5 Bitcoin Alternatives: Diversifying Your Cryptocurrency Portfolio

Bitcoin has seen tremendous growth since its launch in 2008. It has moved from under a dollar to its current price of $14,000.

As such, its current price has become unaffordable to many people. So, here are five other affordable cryptocurrencies we found.

Important Note

Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and speculative products. Their price tends to move in large swings. So, I recommend that you don’t borrow money to buy the currencies. Instead, buy one and forget about it. By doing so, you will limit your losses while leaving open the potential for making a lot of money if the price surges.

ALSO: This is not to be taken as financial advice, and is not an investment recommendation. Investing in cryptocurrencies carries risk. Please do your own due diligence before investing in any kind of asset.

Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin Cash was created in July by a group of the largest bitcoin miners in the world. They were concerned about the scalability of the original bitcoin and so, they introduced a new mining technology called segregated witness or SegWit2X.

They called the new currency, bitcoin cash which is a decentralized peer-to-peer digital currency similar to the original bitcoin. It is currently trading at about $2,900 making it more affordable than bitcoin. It has a market valuation of more than $48 billion.

Since its launch, it has gained by about 486%.

You can buy it from bitcoin exchanges like Kraken, BTC Box, CoinFloor, and Korbit.

You can learn more about Bitcoin Cash here.

Ethereum

Ethereum is the second largest and most popular cryptocurrency. It has a market capitalization of more than $69 billion.

Ethereum is different than bitcoin and bitcoin cash with the only similarity being the blockchain technology that makes them.

Bitcoin and bitcoin cash are peer-to-peer payment platforms. On the other hand, ethereum is an open-source software that allows developers to build and deploy applications. It allows developers to offer what are known as smart contracts. Smart contracts are simply applications that run as programmed without any downtime.

This year, it has gained by about 9000%.

Ethereum is currently trading at about $750.

You can learn more about it here.

Ripple

Ripple is the third largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of more than $42 billion.

It is a payment platform that provides frictionless experience when sending money globally. It targets large institutions like banks and traders who send billions of dollars every month globally. Organizations using Ripple can instantly and cost-effectively send money anywhere in the world.

The difference between Ripple and Bitcoin is that the former is a remittances and money transfer platform while bitcoin is a peer-to-peer currency that one can use to buy goods with.

Already, some of the biggest venture capital firms like Andressen Horrowitz, Accenture, and Google Ventures have invested in Ripple.

This year, it has gained by about 17,500%.

Ripple is currently trading at $1.14.

You can learn more about it here.

Litecoin

Litecoin is the fourth largest cryptocurrency with a market value of more than $15 billion. It was established in 2011.

Litecoin is a global decentralized currency built on a blockchain technology. With litecoins, you can buy physical or digital products from merchants who accept them.

By being a decentralized currency, it is created by a global team of miners.

It is similar to bitcoin with the two differences being: how it is mined, and its use of proof-of-work algorithm. (You don’t need to know all the mining details).

Litecoin is currently accepted in many digital stores.

This year, it has gained by more than 5,800%.

It is currently trading at $289.

You can learn more about it here.

Dash

Dash is the fifth largest cryptocurrency in the market today with a market capitalization of more than $9 billion.

It is a decentralized peer-to-peer payment platform allows people to buy with at certain locations. With dash, you can make make instant, private payments online or in-store using our secure open-source platform hosted by thousands of users around the world.

Already, many merchants accept payments using Dash.

This year, it has gained by about 10,000%.

It is currently trading at $1200.

You can learn more about it here.

Please note:

As mentioned, the development stage and level of acceptance of these currencies is still in its infancy. Therefore, you need to be very careful when you are buying them.

With time, some of these currencies will do very well and others will fail. To stay safe, ensure that you use cash you don’t need immediately to buy the coins.

Second, once you buy the coins, don’t follow the news about it. This is because it is likely you will exit the trades before they mature.

Third, use the right exchanges to buy the coins. I recommend that you use either Kraken or Coinbase.

Fourth, to caution yourself from the downside risks, you can buy two or three different coins. For example, you can diversify with 1 bitcoin cash, 1 ripple, and 1 dash.

Finally, ensure that you use a strong memorable password to protect your coins.