ALTERNATIVES TO BITCOIN: HERE ARE THE BEST OF THE LOT

Have you missed out on investing in the Bitcoin (or BTC) cryptocurrency evolution? Despite the recent slide, Bitcoin continues to be ranked #1 in the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation, with the current BTC price hovering around the $6,500 mark.

If not in Bitcoin, then as an investor, you can consider investing in any of the other 1300 cryptocurrencies currently being traded in the cryptocurrency market. So, which are the best alternative altcoins that you should evaluate?

Here is our recommended list.

Litecoin (LTC)

Created in the year 2011, Litecoin is currently ranked #6 in the list of Top 100 cryptocurrencies. With a circulating supply of around 57 million coins, Litecoin hit an all-time high price of $360 in the year 2017. Compared to Bitcoin, investors can benefit from its higher transaction speed and lower trading volumes. Currently trading at $95, many investors are buying into this cryptocurrency with a Litecoin price prediction expected to touch $600 by the end of 2018.

Ripple (XRP)

Despite being criticised for being a centralised cryptocurrency, XRP has been on an upward bull run in the last one year with a 1000% price rise in the month of December 2017 only. This centralised cryptocurrency is ranked #3 in the list of Top 100 cryptocurrencies with a circulating supply of over 39 billion coins. Supported by major banking corporations like Santander, American Express, and recently Money Gram, Ripple has good future potential and returns for investors.

Ethereum (ETH)

With an impressive market cap valued at $48 billion, Ethereum (or ETH) has been the 2nd best altcoin for investors after Bitcoin. The year 2017 was a great run for this cryptocurrency with the price (per Ether) growing from $10 (at the start of the year) to $1100 (by the start of 2018). With large corporations such as JP Morgan Chase and Microsoft joining the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, ETH continues to hold plenty of investment potential as the best alternative to Bitcoin.

Digital Cash (DASH)
Formerly christened as Darkcoin or XCoin, Digital Cash is ranked among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. Since its market launch in 2014, the price of DASH cryptocurrency rose exponentially from $10 per token to $1200 in the year 2017, before settling to a price of $800. Functions such as the “PrivateSend” and “InstantSend” enable the obfuscation of DASH transactions while providing ample privacy and anonymity to its users. As compared to Bitcoin, Digital Cash is cheap to transact at $0.40 and also fast.

Monero (XMR)
Launched in the year 2014, Monero (or XMR) was among the first private and untraceable digital cryptocurrency. With a market supply of 18.4 million coins, Monero is currently trading at around $127 up from its market value of $9 at the start of the year 2017. Along with its enhanced privacy, Monero offers investors good returns as an alternative to Bitcoin.

Conclusion

Besides these five listed cryptocurrencies, altcoins such as Bitcoin Cash, ZCash, and Cardano also provide good returns in the short-term or long-term basis for investors.