Four types of crypto coins and how to use them

Cryptocurrencies have expanded far beyond Bitcoin. The recent upward shift in the market for Bitcoin has led to positive movements for altcoins too. But what are these different types of crypto coins and how can they be used? Below, we give you access to five definitive guides dedicated to different types of crypto coins.

Suitable for beginners and more experienced traders, we take a look at everything from Bitcoin through to the increasingly popular privacy coins.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a decentralised digital protocol, allowing participants to transfer value directly to one another. This eliminates the need for third parties or central intermediaries to come between or govern transactions. It’s the original cryptocurrency and currently holds the most market capitalisation. But what is Bitcoin, why was it created, and what benefits does it offer?

Decentralisation is, perhaps, the most important characteristic of this cryptocurrency. We explain what decentralisation is, how it challenges traditional banking, and why Bitcoin users prefer this methodology.  We also give you a brief history of the coin, how it can be mined, how you can buy Bitcoin, and how it can be used. We reveal some interesting purchases that have been made with Bitcoin, including fast cars and mansions.

To find out more about Bitcoin, download this definitive guide.

Altcoins

Put simply, an altcoin – or an alternative coin – is any cryptocurrency that isn’t Bitcoin. After the initial success of Bitcoin, other peer-to-peer currencies attempted to replicate the winning formula, each tweaking their currency ever so slightly to address specific issues. These issues  scalability, mining difficulty, and privacy.

Altcoins often use different types of consensus protocols, offer different benefits such as a faster transaction times, or even have different purposes to merely trading. There are some key players in the altcoin side of the industry, including Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple. These are just a few in a long name of alternative crypto coins and projects. You can learn more about the leading five altcoins by downloading this definitive guide. 

By doing so, you’ll also discover how to mine altcoins, where you can trade them, and the benefits you can receive from each.

Stablecoins

Cryptocurrency has long been known for its volatility, one of its main barriers that prevent mainstream adoption. With values constantly changing and some exchanges being accused of price inflation, stablecoins have been created to provide greater stability to crypto coins and their users.

Stablecoin refers to a class of cryptocurrencies which offer price stability and/or are backed by reserve asset(s). Stablecoins attempt to offer cryptocurrency users and enthusiasts the best of both worlds: instant processing and security of cryptocurrency payments and the volatility-free stable valuations of fiat currencies. There are two major types: centralised and decentralised stablecoins.

Stablecoins offer many alternative benefits to Bitcoin, including global commerce opportunities, greater tools for traders, and the decentralisation of financial services. However, there are also a number of risks you need to consider before investing. These include counter-party risk, centralisation risk, and potential algorithm manipulations. So with all that in mind, do stablecoins offer a good enough alternative?

Download this definitive guide to find out. 

Privacy coins

When Bitcoin introduced cryptocurrencies to the world, privacy was an underlying attribute due to address confidentiality. Of course we know today that because of metadata, it’s possible to easily link IP addresses and usernames to Bitcoin and Ethereum addresses. Plus, because all transactions are broadcasted publicly, users lose some privacy features as well. The need for privacy is crucial for the success of many cryptocurrencies. As a result, privacy technologies have been developed to resolve the shortcomings of the original crypto, Bitcoin. 

These technologies include second-layer protocols, ring-signature approaches, TOR, and zero-knowledge based privacy. These underlying technologies have led to greater projects including Mimblewimble, Grin and BEAM. To explore these side-chain protocols and privacy coins, be sure to download this definitive guide. We provide an in-depth overview of five leading privacy coins.

Not only will you discover the benefits of privacy coins, you’ll also have access to some important discussions around why the fight for privacy matters.

Conclusion

There are different types of crypto coins, suitable for different users. Your choice in investment may come down to the benefits offered, the underlying technology used, or the intention of the coin. Although Bitcoin is still the most popular, it doesn’t mean there is a lack of competition. Make sure you download our guides to find out which is the best crypto coin for you.