Altcoin Explainer
Beginner-friendly summaries of some noteworthy cryptocurrencies.
Please note: These descriptions go into very little technical detail. They do not indicate how far along a given project is, nor the challenges they realistically face. Please do additional research before forming an opinion about any of these altcoins.
Please note: These descriptions go into very little technical detail. They do not indicate how far along a given project is, nor the challenges they realistically face. Please do additional research before forming an opinion about any of these altcoins.
0x (ZRX)
0x is an open, permissionless protocol allowing for ERC-20 tokens to be traded on the Ethereum blockchain. It offers a cheaper and faster solution than possible on the Ethereum blockchain directly, and is often used to help build DEXs. Users place their orders off-chain, which removes the need to pay fees. Only the actual transfers of value occur on-chain. Relayers broadcast all the off-chain orders of the 0x network to the rest of the network to match buyers with sellers. 0x is already being used by a number of blockchain projects.
Ark (ARK)
Ark aims to create an ecosystem of linked blockchains using a technology called SmartBridge -- which allows existing blockchains to interface with one another. This altcoin uses a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus system originally developed by Bitshares. It features 8 second block times, making transactions nearly instantaneous. Several founders are the key developers behind Lisk.
Augur (REP)
Augur is a decentralized prediction market built on top of Ethereum. A prediction market allows for forecasting the outcomes of arbitrary future events (such as who will win an election, or if an earthquake will hit a given city, etc). Reputation is an important part of Augur’s success. By having a mechanism that incentivizes honest reporting by coin holders, Augur is able to operate with significantly lower fees than a centralized betting platform. Vitalik Buterin is an advisor.
Basic Attention Token (BAT)
BAT aims to be a decentralized and transparent digital ad exchange. Rather than paying middleman companies like Facebook and Google to run ads, that money can be paid directly from advertisers to users in BAT tokens. Users can then turn around and use that BAT to pay their favorite content providers. Users retain ownership of their browsing data and allow for machine learning algorithms to match that data with relevant ads, without having it tied to your identity. Notably, BAT raised their ICO in under 30 seconds. Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript and co-founder of Mozilla and Firefox, is the primary figurehead. It already works with the privacy-focused Brave browser.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
A controversial hard fork of Bitcoin created in August 2017 as a reaction to SegWit being adopted. Bitcoin Cash attempts to solve scalability issues using larger block sizes in order to reduce transaction fees. It is derogatorily referred to as "bcash".
Blocknet (BLOCK)
Blocknet aims to be the "Internet of Blockchains". It claims to allow the features of one blockchain to function as a service accessible to users of every other cryptocurrency. Blocknet is a general-purpose infrastructure for inter-blockchain functionality, similar to Ark.
Blockstack (STX)
Blockstack is building a decentralized internet where you can own your data and maintain your privacy. They are a platform to help enable developers to build decentralized applications (dapps) through the Blockstack Browser.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano aims to solve a number of issues that Ethereum reportedly suffers from. It has a multi-tiered architecture, where one layer is focused on transactions and accounts and the other layer is for smart contracts. This allows for easier upgrades and enhanced flexibility. It plans to feature on-chain governance, including a treasury where the community can then vote on how to fund the competition. It uses a Proof of Stake system called Ouroboros.
Chainlink (LINK)
Chainlink is offering a solution to the Oracle problem: It allows smart contracts to be connected to real world data & APIs. It essentially bridges the gap between on-chain information and off-chain information. It was founded by Sergey Nazarov, and has already garnered support from Google, IBM and other high profile institutions.
Civic (CVC)
Civic is a decentralized identity ecosystem, where a user or company can request to verify the identity of another in a safe and cost-effective way that isn't tied directly to their personal information. For example, a user can use Civic to verify with a company that they are a US citizen without providing said documents to that company directly. Vinny Lingham is the CEO.
DASH (formerly XCoin and Darkcoin) (DASH)
Short for "Digital Cash", this project aims to be a user-friendly payment system. It offers instant transactions (InstantSend), private transactions (PrivateSend) and operates a self-governing and self-funding model that enables the Dash network to pay individuals and businesses to perform work that adds value to the network. Dash's decentralized governance and budgeting system makes it a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Dash uses a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism and utilizes a two-tier network. Certain network functions, such as creating new blocks, are handled by the miners. The second tier of the Dash network consists of "masternodes" which perform PrivateSend, InstantSend, and governance functions.
Decentraland (MANA)
Decentraland is a virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Users can create, experience, and monetize content and applications within a virtual world that they themselves own.
Decred (DCR)
Short for "Decentralized Credit", Decred is a digital currency that uses a community-based governance model to determine the future of its blockchain protocol. The people who own Decred have a say in how it evolves. It uses a hybrid Proof of Work and Proof of Stake mining system to decentralize the decision-making process. Includes decisions such as whether or not the development team should work on a specific feature, turn on/off existing features, and how to best spend development funds.
DFINITY (DFN)
Dfinity aims to reduce the costs of cloud services by creating a decentralized "internet computer".
District0x (DNT)
District0x is a network of decentralized markets and communities. Anyone can create, operate, and govern their own district. District0x is powered by Ethereum, Aragon, and IPFS.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Originally created as a joke referencing the Shiba Inu dog meme, Dogecoin has gone on to reach heights of a 1 billion dollar market cap. It has become a popular coin to tip people over the internet. Dogecoin is a fork of Litecoin.
EOS (EOS)
A smart contract platform comparable to Ethereum, notable for its year-long ICO. It offers significantly higher throughput (transactions per second), but only achieves this by being far less decentralized.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is a smart contract platform which allows decentralized applications to be written on the blockchain using a scripting language. In addition to simple wallet-to-wallet transactions, programs known as "contracts" can also send and receive funds based on programmable logic. This can be used to achieve many purposes, ranging from the creation of new tokens (ICOs), games like CryptoKitties, and replacing trusted third parties found in traditional finance. Ethereum was first proposed in a whitepaper by Vitalik Buterin in late 2013.Our platform supports free ethereum price alerts, percentage price alerts and ETH wallet monitoring.