Here’s a question that often comes up: How do I choose which cryptocurrency to invest in – aren’t they all the same?
There is no doubt that Bitcoin has captured the lion’s share of the cryptocurrency (CC) market, and this is largely due to its GLORY. This phenomenon is very similar to what happens in national politics around the world, where a candidate captures the majority of the vote based on GLORY rather than proven ability or qualifications to rule a nation. Bitcoin is the pioneer in this market space and continues to garner almost all the market headlines. This FAME doesn’t mean it’s perfect for the job, and it’s pretty well known that Bitcoin has limitations and issues that need to be addressed, but there is disagreement in the Bitcoin world about the best way to resolve the issues. As issues grow, there is a constant opportunity for developers to initiate new coins that address specific situations and thus differentiate themselves from the approximately 1,300 other coins in this market space. Let’s take a look at two Bitcoin rivals and how they differ from Bitcoin and from each other:
Ethereum (ETH) – The Ethereum coin is known as ETHER. The main difference from Bitcoin is that Ethereum uses “smart contracts”, which are entities to maintain accounts on the Ethereum blockchain. Smart contracts are defined by their creators and they can interact with other contracts, make decisions, store data and send ETHER to others. The performance and services they offer are provided by the Ethereum network, all of which is beyond what Bitcoin or any other blockchain network can do. Smart contracts can act as your autonomous agent, obeying your instructions and rules to spend currency and initiate other transactions on the Ethereum network.
Ripple (XRP) – This coin and the Ripple network also have unique features that make it much more than just a digital currency like Bitcoin. Ripple has developed the Ripple Transaction Protocol (RTXP), a powerful financial tool that allows exchanges on the Ripple network to transfer funds quickly and efficiently. The basic idea is to put money into “ports” where only those who know the password can unlock the funds. For financial institutions, this opens up huge opportunities as it simplifies cross-border payments, reduces costs and provides transparency and security. All this is done with creative and intelligent use of blockchain technology.
The mainstream media covers this market with breaking news almost every day, but there is little depth to their stories… they are mostly just dramatic headlines.
The Wild West show continues…
The selected 5 crypto/blockchain stocks are up on average with 109% from December 11/17. The wild swings continue with daily gyrating movements. Yesterday, South Korea and China were the latest to try to bring down the cryptocurrency boom.
On Thursday, South Korea’s justice minister, Park Sang-ki, sent global bitcoin prices temporarily crashing and virtual coin markets into turmoil when he reportedly said regulators were preparing legislation to ban trading in the cryptocurrency. Later that day, South Korea’s Ministry of Strategy and Finance, one of the main member agencies of the South Korean government’s cryptocurrency regulatory task force, came out and said that their department he does not agree with the Department of Justice’s premature announcement of a potential ban on cryptocurrency trading.
While the South Korean government says that cryptocurrency trading is nothing more than gambling and worries that the industry will leave many citizens in the poor house, their real concern is the loss of tax revenue. This is the same concern that every government has.
China has become one of the largest sources of cryptocurrency mining in the world, but now the government is rumored to be trying to regulate the electricity used by mining computers. Over 80% of Bitcoin mining electricity today comes from China. By shutting down miners, the government will make it harder for Bitcoin users to verify transactions. Mining operations will move elsewhere, but China is particularly attractive because of very low electricity and land costs. If China follows through on this threat, there will be a temporary loss of mining capacity, resulting in Bitcoin users seeing longer timers and higher transaction verification costs.
This wild ride will continue and like the internet boom, we will see some big winners and eventually some big losers. Also, like the Internet boom or the uranium boom, it’s those who get in early who will prosper, while mainstream investors always show up at the end, buying at the top.
Stay on the line!