div type="twitter" handle="CardanoStiftung" handlename="Cardano Foundation" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1409583952189267992/3d-5joMC_normal.jpg" favoritecount="3532" retweetcount="730" status="&quot;The Alonzo upgrade will bring highly anticipated capabilities to Cardano... this is where the mission truly begins… https://t.co/yd6EG1tpoB" createdat="1631467052000" id="1437103093632622597"></div> The update puts Cardano in direct competition with Ethereum, giving it more flexibility in terms of applications like non-fungible tokens (<a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite&amp;is_retargeting=false&amp;shortlink=BI&amp;c=site&amp;pid=Business%20Insider&amp;af_click_lookback=7d&amp;af_channel=Business%20Insider&amp;af_adset=article&amp;af_force_deeplink=true">NFTs</a>), automated lending and more. Like Ethereum, the Cardano blockchain is also based on the proof-of-stake system, which requires miners to put up their own stake of crypto. Only those with the largest stake will be rewarded for their services. It reduces the overall computing power required for mining on a public blockchain and hence is more environmentally sound. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The third largest cryptocurrency in the world" comment="subhead" text="The third largest cryptocurrency in the world">The third largest cryptocurrency in the world</cmsannotation> To be fair, <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite&amp;is_retargeting=false&amp;shortlink=BI&amp;c=site&amp;pid=Business%20Insider&amp;af_click_lookback=7d&amp;af_channel=Business%20Insider&amp;af_adset=article&amp;af_force_deeplink=true">Ethereum</a> still leads Cardano in terms of overall market capitalisation. On September 12, Cardano had a market cap of around $82 billion against Ethereum’s whopping $400 billion market cap. However, Cardano has risen from being the simple underdog to being among the top five cryptocurrencies in the world in terms of market cap. It is currently placed in third position, behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ethereum’s London Hard Fork" comment="subhead" text="Ethereum’s London Hard Fork">Ethereum’s London Hard Fork</cmsannotation> Ethereum’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/ethereum-london-upgrade-is-taking-place-today-heres-what-could-happen-after-the-update/articleshow/85065884.cms">London Hard Fork</a> rolled out on August 5 and is seen as the first step towards ‘version 2.0’ of the platform, which will arrive next year. The new system moves the Ethereum blockchain towards the proof-of-stake system like Cardano and reduces not only its environmental footprint but also the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/ethreums-update-has-boosted-ethers-price-but-the-cryptocurrencys-main-problem-is-yet-to-be-solved/articleshow/85269874.cms">transaction fees</a> required on the network. Ether’s price — the cryptocurrency which fuels the Ethereum blockchain — has risen from around $2,700 on August 5 to $3,200 on September 12, whereas Cardano’s price remains around the $2 mark. “It’s only just the beginning. But this is still a moment for celebration. As a community, we have been on an incredible journey together. Rightly, we should allow ourselves to acknowledge the tremendous efforts made by so many to get here. This will also be a time for reflection on the challenges we've collectively overcome,” <a href="https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/09/12/today-will-feel-like-a-destination-yet-a-new-exciting-journey-begins/">wrote</a> Tim Harrison, Marketing and Communications Director of Input Output Global, the creators of Cardano, in a blog post. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Cardano’s recent highs" comment="subhead" text="Cardano’s recent highs">Cardano’s recent highs</cmsannotation> While Cardano’s price may be a fraction of what Ethereum costs right now, the cryptocurrency has been reaching its own highs. The market cap for ADA, Cardano’s native token, has almost doubled over the past month. On August 31, the token <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/cryptocurrency/cardano-returns-150-in-a-month-to-become-the-third-largest-cryptocurrency/articleshow/85617141.cms?from=mdr">defied</a> crash predictions to rise to an all time high of $2.56 — providing investors with over 150% returns. As mentioned before, introducing smart contracts makes the Cardano blockchain more flexible and useful, which in turn means it will have more usage. Which is one of the main reasons why many in the blockchain and DeFi world picked Ethereum over Bitcoin in the first place. Harrison warned that while the expectations from Alonzo are high, some may be unreasonable. “Cardano watchers may be expecting a sophisticated ecosystem of consumer-ready DApps available immediately after the upgrade. Expectations need to be managed here. We should remember that another well-known blockchain project which launched in July 2015 had to wait over two years before its first DApp (something to do with cats?) gained real user traction,” he wrote, referencing Cryptokitties, which was the first DApp built on the Ethereum blockchain. <a href="https://forum.businessinsider.in/">For a more in-depth discussion, come on over to Business Insider Cryptosphere</a> — a forum where users can deep dive into all things crypto, engage in interesting discussions and stay ahead of the curve. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/some-early-crypto-enthusiasts-have-bailed-on-the-sector-saying-the-movement-has-bought-into-hype-without-understanding-the-technologys-limits/articleshow/86118146.cms">Some early crypto enthusiasts have bailed on the sector, saying the movement has bought into hype without understanding the technology's limits</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/the-surge-in-altcoins-looks-unsustainable-and-has-echoes-of-the-run-up-to-mays-crypto-crash-jpmorgans-bitcoin-expert-says/articleshow/86138062.cms">The surge in altcoins looks unsustainable and has echoes of the run-up to May's crypto crash, JPMorgan's bitcoin expert says</a>

Cardano can now mint NFTs, run DApps and more — but the creators themselves are asking people to keep their expectations in check

When it comes to the future of cryptocurrencies, the consensus usually is that the future lies in decentralised apps (<a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-advertorial">DApps</a>). While the rage usually is about these cryptocurrencies’ market capitalisations and volatile prices, they are at the end of the day, a piece of software. And, like any piece of software, their worth is determined by how useful they are. After all, would Google have mattered if Search wasn’t what it is today? Thinking from that point of view, a person can see how one cryptocurrency is a competitor to another, just as Yahoo Search or AOL once were to Google. And, that isn’t more true than for the three cryptocurrencies battling it out to win in the ‘smart contract’ space — <keyword id="2810876" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ethereum" source="Orion">Ethereum</keyword>, <keyword id="1905050" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="solana" source="Orion">Solana</keyword> and <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-advertorial">Cardano</a>. At the heart of all cryptocurrencies including these three, is the algorithm that runs them. In fact, Ethereum, Solana and <keyword id="5294933" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cardano" source="Orion">Cardano</keyword> are actually names for these blockchain platforms and not the actual cryptocurrencies. The Ethereum chain uses a token called ETH for trading, while <a href="https://wazirx.com/blog/sol-inr-trading/">Solana</a> and Cardano use the SOL and ADA tokens, respectively. So, when you talk about the differences between the three, you have to talk about how their algorithms differ. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="wazirx" comment="wazirx" text="wazirx"><keyword id="6672551" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wazirx" source="Orion">wazirx</keyword></cmsannotation> All three of these cryptocurrencies can be traded on <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-advertorial">WazirX, India’s leading crypto exchange</a>. One can buy Ethereum, Cardano, Solana directly with rupees. Before we get into the differences, let’s talk about the big similarities. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What are smart contracts?" comment="subhead" text="What are smart contracts?">What are smart contracts?</cmsannotation> Smart contracts are what makes <a href="https://wazirx.com/blog/how-does-an-ethereum-transaction-work-in-india/">Ethereum</a>, Solana, Cardano and even the Binance Smart Chain, different from Bitcoin. Defined in their algorithms are tiny pieces of code that execute when certain conditions are fulfilled. In essence, they are ‘if, when, then’ statements that execute automatically. Imagine a rental agreement, which says your rent is supposed to go up by 10% every 11 months. In the traditional banking system, you could set up a standing payment instruction where the rent amount is paid to your landlord every month, but you will have to keep changing it every 11 months, right? On a smart contract, the system will know the rent has increased and could theoretically increase the amount whenever requapplicationsse smart contracts can be defined on a blockchain platform once, and they cannot be changed by anyone. The involved parties can set up as many ‘if, when, then’ conditions as they want within a smart contract. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How do Ethereum, Solana and Cardano fit into the picture?" comment="subhead" text="How do Ethereum, Solana and Cardano fit into the picture?">How do Ethereum, Solana and Cardano fit into the picture?</cmsannotation> As mentioned before, smart contracts is one of the reasons why the Ethereum, Solana and <a href="https://wazirx.com/blog/what-does-cardano-mean-for-defi/">Cardano</a> platforms are similar. The other is the fact that they used — or in Ethereum’s case will us ise — a “proof of stake” system. More on this later. Unlike Bitcoin, which is best suited to applications that involve the exchange of things, like paying for apps and services, smart contracts open up a world of possibilities. As a result, the three platforms mentioned above can be used to build <keyword id="7054800" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dapps" source="Orion">DApps</keyword>, be it a decentralised finance (<keyword id="4164994" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="defi" source="Orion">DeFi</keyword>) app or social media platform. Think of it this way: the Bitcoin platform lets you define situations via algorithms where you could take a Bitcoin and exchange it for something. On smart contracts, you can literally have a contract being executed for and for the computers processing them, they’re just another transacti fewon on the network. Remember the Google example? This basically means that platforms with smart contracts have much more functionality than those that do not. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ethereum — the origin story" comment="subhead" text="Ethereum — the origin story">Ethereum — the origin story</cmsannotation> Bitcoin is, and always will be credited for introducing <keyword id="2721952" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> to the world, but Ethereum may transcend it for revolutionising finance. When 27-year-old Russian programmer Vitalik Buterin created the platform, he derived the name Ethereum from the 19th century scientific term Ether. If you’re a fan of Marvel’s Avengers movies and are thinking of Thor’s Ether, that works too. In 19th century science, Ether was thought to be a weightless and frictionless material that filled all space and carried light waves. While this theory has been disproved, Buterin’s idea for his platform was to be the same — the invisible medium that powers possibly every book in the world, according to former Bloomberg journalist Camilla Russo’s 2020 book, The Infinite Machine. The introduction of smart contracts made Ethereum different from Bitcoin and answered one of the questions critics had at the time — why cryptocurrency? Bitcoin was an alternate to the world’s currencies, Ethereum was an alternative to that and everything else. It gave developers a way to take advantage of blockchains, and build things that didn’t have to make governments and central banks uneasy. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How does Cardano threaten Ethereum’s dominance in the market?" comment="subhead" text="How does Cardano threaten Ethereum’s dominance in the market?">How does Cardano threaten Ethereum’s dominance in the market?</cmsannotation> Ethereum grew fast between its launch in 2013 and today, but despite everything that was good about it, it had one big flaw — it ran on the proof of work system. You see, crypto transactions are authenticated by computers, which are owned by large organisations called miners. These miners can only provide the computing power required to authenticate transactions and have no way to actually change the blockchain or the transactions that happen in it. And for doing this ‘work’, they get rewarded with new cryptocurrencies by the platform. Essentially, the platform is like a bank, the miners are like Visa and Mastercard, and the bank pays Visa and Mastercard for authenticating the transactions their customers undertake all over the world. The problem with this is that both Ethereum and Bitcoin reward every miner involved in a transaction, which means that there’s an overwhelming amount of computing power going into each transaction. Instead, Cardano has what is called the “proof of stake” system, which is more efficient. In this system, miners have to first stake their own crypto to be eligible for rewards. The platform then chooses the top few miners — a predefined number — for authenticating transactions. As a result, the overall amount of computing power is reduced considerably, and in turn the amount of electricity required to power the computers is reduced too. All this makes Cardano much more environmentally sound than Bitcoin or Ethereum right now, and that’s true for Solana too. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="wazirx" comment="wazirx" text="wazirx">wazirx</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Why are Solana and Cardano called Ethereum killers?" comment="subhead" text="Why are Solana and Cardano called Ethereum killers?">Why are Solana and Cardano called Ethereum killers?</cmsannotation> The proof of stake system is the main reason why these two crypto platforms are called Ethereum killers. At the moment, they’re more efficient and answer the one big concern that many world governments, experts and billionaires have about cryptos — their environmental footprint. However, Ethereum is going to introduce version 2.0 of the platform next year, which brings the same system to the platform as well. It’s supposed to reduce Ethereum’s energy requirements by as much as 99%. Last month, the Ethereum London Hard Fork set the stage for version 2.0, by introducing the proof of stake system to the platform. Platforms with smart contracts, like Ethereum, are expected to gain wider adoption which makes being environmentally sound absolutely essential. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Who is likely to come out ahead?" comment="subhead" text="Who is likely to come out ahead?">Who is likely to come out ahead?</cmsannotation> Needless to say, the two points in favour of Ethereum, Cardano and Solana are the fact that they will or already employ the proof of stake system, and that they offer smart contracts. The big problem with the Ethereum platform right now is scalability. Each Ethereum transaction requires a transaction fee — also called gas fee — and it doesn’t matter what kind of transaction it is. At the moment, these gas fees can go up to as much as $150 or more and are very volatile, because of the volume of transactions happening on the network every second. Imagine building a chat platform, where each new message is a transaction. Would a company be able to pay $150 for each message we, the users, send? Would the users want to pay a part of that cost? In comparison, transaction fees on the Cardano and Solana platforms cost a dollar or less right now. “Solana has solved this (the problem of scalability) with a system of cryptographic time-stamping that currently can accommodate 65 000 transactions a second, which is astonishing. Nobody has come close to this, including Visa,” crypto investment analyst Brett Hope Robertson <a href="https://www.moneyweb.co.za/in-depth/revix/is-solana-the-real-ethereum-killer/">told</a> MoneyWeb. On the other hand, as <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/09/01/bitcoin-vs-ethereum-vs-cardano-which-cryptocurrenc/#:~:text=Pros%3A%20Cardano%20was%20created%20by,similarities%20to%20its%20crypto%20competitor.&amp;text=Also%2C%20while%20Ethereum%20is%20currently,and%20faster%20than%20its%20competitors.">explained</a> by The Motley Fool, the problem with Cardano and Solana is adoption. Both these currencies have market capitalisations that are less than half of what Ethereum’s is right now, which means that they remain speculative right now. Whether you’re buying the ADA and SOL tokens or building an app on them, you will be taking a risk on a platform that works only in theory right now. “Risk can be measured in a variety of different ways,” Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at Coinshares, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/26/why-the-dogecoin-millionaire-plans-to-buy-cardano-next.html">told</a> CNBC last month. “But many of these assets are much more risky than bitcoin and ethereum,” he added. Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in partnership with WazirX.

Ethereum vs Solana vs Cardano — who is DeFi’s darling?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The alonzo upgrade brought smart contract capability to the <keyword id="5294933" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cardano" source="Orion">cardano</keyword> network Sunday.</li><li>Ada has dropped around 20% since an all-time high of around $3.098 on September 2.</li><li>Cardano "promises a lot but whether it can actually deliver remains to be seen," one trader said.</li></ul>The cardano network now offers users the ability to run <keyword id="11910184" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="smart-contracts" source="Orion">smart contracts</keyword>, following a major upgrade over the weekend, increasing its competitiveness with larger rival ethereum.The network's developers, Input Output HK, confirmed on Sunday over <a href="https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1437174002603204609?s=20">Twitter</a> that the planned "alonzo" upgrade had rolled out successfully. In a <a href="https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/09/12/today-will-feel-like-a-destination-yet-a-new-exciting-journey-begins/">blogpost</a> the same day, cardano said it had deployed "plutus smart contract capabilities", following the completion of the alonzo hard fork."That's probably the most significant change in the history of the protocol," cardano founder Charles Hoskinson told Insider in a recent interview, in reference to the recent upgrade. This upgrade will allow the implementation of smart contracts on the blockchain, enabling a new sweep of decentralized finance (<keyword id="11899100" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="defi" source="Orion">DeFi</keyword>) applications and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/cardano-alonzo-upgrade-ada-purple-smart-contracts-defi-nft-2021-9">programmability</a>. Cardano will now be able to compete with the likes of ethereum, a much larger network, earning itself the nickname of potential "ethereum killer." The alonzo upgrade, named after American mathematician <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alonzo_Church">Alonzo Church</a> - considered one of the founders of computer science - will allow the network to be used for decentralized exchanges, house <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/bored-ape-yacht-club-nft-crypto-sotheby-auction-24-million-2021-9">non-fungible tokens</a> and run oracle programs that draw in external data to trigger smart contracts. "They will now get to build it with cost predictability and formal methods and all kinds of other things that we think in the long term will build much more sustainable, secure and ultimately useful applications for users," Hoskinson said. Cardano's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/ada-usd">ada</a> coin recently became the third largest by market value, at $75 billion in size, although it is still dwarfed by bitcoin, the most widely traded digital coin, which has a market cap of $836 billion. Ada has fallen around 23% since hitting an all-time high of around $3.098 on September 2 according to Kraken as investors took some profit following the long-awaited upgrade. "The cardano smart contract upgrade was an epochal moment for the ecosystem but its success depends upon adoption by developers and the number of dApps integrated into the cardano network, Alexandra Clark, sales trader at digital asset broker GlobalBlock, said."Ultimately, cardano promises a lot but whether it can actually deliver remains to be seen," she said.Ada was last trading around $2.388, down around 8% in the last 24 hours by 06:45 ET, according to Kraken data.

Cardano says it has added smart contracts to its network after the alonzo upgrade - while its ada token runs into profit-taking

<ul><li><keyword id="2810876" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ethereum" source="Orion">Ethereum</keyword>’s gas fees can move from a few dollars to a few hundreds in a matter of seconds.</li><li>According to an analyst at <keyword id="44660" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jpmorgan" source="Orion">JPMorgan</keyword>, Ethereum might be losing out to competitors like <keyword id="5294933" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cardano" source="Orion">Cardano</keyword> and <keyword id="1905050" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="solana" source="Orion">Solana</keyword> already.</li><li>Ethereum’s valuation has dropped by $200 billion in less than six months.</li></ul>Ethereum’s high gas fee has been a concern for many, and is a key hurdle in the platform’s scaling ability. Now, investment bank JPMorgan has said that the platform is losing ground to rivals like Solana in the non-fungible token (NFT) sector due to these high gas fees. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="wazirx" comment="wazirx" text="wazirx">wazirx</cmsannotation> Gas fees is the fee paid to miners for validating a transaction on the Ethereum network. It is known to be as volatile as the price of Ether itself, and can add hundreds of dollars to the cost of a transaction. At the time of writing, the gas fee was averaging at around $6, but the value has been known to jump to over $150 quite often since it depends on the traffic on the network. "It looks like, similar to <keyword id="12997000" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="defi-apps" source="Orion">DeFi apps</keyword>, congestion and high gas fees has been inducing NFT applications to use other blockchains,” <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/ethereum-eth-killers-nfts-defi-solana-cardano-wax-crypto-investing-2022-1">said</a> JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, in a note. “If the loss of its NFT share starts looking more sustained in 2022, that would become a bigger problem for ethereum's valuation," he added. Panigirtzoglou isn’t the only one who feels this way either. To be sure, Ethereum’s market capitalization has dropped from a massive $568 billion in August 2021 to around $373 billion today, according to data from <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/">Coinmarketcap</a>. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="NFT market scaling fast" comment="subhead" text="NFT market scaling fast">NFT market scaling fast</cmsannotation> On the other hand, the market for <keyword id="902592" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nfts" source="Orion">NFTs</keyword> and decentralised applications (Dapps) have been scaling at a breakneck pace. For instance, NFT marketplace OpenSea was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59880739">valued</a> at a massive $13 billion earlier this month, when the company raised $300 million. At the time, the company said that trades on the platform grew by 600 times over 2021. NFT projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Cryptopunks are other examples of billion dollar NFT projects and how fast the industry has been growing. This is where the scaling problem comes in, since many or even most NFT projects are built on the Ethereum network and its smart contracts feature. And with more NFT transactions, the load on the Ethereum network keeps growing too. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Solving the problem" comment="subhead" text="Solving the problem">Solving the problem</cmsannotation> To be fair, Ethereum’s developers are well aware of the problem too. In August 2021, right around the time when Ethereum had hit its $500-plus billion market cap, the platform saw an an update called the London Hard Fork, which was the first big step towards moving to the second generation of the network — Ethereum 2.0. With the London Hard Fork, the platform introduced the ‘proof-of-stake’ system, which is meant to reduce the overall gas fees and its volatile nature. The problem is that Ethereum 2.0 will still take at least a few months to kick in and no concrete date has been set just yet. With Cardano and Solana already based on the same proof-of-stake system, experts like JPMorgan are concerned that developers will migrate to these competing platforms rather than depending on Ethereum for too long. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/cardano-jumps-on-the-metaverse-bandwagon-with-pavia-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-adas-entry-into-play-to-earn/articleshow/89012262.cms">Cardano jumps on the metaverse bandwagon with Pavia — here’s everything you need to know about ADA’s entry into play-to-earn</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/coindcx-hiring-2000-plus-people-this-year-crypto-coders-developers-product-development-and-other-roles/articleshow/88972086.cms">EXCLUSIVE: CoinDCX plans to hire more than 2,000 people this year — and they are not just looking at coders</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/one-of-the-largest-cryptocurrency-swapping-platforms-just-lost-1-3-million-as-users-failed-to-update-approvals/articleshow/88992186.cms">One of the largest cryptocurrency swapping platforms just lost $1.3 million as users failed to update approvals</a>

Ethereum may not have too long to get its high gas fee issue in check, according to JPMorgan

The crypto project behind the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/bitcoin-crash-saw-solana-quant-litecoin-and-algorand-price-remain-stable/slidelist/86038623.cms">ALGO token</a> may not be as well known as <keyword id="6354947" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bitcoin" source="Orion">Bitcoin</keyword>, Ethereum, <keyword id="5294933" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cardano" source="Orion">Cardano</keyword> or <keyword id="1905050" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="solana" source="Orion">Solana</keyword> — at least in the Indian crypto ecosystem — but it’s one of the many projects to watch out for today. At the time of writing, the <keyword id="1468526" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ALGO" source="Orion">ALGO</keyword> token was trading on <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-advertorial">WazirX</a> at ₹110, having moved between ₹132-140 during the recent crypto downturn, unlike larger currencies that recorded big drops. The token is ranked at number 40 on the exchange. It is also one of the few projects that has its own investment arm, called Borderless Capital. The Miami-based venture capital firm announced a new $500 million fund on November 30 to invest in the Algo DeFi ecosystem. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="wazirx" comment="wazirx" text="wazirx"><keyword id="6672551" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wazirx" source="Orion">wazirx</keyword></cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is Algorand?" comment="subhead" text="What is Algorand?"><keyword id="12735796" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="what-is-algorand" source="Orion">What is Algorand</keyword>?</cmsannotation> Like every other public blockchain platform, <keyword id="12053767" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="algorand" source="Orion">Algorand</keyword> is also a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/from-solana-to-chainlink-to-chiliz-here-are-15-altcoins-headlining-a-world-of-tokens-that-extends-well-beyond-bitcoin-and-what-theyre-all-used-for/articleshow/82344809.cms">decentralised network</a>. However, this one aims to solve the ‘blockchain trilemma’, and tackles the three big problems that the ecosystem faces today — speed, scalability and security. It was launched in 2019 by Turing award winning computer scientist and MIT professor, Silvio Micali. <div type="image" title="blockchain trilemma" msid="88279202" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The blockchain trilemma&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Micali created Algorand to be a payments focused network, not unlike Bitcoin, but with the ability to handle many more transactions — 1,200 transactions per second (TPS) — and it’s set to touch around 3,000 TPS after an upcoming update that adds ‘instant finality’ to the network. In comparison Bitcoin can handle just under 5 TPS, while Ethereum can handle approximately 13 TPS. <div type="image" title="Silvio_Micali" msid="88279234" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Silvio Micali, the founder of Algorand&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> This is an important feature, since it helps achieve scalability, one of the biggest roadblocks in the crypto space today, and also why some peg ALGO to be among the ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/solana-cardano-polkadot-and-others-heres-a-quick-look-at-why-these-crypto-tokens-are-being-touted-as-ethereum-killers/articleshow/88045517.cms">Ethereum Killers</a>’. Existing payments systems from Visa and Mastercard can process 1,700 and 5,000 transactions, respectively, and what comes in the way of scaling crypto apps is the fact that transactions can take a long time to process. It also uses the ‘pure-proof-of-stake’ (PPoS) consensus mechanism, which means that only a select group of miners are rewarded for lending their computing power to complete transactions. This is the same system that Cardano and Solana currently use, and Ethereum is moving towards, in order to reduce gas fees on the network. Speed and low transaction fees are prerequisites in order to make public blockchain networks real payments systems that can be scaled on a worldwide level. Algorand is also inflationary, in the sense that there’s a limit to how many ALGO tokens there will be on the network. The supply is capped at 10 billion ALGO tokens, of which 3 billion will be circulated in the first five years including 25 million that were auctioned at launch. Of the rest, 1.75 billion will be distributed to miners as rewards over time, while 2.5 billion is earmarked for relay nodes (a type of mining node supported by Algorand). Another 2.5 billion has been reserved for the Algorand Foundation and Algorand Inc, which run and maintain the network, respectively. The last 0.25 billion will be distributed for end user grants. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How does Algorand work?" comment="subhead" text="How does Algorand work?">How does Algorand work?</cmsannotation> Yes, Algorand does use the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, but the Algorand network’s mining protocols are quite different from what you may otherwise understand about PoS. Instead, the network functions on something called pure-proof-of-stake, or PPoS, which is a more egalitarian approach than PoS and is meant to avoid the ‘rich getting richer’ phenomenon. Essentially, while PoS rewards miners with the most stake, PPoS picks miners at random and irrespective of their stake in the system. The network has two kinds of nodes — participation nodes and relay nodes. The relay nodes serve as network hubs and their job is to maintain the connection between Algorand’s all the other nodes in the system. The participation nodes are the ones that actually lend computing power to validate transactions, and these are the ones that are rewarded the most. The participation nodes use the relay nodes to communicate with each other and maintain the ledger. Algorand allows anyone to run a relay or a participation node, but while participation nodes are rewarded for their work, relay nodes aren’t allowed to ‘mine’ ALGO. Instead, the Algorand Foundation has provided a reward mechanism for relay nodes, which will vest in two to five years. They run a virtualization software called Algorand Virtual Machine (AVM) in order to connect with the Algorand network. But the network’s inner workings don’t end there. The Algorand network has its own way of managing smart contracts — a feature of top blockchain networks that allows building decentralized apps (DApps) on them. <div type="ExtQuote" text="“Smart contracts make blockchains programmable. Like a vending machine, a smart contract establishes a clearly defined procedure for transferring assets. For example, Alice wants to buy tokens issued by Bob, so she sends coins to Bob’s smart contract. The contract&amp;#39;s code counts the coins, perhaps checks that Alice is in the contract&amp;#39;s database of qualified investors, and then transfers the correct number of tokens to Alice&amp;#39;s account. The exchange is transparent: Alice can inspect the contract’s code, and the code runs without Bob’s participation.”" auname="Excerpt from Silvio Micali's blog post"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The secret sauce that makes Algorand an alternative to Ethereum" comment="subhead" text="The secret sauce that makes Algorand an alternative to Ethereum">The secret sauce that makes Algorand an alternative to Ethereum</cmsannotation> Algorand handles smart contracts in two layers, on-chain and off-chain. On Layer-1, the system allows the smart contracts to be run ‘on-chain’, much the same way Ethereum does. This means that every smart contract is directly adding traffic to the network, and too many of them can slow the network down. In order to avoid that, Algorand offers layer-2 smart contracts as well, where the contract will be executed “off-chain”. This means that the smart contract doesn’t add traffic to the network, but is executed outside its purview, and then added to the blockchain ledger. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is AVM?" comment="subhead" text="What is AVM?">What is AVM?</cmsannotation> As mentioned above, the Algorand Virtual Machine is a piece of software that runs on every node on the Algorand network, both relay and participation nodes. The AVM contains a stack engine, which is what evaluates the smart contracts on the Algorand network. The AVM evaluates all the logic inside smart contracts and decides whether to execute them. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Algorand claims to be carbon neutral, if not carbon negative" comment="subhead" text="Algorand claims to be carbon neutral, if not carbon negative">Algorand claims to be carbon neutral, if not carbon negative</cmsannotation> No, Algorand doesn’t run on some magical green power source. While there’s no reason for miners not to power their infra using green power, the Algorand Foundation has pledged to offset the carbon footprint of its network through a partnership with Spanish environmental foundation ClimateTrade. In order to create a carbon-negative network, Algorand and ClimateTrade decided to implement a sustainability oracle, which will notarise the carbon footprint generated by Algorand’s on-chain transactions for a set amount of blocks. Algorand will lock the equivalent amount of carbon credit in a smart contract, and put the same amount into a green treasury to offset its carbon footprint. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Is Algorand an Ethereum killer?" comment="subhead" text="Is Algorand an Ethereum killer?">Is Algorand an <keyword id="11993734" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ethereum-killer" source="Orion">Ethereum killer</keyword>?</cmsannotation> This isn’t really a yes or no answer. There are pros and cons though, the big pros being the fact that Algorand is faster than Ethereum and that it has no concept of gas fees. The minimum transaction on Algorand is 0.001 Algos and it depends only on the size of the transaction. The Algorand Standard Asset (ASA) is also similar to the ERC-20 token, since both of them allow smart contracts to be built. However, while ERC-20 will always add traffic to Ethereum’s network and increase gas fees, ASA smart contracts can be run off-chain too and hence reduce transaction fees. In addition, bridges between ASA and ERC-20 allow applications built on Algorand to talk to those built on Ethereum. Which is why currencies like Tether and USDC can be transferred to ALGO at 1000 TPS. Algorand’s unyielding price on exchanges like WazirX is a good sign that the cryptocurrency is running on a strong foundation. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Algorand and CBDC" comment="subhead" text="Algorand and CBDC">Algorand and CBDC</cmsannotation> As mentioned earlier, Algorand’s biggest benefit is that it solves the blockchain trilemma. Which means that it’s one of the best suited networks to power central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), like the ones being formulated in countries like India right now. The Republic of Marshall Islands had selected Algorand to power its national currency earlier this year. 16 other such CBDC projects are in the works as well. Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in partnership with WazirX. Do your own research (DYOR) before deciding to invest in any asset, cryptocurrency or otherwise. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/crypto-faqs-answered-everything-you-need-to-know-about-crypto-regulations-trading-taxes-and-cbdc-in-india/articleshow/88139203.cms">Crypto FAQs answered — everything you need to know about crypto regulations, trading, taxes and CBDC in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/facebook-and-microsoft-arent-the-only-ones-creating-a-metaverse-here-are-five-popular-coins-looking-to-create-digital-worlds/articleshow/87931051.cms">Facebook and Microsoft aren’t the only ones creating a metaverse — here are five popular coins looking to create digital worlds</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/what-is-bitcoin-golden-cross-and-death-cross/articleshow/87796591.cms">Bitcoin investors love the golden cross and death cross — here’s why they matter but there are other factors to keep in mind</a>

Algorand — here’s why crypto lovers are so bullish on this ‘Ethereum Killer’

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13037119" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dappradar" source="Orion">DappRadar</keyword> sees 80% of <keyword id="11899100" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="defi" source="Orion">DeFi</keyword> apps vanishing if the <keyword id="11893898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> bear run lasts, according to a Bloomberg report.</li><li>Plunging crypto has seen <keyword id="12681147" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="liquidations" source="Orion">liquidations</keyword> and usage drop in DeFi apps, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.</li></ul>Four out of five DeFi apps could disappear if the crypto rout lasts for a year, says DappRadar, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-25/defi-shakeout-seen-as-liquidations-lead-to-crypto-user-exodus?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=crypto">Bloomberg report</a> Tuesday."As far as <keyword id="12751906" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto-winter" source="Orion">crypto winter</keyword>, DeFi dapps have never gone through it," Pedro Herrera, senior data analyst at tracker DappRadar, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg."They have experienced crashes, but this feels like a prolonged one. Probably 20% of the apps that hold 80% of the industry value will survive," he said.Cryptocurrencies have come under intense pressure so far in January, with <keyword id="11893902" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bitcoin" source="Orion">bitcoin</keyword> tumbling to six-month lows. Meanwhile, some of 2021's <keyword id="11961768" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="altcoin" source="Orion">altcoin</keyword> stars — such as solana, cardano and polygon — have fallen even more sharply this month, losing almost 40% in value. Decentralized finance, or DeFi, has a taken a drastic hit from the crypto market's ongoing bear run. Almost <a href="https://dune.xyz/dsalv/Liquidations">$300 million</a> assets were liquidated in DeFi protocols in the last week, according to industry data tracker Dune Analytics, as reported by Bloomberg.A report by <a href="https://news.bitcoin.com/value-locked-in-defi-slides-21-in-2-weeks-200b-tvl-still-10x-larger-than-this-time-last-year/">Bitcoin.com</a> found the value locked in DeFi has fallen by over 20% since January 4, although it is still 10 times higher than this time last year.There are almost 150 active DeFi-related decentralized apps, or dapps. They currently hold $30 billion less than at the start of 2021, according to DappRadar. Usage of DeFi dapps is decreasing, with active user wallets interacting with the major apps falling 20-30% in the last two weeks, it said. Ethereum-based DeFi apps such as Aave, Compound and MakerDAO processed a record $200 million of liquidations on Friday, data from Dune Analytics shared by Delphi Digital shows, <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/01/25/ethereum-money-markets-see-record-liquidations-as-ether-tanks-makerdao-revenue-surges/">according to CoinDesk</a>. DeFi apps aim to<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/17/mark-cuban-learn-about-defi-nfts-cryptocurrency-like-eth.html"> recreate traditional financial systems</a> with cryptocurrency. Most run on the <keyword id="11892696" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ethereum" source="Orion">ethereum</keyword> blockchain. Falling ether prices triggered the mass liquidation in DeFi apps. Ethereum's native ether token, the world's second largest by market value after bitcoin, is down 32% year to date.

A long 'crypto winter' of falling prices could end up killing off a slew of DeFi apps, according to DappRadar: report

<ul><li>The year has recorded investments worth $17 billion in the <keyword id="2721952" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto">crypto</keyword> space already, the largest in any year so far.</li><li>According to a whitepaper by IndiaTech, Indian companies only received 0.2% of the $5.5 billion invested globally as of May.</li><li>While foreign funds are still dipping their toe in Indian crypto companies, local investors remain wary due to regulatory uncertainty.</li></ul>Globally, the crypto industry’s fortunes may be turning around for the better. Nothing spurs growth for an industry more than investor interest, and it seems that the <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">crypto industry</a> is getting the best kind. According to a Bloomberg <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/venture-capital-makes-a-record-17-billion-bet-on-crypto-world/articleshow/83664252.cms">report</a> based on data from Pitchbook, venture capital funds have invested $17 billion into the industry during the first half of this year, surpassing numbers recorded in any year so far. The report comes a mere three months after Pitchbook <a href="https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/crypto-startups-post-record-quarter-as-opportunities-abound">disclosed</a> that investments worth $3 billion have gone into <keyword id="6357017" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</keyword> and blockchain startups in the first quarter of 2021, from January to March. However, only a very small part of these investments seems to be flowing into Indian crypto companies. <a href="https://forum.businessinsider.in/">For a more in-depth discussion, come on over to Business Insider Cryptosphere</a> — a forum where users can deep dive into all things crypto, engage in interesting discussions and stay ahead of the curve Crypto investments are happening in India too — just on a smaller scale While the country still <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/wazirx-zebpay-crypto-and-others-are-setting-up-their-own-self-regulation-board-in-india/articleshow/83203195.cms">grapples with regulations</a>, foreign funds are scooping up the early benefits of startups founded by Indians in the blockchain ecosystem, while local investors are still wary. For instance, Dubai-based crypto investment fund FD7 Ventures had <a href="https://www.vccircle.com/crypto-fund-fd7-ventures-launches-250-mn-micro-fund-in-india/">launched</a> a $250 million micro-fund in India in March, meant to invest in altcoin projects like Polkadot and Cardano. And, India’s Polygon — an Ethereum based blockchain firm — also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/mark-cuban-invests-in-indian-ethereum-platform-polygon/articleshow/82967154.cms">received</a> a ‘sizable investment’ from billionaire Mark Cuban last month. But, companies in the country only received 0.2% of the $5.5 billion invested in blockchain startups globally, according to a whitepaper published by think tank <a href="https://www.indiatech.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IndiaTech.org_Crypto_Decoder_2021.pdf">IndiaTech</a> in May. Firms like Polygon are built on public blockchain systems, like Ethereum, which will directly be affected if regulators crack down too hard on crypto. However, even if you consider the fact that India’s crypto trading industry isn’t considered to be the most relevant in the global scheme of things, the data suggests that the overall industry is <a href="https://forum.businessinsider.in/t/cryptocurrencies-bubble-or-booming-opportunity/77">simply too big to fail now</a>. Too big to fail? To be clear, a large part of the current global growth of $17 billion has come from a single deal, as pointed out by Bloomberg. Blockchain company Block. One struck a massive $10 billion funding round led by billionaires Peter Thiel, Alan Howard and Louis Bacon. However, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the crypto industry is slowly becoming too big to fail. In April, many pointed out how Coinbase’s listing on the NASDAQ exchange could be the watershed moment for the industry. The world’s largest <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">crypto exchange</a> saw a <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-bytes/coinbase-heads-for-91-billion-valuation-as-indicative-share-price-surges/articleshow/82069923.cms">massive</a> $100 billion-plus initial public offering (IPO) on the exchange. It grew 31% in about a month after that, and though it has registered drops too, it brought investor interest to crypto and blockchain firms, unlike any previous iterations. Around the same time as Coinbase’s successful listing, big money investment firm Tiger Global made a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/tiger-global-makes-its-first-crypto-investment-in-india-making-coinswitch-kuber-worth-half-a-billion-dollars/articleshow/82197893.cms">sizable investment</a> in the Indian crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber. The company <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/tiger-global-makes-its-first-india-cryptocurrency-firm-investment-121042201345_1.html">raised</a> $25 billion in a Series B round that was led by Tiger Global. The American investment firm’s interest raised CoinSwitch’s value to $500 million, putting it amongst the top exchanges in a country that is comparatively new to the industry, but a hub for blockchain development worldwide. It’s about more than just the ‘monetary value’ of cryptocurrencies Sure, countries would want to retain their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/el-salvadors-bitcoin-experiment-is-gaining-momentum-even-if-the-world-bank-doesnt-want-to-lend-its-support/slidelist/83634654.cms">monetary sovereignty</a>, but cryptocurrencies aren’t your day-to-day assets either. Ether, the token that powers the Ethereum blockchain, gains from each new application that’s developed using its underlying technology. According to the decentralized apps (Dapps) tracking platform <a href="https://www.stateofthedapps.com/stats/platform/ethereum">State of Dapps</a>, the Ethereum chain has been registering as many as 3,800 new apps per month. Decentralized apps include games, payments apps, social networks, and more that are built on blockchain platforms. One could argue that 3,800 Dapps per month is a small number in the larger scheme of things, but that’s exactly the kind of thing that <a href="https://forum.businessinsider.in/t/cryptocurrencies-bubble-or-booming-opportunity/77">grows fast</a> with investor interest. After all, Facebook was one among a few when it became big, but social media is without a doubt one of the biggest industries today. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/crypto-prices-tumble-as-experts-warn-about-impending-death-cross/articleshow/83713427.cms">Crypto prices tumble as experts warn about impending ‘death cross’</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/bitcoins-hash-rate-drops-to-a-six-month-low-after-china-shuts-nearly-90-of-its-bitcoin-mining/articleshow/83712677.cms">Bitcoin’s hash rate drops to a six-month low after China shuts nearly 90% of its bitcoin mining</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/flipkart-and-amazon-may-not-be-able-to-do-flash-sales/articleshow/83737670.cms">Amazon, Flipkart and other e-commerce platforms may not be able to do flash sales any more, if Indian government has its way</a>

Investments in crypto hit a new record of $17 billion, but Indian funds are yet to jump on the bandwagon

<ul><li>Notwithstanding the boom in bitcoin, <keyword id="8129164" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="Altcoins" source="Orion">altcoins</keyword> are also finding gains.</li><li>"Altcoins are good for diversity in your investment portfolio," said Tally Greenberg of Allnodes, staking and hosting platform for <keyword id="6357017" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrency" source="Orion">cryptocurrency</keyword> investors.</li><li>Insider gives you a brief look at avalanche, cardano, polkadot, cosmos, and the graph.</li><li><a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/10-things-opening-bell">Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell</a>.</li></ul>As bitcoin cements itself center stage as the world's most popular <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-editorial">cryptocurrency</a>, flanked by the likes of ethereum and dogecoin, there's a group of alternative coins rising on the periphery out of mainstream focus: avalanche, cardano, polkadot, cosmos, and the graph. They're all newer, more volatile, and smaller by market capitalization - and also offer higher possible returns, said Tally Greenberg, head of business development at Allnodes, a staking and hosting platform for cryptocurrency investors. "Altcoins are good for diversity in your investment portfolio," she said. "They are different from commodities and stocks. Therefore, they do not correlate with other traditional investment assets." Greenberg added that investors can get higher returns with <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-editorial">altcoins</a>, and can also earn some passive income through staking, a method where an investor holds or locks her <keyword id="2420795" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrencies" source="Orion">cryptocurrencies</keyword> to receive rewards. But the most compelling reason for Greenberg to invest in altcoins is the unique blockchain infrastructure that accompanies them, which she says offers immense future upside. Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and managing partner of Nexo - a financial institution for digital assets - agreed that altcoins are slated for significant rallies this year. "More and more alt-coins are getting on traders' radars," he said. "They are also putting ethereum under pressure as the top [decentralized finance] dog is becoming heavily congested due to the influx of users, developers, [decentralized application], DeFi protocols, and the [non-fungible token] craze." Harold Montgomery, managing director at digital payments platform Wirex, believes in the future of altcoins as well. "These new currency systems will overcome the scalability and transaction speed limitations of bitcoin and ethereum which currently hinder their usefulness," Montgomery said. "They will support billions of transactions, sometimes of very small size, enabling global commerce." Yet for some, including Mike Venuto, co-portfolio manager of a $1 billion ETF that focuses on blockchain technologies and companies dealing with cryptocurrencies, altcoins are still nascent. "I think they are interesting ideas, but too early," he said. "Many of these altcoins have great concepts but the protocols to support them need more adoption before they can succeed." Venuto added that even bitcoin is still in the process of establishing its own infrastructure. The same goes with ethereum. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-outlook-market-cap-hedge-fund-cio-emerging-crypto-assets-2021-3" target="_blank">The investing chief of a crypto hedge fund breaks down why he thinks bitcoin will achieve a $5 trillion market cap by 2023 - and shares 2 emerging areas of the asset class that he's bullish on</a> Pankaj Balani, CEO at Delta Exchange, a digital asset derivatives exchange, shares the same skepticism, although is slightly more bullish when it comes to polkadot and cardano. "We have seen bitcoin gain close to six times on the back of institutional participation," Balani said. "The trend has however not been the same for altcoins. Though in some cases the absolute returns might be higher most of the coins have started to move only in January." Still, the rise of altcoins is drawing some attention for a couple of reasons. Insider gives you a look at five altcoins that are gaining traction: <h2>1. Avalanche</h2>Avalanche is a new blockchain that can process more transactions than ethereum at a much faster rate but at a lower cost. Greenberg said sees it as "a promising technology that does more for less." For instance, if ethereum can support 30 transactions per second, avalanche can do the same for 4,300. Why is it important? Greenberg points to the rise of new services such as decentralized finance or DeFi, and to the existing infrastructure for such projects. <h2>2. Cardano</h2>Cardano is also a new blockchain that positions itself as a positive global change, especially with its goal of providing access to financial services in developing countries. Greenberg also said it is more energy-efficient than bitcoin. Why is it important? For Greenberg, investing in Cardano is for those who believe in its philosophy and approach. Further, the blockchain, she said, regularly updates and "seems to be on track in meeting their projections, which underlines consistency in the blockchain's overall health." Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-investing-strategy-norwegian-billionaire-kjell-inge-rokke-crypto-defi-2021-3" target="_blank">A Norwegian billionaire who just set up a $59 million unit to invest in the bitcoin ecosystem breaks down his 3-fold strategy - and shares why he believes the digital currency is 'a solution rather than a problem' to many of its perceived challenges</a> <h2>3. Polkadot</h2>Polkadot is a Swiss blockchain born in the midst of a global pandemic. Jeffery Wang, head of Americas at The Amber Group, a cryptocurrency company, referred to it as "one of the most highly anticipated next-gen blockchains" as it enables developers to build their own blockchains and connect them with each other. Among other reasons, Wang said Polkadot overcomes the scalability issues that are present in Ethereum. Greenberg and Wang noted that Polkadot is meant to complement Ethereum, not compete with it. Why is it important? It is a new but promising technology that many dApps developers seem to be keen on, Greenberg said. She also added that the ability to communicate with many blockchains is crucial and encourages investing in polkadot if one believes in the future of decentralized applications. <h2>4. Cosmos</h2>Similar to Polkadot, Cosmos is an ecosystem of blockchain that offers interoperability, allowing an exchange of data between different blockchains. The blockchain of cosmos, however, Wang said, is independent and has its own consensus mechanism and validators to secure itself, unlike polkadot and ethereum. Why is it important? Wang said investors who put money in cosmos are those that are looking for a solution "to help the entire blockchain sector advance by bringing different projects together," not necessarily those who are looking to find a "winning blockchain-takes all scenario." <h2>5. The Graph</h2>The Graph, only a few months old, is a decentralized and open-source indexing protocol for blockchain data, Wang explained. It is not as established just yet, but is called the "Google of Blockchains" by its advocates since the platform can be utilized to search for any data through simple queries. Why is it important? - While it has little to show, for now, Greenberg and Wang believe that there is huge potential with the graph, particularly with how it can be used to index all blockchains and decentralized applications. The graph's technology, Greenberg added, is already in use by Uniswap, which is a decentralized exchange.

Forget dogecoin: Here are 5 under-the-radar altcoins you need to know

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="2420795" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrencies" source="Orion">Cryptocurrencies</keyword> could have helped people in <keyword id="6354541" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="afghanistan" source="Orion">Afghanistan</keyword> during the cash crunch, advocates say.</li><li>Mike Novogratz, Charles Hoskinson, and Wall Streets Bets' founder Jaime Rogozinski share that view.</li><li>The conversation about whether <keyword id="2721952" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> could have helped Afghans without money has agitated many.</li></ul>Cryptocurrency advocates, including billionaires Mike Novogratz and Charles Hoskinson, believe that owning <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-editorial">digital assets</a> would have helped the people suffering in Afghanistan during the recent cash shortage. Following the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taliban-to-declare-islamic-emirate-of-afghanistan-official-2021-8">Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan</a> last month, locals and foreigners <a href="https://www.insider.com/taliban-afghanistan-take-over-live-updates#video-shows-group-of-afghan-women-protesting-in-kabul-as-armed-men-stand-close-by">scrambled to Kabul airport</a> in an attempt to exit the country. In planning their escape, scores of people queued up to withdraw their savings from cash machines, only for several to find their <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1426948106579501058">accounts frozen</a>. Some point out that placing your money in a supposedly "safe" bank puts you at risk of losing it, since financial institutions are controlled by the government. Novogratz warned during a recent <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4449792-galaxy-digital-holdings-ltd-s-brphf-ceo-michael-novogratz-on-q2-2021-results-earnings-call">investor call</a> that he was sure wealth in Afghanistan would be confiscated to avoid misuse, and this situation could have been prevented had the financial system not existed in its current form. "Part of <keyword id="6354947" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="bitcoin" source="Orion">bitcoin</keyword>'s mission is to give the world a ledger where wealth can be stored safely, where governments can't come and take your money, they can't deflate it away," he said. Charles Hoskinson, the founder of <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-editorial">cardano</a> and co-founder of ethereum, in a <a href="https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1427835461867692034">video message</a> called for an end to financial regimes in their current form. "I firmly believe if we change our money, and we change the institutions of how our democracy works, collectively over time as nation states, even if they exist in their existing form, we will stop tolerating these things," he said. At the same time, both men recognized that people in Afghanistan are most concerned about simply surviving the next day. Not all crypto advocates believe the situation has a straightforward answer. Jaime Rogozinski, the creator of Reddit's Wall Street Bets and strategic advisor of blockchain project dApp, told Insider that owning bitcoin translates to "a reasonable store of value" that is independent of the current geopolitical or economic situation in Afghanistan. "Having bitcoin allows the wealth to move around the globe seamlessly, much like we've seen on several occasions dating back to the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-cyprus-bank-disaster/274096/">Cyprus banking crisis in 2012</a>," he said. Erik Voorhees, one of bitcoin's earliest proponents, <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7ened/bitcoiners-think-crisis-in-afghanistan-couldve-been-prevented-with-bitcoin">told Vice</a> that crypto can help prevent wars and occupations by throttling the flow of taxpayer money that governments need to fund them. "We shouldn't pretend that bitcoin will fix the immediate suffering there, but it absolutely helps solve the problem of empire, by starving the empire of tax revenues and curtailing its ability to print currency for the funding of wars," he said. It can be extremely useful during crises to be able to access your crypto wallet and the coins inside it from anywhere in the world, according to Ian Kane, co-founder of Unbanked.com. "As long as you remember your password and have access to your wallet, then you're able to access your bitcoin balance and exchange it for goods, services, or the local fiat-based currency," he told Insider. "This would be crucial for Afghans who reached asylum in a country they have never been to and need food or shelter." "Bitcoin bros" seizing on the plight of people in Afghanistan to trumpet crypto have angered the families of those who are suffering. One <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/p5b4rs/cryptocurrencies_would_not_have_saved_the_people/">Reddit user</a> who fled <keyword id="13425" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="kabul" source="Orion">Kabul</keyword> in 2000 - when the <keyword id="16945" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="taliban" source="Orion">Taliban</keyword> was still in charge of the country - recently posted a message on the social platform, exasperated at the idea that cryptocurrencies could have been helpful in any way. "When the Taliban circled Kabul, hyperinflation occurred," they wrote. "Prices of all foods skyrocketed out of fear of dying of starvation. Do you really believe cryptocurrencies could have changed this?"

Why Mike Novogratz, Charles Hoskinson, and the founder of Wall Street Bets think crypto would help Afghans avoid a cash crunch

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Altcoin is short for "alternative coin" and - as the name suggests - is an alternative <keyword id="11892695" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrency" source="Orion">cryptocurrency</keyword> to Bitcoin.</li><li>Altcoins have become a major segment of the cryptocurrency markets, with projects like Ethereum (ETH), Stellar Lumens (XLM), and Uniswap (UNI) distinguishing themselves as platforms with innovative capabilities.</li><li>The altcoin markets are characterized for their volatility and are highly speculative investments subject to speculation.</li></ul>Since the emergence of Bitcoin, the concept of a decentralized, trustless peer-to-peer (P2P) payment network has inspired an entire class of digital assets. The crypto markets are a product of Bitcoin's success, and the fast-growing space consists of more than 9,000 altcoins.Now we have altcoins, which began to emerge in 2011 in an attempt to reinvent Bitcoin, with their own rules and improvements on different features.<h2>What is an altcoin? </h2>Altcoin is a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cryptocurrency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cryptocurrency</a> alternative to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bitcoin</a> - its name is a portmanteau of "alternative" and "coin." Since Bitcoin is widely regarded as the first of its kind, new cryptocurrencies developed after are viewed as alternative coins - or altcoins. The emergence of altcoins began around 2011, with the first generation formed using the same blockchain engine as Bitcoin.The first altcoin was Namecoin, which is based on Bitcoin's code and was released in April 2011. Namecoin is integral to the history of altcoins in that it showed that there's enough room in the crypto markets for more than one kind of coin.Blockchains today can run several hundreds of "altcoins," fueling similar currency projects with unique rules and mechanisms. Altcoins like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-ethereum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ethereum</a> can provide developers with a toolkit and programming language to build decentralized applications into the blockchain.<h2>Understanding how altcoins work </h2>To understand how altcoins work, it's good to first understand how blockchain technology works - which is where all cryptocurrencies operate. The blockchain network is a distributed ledger that stores data like cryptocurrency transactions, NFT ownership, and decentralized <keyword id="11895316" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="finance" source="Orion">finance</keyword> (DeFi) smart contracts. This ledger is often referred to as a "chain" comprising "blocks" of data, which are used to verify new data before additional blocks can be added to the ledger.This network, on which Bitcoin operates, is groundbreaking because it's a decentralized, trustless, P2P payment network that functions without a central authority or entity facilitating transactions. And altcoins function on the exact same premise as Bitcoin: to operate using this blockchain technology. However, there have been some altcoins that have emerged to instead improve on the flaws of Bitcoin or to achieve some other goal. For example, Litecoin was designed by former Google engineer Charlie Lee as a "lite version of Bitcoin."<h2>Understanding forks</h2>A fork refers to an update in network protocol (the open source software blockchains run on). There are two kinds of forks: a hard fork and soft fork. A soft fork is a minor upgrade to the software, and typically means nothing for users. A hard fork is a major change to the network, and requires users/miners to update to the latest software in order to continue mining. If developers decide they do not like the direction a blockchain network is going in, they can do a hard fork and create a new coin. Since 2009, Bitcoin has seen over <a href="https://mapofcoins.com/bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">400 hard forks</a>. In the news: In the past year, crypto and celebrity influencers have come under fire for promoting cryptocurrencies. Even social media platforms like TikTok have <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/tiktok-crypto-bitcoin-investing-trading-ban-sponsored-ad-content-branded-2021-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned crypto promoters</a> from the platform. Here are the two key things to know about altcoins.Altcoins are a highly speculative and volatile investment. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-speculation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Speculation</a> is a powerful driver of the crypto markets so it's important to do your research before investing in any altcoin. Half-baked whims and trading based on rumors are exactly what the experts advise against."An emerging technology like crypto is going to attract people of ill-repute who are looking to make a quick buck off of the new investor," says Ben Armstrong, founder of <a href="https://bitboycrypto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BitBoy Crypto</a>. "So it's important to be cautious and not fall for the hype of a slick new project, or get FOMO when you see a crypto asset making new all-time highs." The decentralized, intangible, and often misunderstood nature of cryptocurrencies in general makes predicting the long-term, steady success of an altcoin project difficult to predict. Some altcoins, like Ethereum, have maintained their position in the market through constant innovation and the strength of their community. Speculation has a more dramatic effect on newer altcoins. External factors like public perception, Bitcoin price fluctuation, or a meme on Reddit can oftentimes cause drastic price fluctuations.While the crypto community stands united on its long-term bullish outlook for Bitcoin, the temptation of selling coins for short-term profits is built into the crypto zeitgeist. The crypto community created the term "hodl" in an effort to encourage people to hold on to their crypto assets for the long-term. "Hodl" means "hold on for dear life," and to resist the impulse of selling when the value of their crypto drops or rises.Quick tip: Smart contracts are programs that are stored on blockchain that execute when certain conditions are met.Cryptocurrency takes a toll on the environment. Bitcoin's energy consumption is a well-known flaw. As of August 2021, Bitcoin's energy consumption is 151.57 TWh according to Digiconomist's Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index - that's comparable to what the entirety of Malaysia uses in energy. The culprit for the tremendous costs of energy lies with the "proof of work" (PoW) consensus algorithm, which is how transactions are verified. And as Bitcoin mining has become more competitive, the computing power required to profitably mine new bitcoins is represented in factories loaded with servers all working toward solving the network's algorithms.The PoW consensus mechanism is responsible for driving the competition for faster and more powerful computational processing power. The faster a miner's computer can complete the formula, the higher their odds of winning a block reward. Over time, miners have developed computer hardware with the sole function of processing the PoW consensus algorithm. This has evolved from a miner running a program in the background of their PC to entire mining farms. Miners (or a pool of miners) will buy factories in countries where electricity is cheap and fill them with thousands of mining rigs. The energy required to keep the rigs running 24/7, combined with the fans and coolant systems to prevent overheating and fires, has made crypto mining an environmental disaster.<h3>The emergence of "green coins"</h3>Bitcoin's carbon footprint has provided an opportunity for altcoins with greener consensus mechanisms to market themselves as "green coins." While proof of work is the main culprit for the Bitcoin energy crisis, blockchains like Ethereum and <a href="https://cardano.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cardano</a> (ADA) operate on proof of stake consensus mechanisms. Compared to the energy-hungry PoW, staking requires no mining in order to participate and earn coins. The success of Ethereum and Cardano prove that people can participate in crypto while being environmentally friendly.Quick tip: Proof of work is the consensus mechanism used by Bitcoin and many other altcoins to audit transactions on the blockchain and "mine" new crypto. Crypto mining is solving computational formulas to audit transactions on the blockchain. Completing the formula means a chance at receiving a newly minted BTC reward. <h3>Types of altcoins</h3>Over time, there have been many altcoins that have come along. And now, there are the main types:<ul><li>Mining-based: Altcoins that are mining-based are created through the process of mining, like Bitcoin. One example of a mining-based coin is Litecoin.</li><li>Stable coins: These types of altcoins are a new subset to the crypto market that's meant to reduce volatility. By design, they're digital assets with their value pegged to fiat and physical assets (off-chain) and crypto collateral (on-chain). Algorithmic stablecoins are not backed by on-chain or off-chain assets, but governed by a smart contract at its core.</li><li>Security tokens: These types of altcoins are a digital or liquid asset that represents an ownership stake in a tangible asset. Stored on a distributed ledger, security tokens are the blockchain-equivalent to shares, but can represent a stake in IP, a car, or property, etc.</li><li>Utility tokens: Once very popular in the 2017 initial coin offering (ICO) boom, utility tokens are not pegged to any currency or tangible value. In exchange for capital in the early stages of an ICO, investors would receive a quantity of utility tokens in exchange for their investment determined by the company or project owner. The utility tokens will serve as a coupon or voucher after funding to purchase goods and services from the issuer.</li></ul>Quick tip: One of the main benefits of blockchain technology is transparency. If something is on the blockchain, it means it is visible, permanent, and accessible to the public. On-chain typically refers to a transaction that is performed and recorded on the blockchain. Off-chain is a transaction not directly recorded on the blockchain.<h2>Staking an altcoin</h2>Staking is the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/passive-investing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passive-investing strategy</a> where an investor holds funds in a cryptocurrency wallet in order to earn rewards over time. When an investor chooses to stake their holdings, the network can use it to forge new blocks on the blockchain. The process of staking supports the process of PoS work because it requires participants to support it. And so stakers are essentially helping to make this happen.Also, staking is incredibly energy-efficient - unlike mining. According to the Ethereum Foundation, the latest switch to a PoS system <a href="https://blog.ethereum.org/2021/05/18/country-power-no-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will reduce energy costs by 99.95%</a>.<h2>7 notable altcoins 2021</h2>While no altcoin has managed to "dethrone" Bitcoin in value, many projects have proved themselves worthy enough to a global community of investors and developers:<h3>1. Ethereum (ETH)</h3><div type="image" title="Ethereum altcoin on green background 2x1" height="835" width="1668" msid="85848268" hostid="261"></div>The second-largest blockchain in crypto, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-ethereum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ethereum's</a> evolution has taken it from an asset to an application. Founded by Vitalik Buterin in 2013, Ethereum is a distributed blockchain platform for smart contracts and dApps (decentralized applications). With its native token, ether (ETH), users can interact with the Ethereum platform. Ether can be traded on most crypto exchanges, used to pay transaction fees, or as collateral for ERC-20 tokens, which have DeFi utility. Ethereum's integration with smart contracts via the Solidity programming language has distinguished the project from Bitcoin. A smart contract is a self-executing code that can run on the blockchain.<h3>2. Chainlink (LINK)</h3><div type="image" title="Chainlink altcoin on green background 2x1" height="835" width="1668" msid="85848271" hostid="261"></div>Launched officially in 2019 on the Ethereum blockchain, Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that's meant to expand on smart contracts. In a nutshell, it connects smart contracts with "off-chain" data and services. The network is built around the LINK network and token and has two parts: on-chain and off-chain.The on-chain component comprises oracle contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, which oversee and process data requests that come in from users. The off-chain component is made up of off-chain oracle nodes that connect to the Ethereum network, which are responsible for processing external requests that are later converted to contracts.<h3>3. Aave (AAVE)</h3><div type="image" title="AAVE altcoin on green background 2x1" height="835" width="1668" msid="85848274" hostid="261"></div>The AAVE is an open-source DeFi lending protocol that allows anyone to loan or borrow crypto without an intermediary. As a lender, you can deposit funds - which are allocated into a smart contract - where you can earn interest based on how Aave is performing in the market. Making a deposit means you can also borrow by using your deposit as collateral.Rebranded from ETHLend following a successful ICO in 2017, Aave switched from a decentralized P2P lending platform into a liquidity pool model. This means loans are acquired from a pool instead of an individual lender. Since 2020, the Aave Protocol has been an open-source and non-custodial liquidity DeFi protocol for earning interest on deposits and borrowing assets. Holders of AAVE can decide on the direction of the project by voting on and discussing proposals.<h3>4. Stellar Lumens (XLM)</h3><div type="image" title="Stellar Lumens altcoin on green background 2x1" height="835" width="1668" msid="85848277" hostid="261"></div>Stellar is an open-source payment network that doubles as a distributed intermediary blockchain for global financial systems, designed so all the world's financial systems can work together on a single network. Stellar began in 2014 when Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb disagreed with the direction of the Ripple project. The ethos behind Stellar's development is to make international money transfers possible for the everyday person. While Stellar is an open-source network for currencies and payments, Stellar Lumens (XLM) is the circulating native asset on the network. Stellar keeps its ledger in sync using its <a href="https://www.stellar.org/papers/stellar-consensus-protocol" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP)</a>. Instead of relying on a miner network, SCP uses the Federated Byzantine Agreement algorithm, enabling faster transactions.<h3>5. Uniswap (UNI)</h3><div type="image" title="Uniswap altcoin on green background 2x1" height="835" width="1668" msid="85848283" hostid="261"></div>Uniswap is a decentralized exchange ecosystem built on the Ethereum blockchain. Launched in 2018, Uniswap uses an on-chain automated market maker. One of Uniswap's unique features is that anyone can be a market maker by depositing their assets into a pool and earning fees based on trading activity.Uniswap uses an automated market maker protocol that executes trades according to a series of smart contracts. The smart contracts automate price discovery, allowing users to swap one token for another without an intermediary. In traditional finance, market makers are usually brokerage houses with incentives that can cause a conflict of interest.<h3>6. PotCoin ($POT)</h3><div type="image" title="Potcoin altcoin on green background 2x1" height="835" width="1668" msid="85848284" hostid="261"></div>PotCoin is a Canadian-based digital currency that was launched in 2014 to allow consumers to buy and sell legal cannabis products. PotCoin was introduced as a solution for cannabis enthusiasts and the industry looking to legally transact at a time where banks were unable to do so.PotCoin is an open source cryptocurrency forked from the Litecoin core. There are subtle changes to the PotCoin protocol including a shorter block generation time and the increased 420 million max supply of PotCoins. Potcoin switched from a Proof of Work mechanism to Proof of Stake in 2016 to make supporting the network more accessible and less harmful to the environment.<h3>7. Litecoin (LTC)</h3><div type="image" title="Litecoin altcoin on green background 2x1" height="835" width="1668" msid="85848288" hostid="261"></div>One of the first-generation of altcoins made in 2011, Litecoin is a cryptocurrency based off of Bitcoin. Key things that distinguish Litecoin from Bitcoin include blocktime (four times faster block times than Bitcoin), supply (Litecoin has a max supply of 84 million while Bitcoin max supply of 21 million), its hashing algorithm, and distribution.Dubbed the "digital silver" to Bitcoin's "digital gold," Litecoin's goal was to optimize the Litecoin asset while preserving the best parts of Bitcoin.Quick tip: <a href="https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/standards/tokens/erc-20/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The ERC-20 standard</a> is a set of rules applied to smart-contract tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. The flexibility and fungibility of the ERC-20 token allows dApp developers to create utility tokens, security tokens, or stablecoins.<h2>The financial takeaway</h2>Altcoins have come a long way since 2011, and continue to prove themselves as more than just an "alternative to Bitcoin." The crypto space is a fast-moving and increasingly popular point of interest for investors. Thanks to the innovation and integration of crypto into mainstream business, people can safely and legally buy altcoins on their phone or computer.Easy access to the crypto markets doesn't mean it isn't risky. Before investing in an altcoin, ask yourself: have you researched and performed enough due diligence? Would you be able to explain the project to your family or friends at the dinner table? Whether you want to trade altcoins full-time or just "hodl" onto your Bitcoin, the choice is yours. Listening to the experts, evaluating the risks, and assessing your financial goals are keys to investing responsibly.<a data-type="600f72e1fdb68e08982d5365">A bitcoin IRA lets you profit from the cryptocurrency's potential gains in a tax-advantaged way</a><a data-type="5fac1720bf96b9125f748159">How to diversify your portfolio to limit losses and guard against risk</a><a data-type="5fdc12cc3617355d27686ece">How to invest in bitcoin: The major ways to buy, their pros and cons, and the strategies to consider</a><a data-type="5fd1032bbca41b06e2352e87">Bitcoin taxes: Understanding the rules and how to report cryptocurrency on your return</a>

You Searched For "cardano dapp" and got 10 results

Cardano can now mint NFTs, run DApps and more — but the creators themselves are asking people to keep their expectations in check

BI India Bureau

Ethereum vs Solana vs Cardano — who is DeFi’s darling?

Insider Studios

Cardano says it has added smart contracts to its network after the alonzo upgrade - while its ada token runs into profit-taking

Camomile Shumba

Ethereum may not have too long to get its high gas fee issue in check, according to JPMorgan

BI India Bureau

Algorand — here’s why crypto lovers are so bullish on this ‘Ethereum Killer’

Insider Studios

A long 'crypto winter' of falling prices could end up killing off a slew of DeFi apps, according to DappRadar: report

Hamza Fareed Malik

Investments in crypto hit a new record of $17 billion, but Indian funds are yet to jump on the bandwagon

BI India Bureau

Forget dogecoin: Here are 5 under-the-radar altcoins you need to know

Isabelle Lee

Why Mike Novogratz, Charles Hoskinson, and the founder of Wall Street Bets think crypto would help Afghans avoid a cash crunch

Shalini Nagarajan

Altcoins are the alternative digital currencies to bitcoin - here's what they are and how they work

Ryan Austin

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides