Crypto You Can Buy on BigONE That’s Faster Than Bitcoin
When Bitcoin was launched in 2009, it ushered in a payments revolution that reverberated across the world. It was an innovative way for people to transfer and exchange money without the use of a third party or a middleman. As a result, people can complete a financial transaction almost instantly, rather than having to wait several days using traditional methods. Furthermore, using Bitcoin to pay is often less expensive and more secure; that said, why do businesses and consumers still rarely use Bitcoin as a payment method?
Currently, only a small proportion of global daily transactions are conducted in cash, with more people opting to use credit cards, bank transfers, payment apps, and various other forms of electronic payment. There is, however, an important distinction between ordinary fiat currency and encrypted currency that can be transferred electronically. You can withdraw fiat money from your bank account and place it in your wallet. Obviously, you will never be able to hold Bitcoin in your hands because encrypted currency does not exist in physical form. This is because cryptocurrency by its design exists only in digital form. In addition, because it is an encrypted digital asset it is inherently more secure, and by running on distributed computer networks ensures it avoids central government control.
Bitcoin’s original vision was well intentioned, but over time the Bitcoin network has proved just too slow and volatile to become a global digital payment option. Just this year, the price of Bitcoin rose from US$29,000 in early January to US$64,000 in April, before falling again in the following months. Some people believe that Bitcoin is more valuable as an alternative to gold, as a means of storing wealth, an investable asset rather than a cryptocurrency. While supporters of Bitcoin’s original premise point to recent developments in Bitcoin technology, such as Lightning Network, that uses micropayment channels to enable more efficient transactions. Meanwhile Twitter is rolling out a feature to its users to allow them to tip creators, by integrate the Strike bitcoin lightning wallet.
Bitcoin’s emergence has successfully spawned a slew of other cryptocurrencies. There are currently over 11,000 cryptocurrencies in circulation worldwide, with the number growing by the day. Among this group are several innovative companies which have launched their own digital payment currencies, designed to be faster more scalable solution than Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency processes 4.6 transactions per second (TPS). While Visa does around 1,700 TPS on average (based on a calculation derived from the official claim of over 150 million transactions per day). Mastercard runs on a network that claims to run 5000 TPS. Clearly the potential for greater cryptocurrency adoption with greater speed is there but currently are prohibited by scalability issues.
Today, I want to recommend eight cryptocurrencies that are faster than Bitcoin and can be purchased at BigONE. They’ve all been chosen because they are likely to become mainstream payment methods in the future, so their development prospects are promising.
- Ethereum (ETH): 25 TPS
Ethereum was the first cryptocurrency to incorporate smart contracts. Many other cryptocurrencies and applications use the Ethereum network. Despite being chastised for its network congestion and higher gas fees, a solution called Eth2 is being developed.
- Zcash (ZEC): 27 TPS
Zcash is a digital currency that prioritizes privacy. It is accepted by various third-party payment providers and promotes itself as a family and friends crypto payment option.
- Dash (DASH): 35 TPS
During the Venezuelan economic crisis, this cryptocurrency became popular in Venezuela as a cash substitute. In addition, the DASH application is suitable for various devices, and its available through many ATMs around the world.
- Litecoin (LTC): 56 TPS
Litecoin, which was launched in 2011 was inspired by Bitcoin, but with a maximum of 84 million Litecoins to be created, its quadruple the total bitcoin supply. It also creates new blocks every 2.5 minutes, four times faster than Bitcoin. Interestingly, its open-source software was used by the popular meme token Dogecoin.
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH): 300 TPS
Bitcoin Cash was launched in 2017 to promote fast, small payments. As a folk of Bitcoin using the original code, it is very similar to the basic working principle of Bitcoin. Bitcoin Cash is sometimes also referred to as Bcash.
- Monero (XMR): 1,000 TPS
Monero is a privacy-focused blockchain and payment system. It prioritizes the anonymity of users by disguising the wallet addresses of network users to improve their security. Observers cannot decipher addresses trading monero, transaction amounts, address balances, or transaction histories.
- Ripple (XRP): 1,500 TPS
Ripple is an international payment system with its cryptocurrency XRP is among the top ten cryptocurrencies. However, it has recently been hindered by the ongoing SEC lawsuit, which focuses on whether its cryptocurrency should be regulated as a security. While XRP and Ripple are intrinsically linked, it’s important to note that they operate as distinct business entities.
- Solana (SOL): 50,000 TPS
Solana was built for speed from the outset. It is more than just a digital payment encryption system; it is also a platform for developers to create applications. However, it has been criticized for increasing transaction speed at the expense of security.
Cryptocurrency has evolved beyond its initial use as a means of digital payment. Ethereum and Solana, for example, are both programmable blockchains that can be used to build applications. In addition, these programmable platforms diversify the role of cryptocurrency, which previously only operated in the payment field. BigONE believes that with the popularity of stablecoins and the introduction of central government digital currencies (CBDCs), there will be significant competition for ‘pure’ payment cryptocurrencies in the future.
Avoiding the volatility associated with most cryptocurrencies, a stablecoin is a cryptocurrency whose value is tied to a commodity such as gold or the US dollar. They offer digital currency transactions that are quick and inexpensive but without the downside of significant price fluctuations. Although stablecoins have these distinct advantages, a question mark hangs over whether stablecoins have enough cash reserves to support their stable price. For example, leading stablecoin Tether has consistently stated that it is in fact its fully backed by the US dollar, but when Tether released a breakdown of its reserves in May, it turned out that less than 3% of Tethers were indeed backed by cash.
Many governments are stepping up their efforts to promote CBDCs, and individual country’s digital currency plans are beginning to emerge. For example, the US Federal Reserve is thinking about issuing a digital dollar, with the Fed about to release a paper on central bank digital currency. China is already experimenting with a state-controlled digital currency. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has been leading work on the digital yuan, that aims to replace some of the cash in general circulation. Because these digital currencies all use blockchain technology, transactions are quick and inexpensive. But like the cash in your bank account, they will be supported by the government.
Although many economists and academics believe that stablecoins and digital government currencies will impact the current cryptocurrency payment system, the eventual outcome is unclear. After all, while the ultimate beneficiaries are supposed to be consumers there is always a tradeoff. Furthermore, if more governments decide to issue their digital currencies, the choices for consumers will become even more complicated. However, BigONE believes in principle that moves to increase transaction processing speed without sacrificing security, whatever their format or origin, is beneficial to global economic development. Consumer concern around use of their data and privacy remains an issue when it comes to the longer-term success of CBDCs, however.
