Technology has modified the manner human beings work, communicate, keep or even pay for goods. Companies and customers do not constantly decide upon coins anymore, and this conduct is giving manner to contactless bills like Apple Pay. With the fast wave of a smartphone, customers pay for objects at virtual registers. Now, a brand new payment mode is emerging: Cryptocurrency.
Many people believe that cryptocurrency is an idea that was conceived and introduced in the previous decade or so, whereas cryptocurrency dates back to 1983. One guy is responsible for these virtual coins: cryptographer David Chaum.
Chaum introduced the first digital money with the eCash transaction system, which was followed by another version of the same principle with DigiCash a few years later. Transactions were anonymous and done via a public network, which was a key feature of DigiCash.
Nick Szabo invented Bit Gold in 1998, which is frequently referred to as a direct forerunner of Bitcoin. It required participants to devote computer resources to solving cryptographic challenges, with those who succeeded receiving a prize. When you combine Chaum’s and Szabo’s ideas, you get something that looks like Bitcoin.
However, Szabo was unable to solve the double-spending problem without the assistance of a central authority, and it was not until a decade later when a mysterious person or persons using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published a white paper titled Bitcoin – A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System in 2009, that the history of Bitcoin, and subsequent cryptocurrency, began.
Satoshi Nakamoto also created the blockchain database, which is used by BitCoin and many other cryptocurrency platforms to conduct commerce and store information about the participants. Other hackers and developers had successfully minded the blockchain in less than two years following the first BitCoin and blockchain transactions. Their efforts not only raised the volume of Bitcoin transactions but also resulted in the development of additional cryptocurrency platforms, allowing these digital assets to spread even further.
While BitCoin is unquestionably the most popular and prominent cryptocurrency in today’s market, it doesn’t rule out the existence of a slew of other cryptocurrency platforms vying for status, influence, and impact, as well as being big players in the crypto sector. Here are a few of the most popular BitCoin alternatives:
Ethereum, a decentralised software platform, enables Smart Contracts and Decentralized Apps to be built and operated without the need for downtime, fraud, control, or third-party interference. Ethereum is aimed to build a decentralised suite of financial goods that anybody in the world can use for free, making it more appealing to those who live in nations with limited governmental infrastructure and identity.
Litecoin was one of the first cryptocurrencies to follow in the footsteps of Bitcoin when it first launched in 2011. It is sometimes referred to as BitCoin’s younger brother. Litecoin is based on an open-source global payment network that is decentralised and uses the “scrypt” proof of work algorithm. Although Litecoin is similar to Bitcoin in many aspects, it generates blocks faster and has a faster transaction time. Apart from developers, Litecoin is now accepted by an increasing number of merchants, making it the world’s sixth-largest cryptocurrency platform.
Polkadot is a proof-of-stake coin that aims to provide interoperability between different blockchains. Its protocol integrates permissioned and permissionless blockchains, as well as oracles, allowing systems to work together in one place.
In August 2014, the UK Treasury said that it has commissioned a study into cryptocurrencies and what, if any, role they would play in the UK economy. The study’s goal was to assess if regulation should be implemented.
El Salvador became the first country to recognise Bitcoin as legal cash in June 2021, when the Legislative Assembly voted 62–22 in favour of a bill introduced by President Nayib Bukele to define the cryptocurrency as such.
In the realm of banking and trade, the ideology of cryptocurrencies is to break down all borders and boundaries. In these early stages of blockchain development, about a thousand coins are vying with each other. Cryptocurrencies may grow popular enough in the next few years for blockchain-based apps to gain widespread adoption. It will be a new planet, a new period, and a new light.