Cryptocurrency use cases
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After the early innovation of bitcoin in 2008 and the early network effect gained by bitcoin, tokens, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets that were not bitcoin became collectively known during the 2010s as alternative cryptocurrencies, or, « altcoins ». Sometimes the term « alt coins » was used, or disparagingly, « shitcoins ». Paul Vigna of The Wall Street Journal described altcoins in 2020 as « alternative versions of Bitcoin » given its role as the model protocol for cryptocurrency designers. A Polytechnic University of Catalonia thesis in 2021 used a broader description, including not only alternative versions of bitcoin but every cryptocurrency other than bitcoin. « As of early 2020, there were more than 5,000 cryptocurrencies. Altcoin is the combination of two words « alt » and « coin » and includes all alternatives to bitcoin. » : 14
In 1983, American cryptographer David Chaum conceived of a type of cryptographic electronic money called ecash. Later, in 1995, he implemented it through Digicash, an early form of cryptographic electronic payments. Digicash required user software in order to withdraw notes from a bank and designate specific encrypted keys before they could be sent to a recipient. This allowed the digital currency to be untraceable by a third party.
Cryptocurrency trading platform
The availability of coins alone isn’t sufficient if there are no trades happening. You’ll ideally want to verify that there’s sufficient trading volume in your target coins to ensure liquidity, so you can easily trade your coins and dollars.
An accessible way to buy, sell, and store non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – digital art on the blockchain. Nifty Gateway is owned by Gemini, so you can expect the same industry-leading security technology to keep your NFTs safe.
Thanks to its simple, easy-to-use interface, we found Gemini to be the best crypto exchange for beginners. Note that the platform’s slightly higher fees are worth paying in exchange for convenience and ease of use.
Kraken offers two platforms: its main trading platform and its professional platform, Kraken Pro. The exchange’s Pro dashboard provides highly customizable chart analysis tools, detailed insight into the order books, numerous order types, and high-speed execution. In addition to spot trading, Kraken users can also trade cryptocurrency using margin and execute crypto derivatives trading strategies.
After launching in 2016 and being founded in Hong Kong, Crypto.com has established itself as one of the leading global crypto exchanges. It’s now available in 90 countries worldwide, and it supports over 350 cryptocurrencies.

Best cryptocurrency to buy
When choosing the best cryptocurrency to invest in, it is important to consider your individual goals, investing timeline and risk profile, just as you would with any investment. Additionally, you should do your due diligence to make sure that any crypto project you are interested in is legitimate and secure.
TON’s unique features, such as ultra-fast transactions, low fees, apps ecosystem, and Telegram integration, have rocketed the coin into the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation over the past few months. As of September 24, 2024, its price stands at $5.59, representing an increase of 1,018% from the coin’s ICO price of $0.50 in 2019.
Developed to help power decentralized finance (DeFi) uses, decentralized apps (DApps), and smart contracts, Solana runs on a unique hybrid proof-of-stake and proof-of-history mechanisms to process transactions quickly and securely. SOL, Solana’s native token, powers the platform.
Created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin (BTC) is the original cryptocurrency. As with most cryptocurrencies, BTC runs on a blockchain, or a ledger logging transactions distributed across a network of thousands of computers. Because additions to the distributed ledgers must be verified by solving a cryptographic puzzle, a process called proof of work, bitcoin is kept secure and safe from fraudsters.
In addition, the Sui team announced last month that they will be selling a “first-of-its-kind” web3 gaming device dubbed SuiPlay0X1. The handheld device – which is similar to the popular Steam Deck – is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U CPU and comes with a 512 gigabyte SSD. It has 16 GB of RAM and a 7” full HD display. The device will cost $599 and will start shipping in the first half of 2025.
Another important metric for identifying whether a crypto project is worth covering its market cap. A high market cap means that the project has reached a certain level of adoption from users, making it less risky to invest in.