Read an overview of some of the other cryptocurrencies and altcoins available to trade on our platform, including their individual features and how they differ to one another.
Dash
Dash is an open source cryptocurrency and an altcoin that was forked from the bitcoin protocol. It was designed to carry out transactions quickly and to have a swift governance structure in order to overcome the shortfalls in bitcoin. It is slightly different from some of the other main coins as it relies on a ‘decentralised autonomous organization’. This means that it’s run by a subset of users or ‘masternodes’ who perform all the basic functions, including hosting the blockchain and validating transactions, as well as making all important decisions and in a sense acting as ‘shareholders’. All transactions performed on the dash blockchain remain anonymous.
EOS
EOS is the native cryptocurrency that powers the EOS.IO blockchain protocol, which operates as a smart contract platform and decentralised operating system. Developers can use EOS.IO to build applications, and owning EOS coins is a claim on server resources. The aim of the platform is to provide a decentralised application hosting, smart contract capability and decentralised storage of enterprise solutions that solve the scalability issues of the more recognised blockchains like bitcoin and ethereum. The operating system itself is hosted by ‘block producers’ who, like bitcoin miners, maintain the blockchain and are rewarded in EOS as an incentive.
Although the EOS blockchain is very similar to ethereum, it focuses on making the interaction between the end user and the blockchain more user-friendly. EOS also differs in the sense that it does not charge per transaction as it is fundamentally a service for application developers.
Stellar lumens
Stellar is a payment network which uses its own token – lumens. It acts as an intermediary for international transfers, making cross-border payments more efficient. Stellar has introduced its own network, the Stellar Consensus Protocol.
The stellar payment network is supported by a system of decentralised servers which host the ledger that keeps track of the network’s data and transactions. The individual and entities providing these servers are rewarded in lumens.
To make a payment, the payer would upload funds to an ‘anchor’ in the stellar network, which would then issue lumens in the payer’s virtual wallet. The payer will then be able to transfer lumens to the receiver instantaneously, without having to wait for a bank. If the currencies of the parties are different, stellar would use the best available exchange rate to convert lumens to the currency of the receiver’s wallet.
Cardano
Cardano is home to the ADA cryptocurrency, which can be used to send and receive digital funds. This digital currency enables fast, direct transfers that are guaranteed to be secure through the use of cryptography.
Cardano is developing a smart contract platform which seeks to deliver more advanced features than anything previously developed. The protocol features a layered blockchain software stack that is flexible, scalable and is being developed with academic and commercial software standards at the heart of its philosophy. Cardano uses a democratic governance system that will allow the project to evolve over time and fund itself sustainably.
Tron
Tron is a blockchain-based operating system and decentralised application platform. The main focus of the Tron Group is to prove that the internet should be utilised as an asset for everyone, rather than as a profit-making tool for a very small core of businesses. Tron allows creators of digital content to sell directly to consumers rather than having to sell their apps or content via an ‘app store’, thus placing control back into the creators’ hands.
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