1. Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Overview
- Price (USD): $1,231.30
- Market Cap (USD): $20.86B
- Total Supply: 21M BCH
- Market Rank: #4
Technical Highlights
Bitcoin Cash emerged from a hard fork of Bitcoin, increasing block size to 8MB to enhance scalability. Key updates include:
- SigHash Algorithm: Prevents replay attacks.
- Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DAA): Stabilizes hash rate fluctuations.
- SegWit Removal: Prioritizes on-chain scaling.
Risks
- Legitimacy Debate: Competing narratives with Bitcoin Core.
- Market Confidence: Potential fallout if BCH overtakes BTC as the dominant chain.
2. Litecoin (LTC)
Overview
- Price (USD): $135.48
- Market Cap (USD): $7.45B
- Total Supply: 84M LTC
- Market Rank: #8
Technical Highlights
- Scrypt Algorithm: Enables CPU-friendly mining.
- Faster Block Time: 2.5 minutes vs. Bitcoin’s 10 minutes.
- Early Adopter: Launched in 2011, one of the oldest altcoins.
Risks
- Innovation Lag: Perceived as a "lite" Bitcoin clone.
- Leadership Shifts: Founder’s exit and slow GitHub updates raised concerns.
3. Cardano (ADA)
Overview
- Price (USD): $0.42
- Market Cap (USD): $10.86B
- Total Supply: 45B ADA
- Market Rank: #5
Technical Highlights
- Ouroboros Consensus: First peer-reviewed PoS protocol.
- Layered Architecture: Separates settlement and computation layers for scalability.
- Academic Rigor: High GitHub activity with Haskell-based code.
Risks
- Complexity: Ambitious goals may delay execution.
- Criticism: EOS’s BM questions its suitability for dApps.
FAQs
Q: What’s the key difference between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash?
A: BCH increases block size to 8MB for faster transactions, while BTC prioritizes SegWit and layer-2 solutions.
Q: Why is Litecoin called "digital silver"?
A: Its design mirrors Bitcoin’s but with faster transactions and lower fees, akin to silver’s role vs. gold.
Q: How does Cardano ensure security?
A: Through Ouroboros, a mathematically verified PoS mechanism tested in academic peer reviews.
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