In the 21st century, money is no longer limited to bills, coins and credit cards. In fact, some money is truly international — not owned by any particular government — and regulated “by the people” instead of a central entity. It also exists wholly on the internet. This type of money is called cryptocurrency.
You may have heard of or even used Bitcoin when it first became popular several years ago, but where Bitcoin used to rule, other cryptocurrencies are now being used to pay back family members for lunch, charge customers for products and services and make other everyday transactions. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to keep an eye on the most commonly-used cryptocurrencies. Here are six I think you should know about.
Ethereum
Rather than competing with Bitcoin like many other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum complements it; while the Bitcoin blockchain network tracks ownership of its own currency, the Ethereum blockchain runs programming codes for its users’ applications. People use Ethereum to create custom (but trustworthy) crowdfunding platforms, autonomous online organizations and even their own cryptocurrencies. Because these applications are decentralized, they can only be built in the Ethereum network.
Though Ether, the network’s money, wasn’t made to be used for everyday payments, anything of value can be traded for products and services; as a result, many developers use it to pay for each other’s help in building applications.
However, most online stores that accept cryptocurrency do not take Ether.
Litecoin
If Bitcoin were gold, Litecoin would be silver. Litecoin works just like its more popular counterpart, but it’s worth a little less — there are 21 million total Bitcoin in existence and 84 million Litecoin. Litecoin are easier to mine and quicker to move from person to person due to its faster block generation. It is perhaps the least intimidating cryptocurrency for those who are new to exchanging money online: Litecoin’s wallet can be downloaded from the official Litecoin website, and it’s fully encrypted to prevent accidental spending and computer viruses. This is a super simple network for those who need to move smaller amounts of money fast.
Ripple
While other cryptocurrencies avoid…