Bitcoin and the birth of altcoins
The first cryptocurrency that emerged in the world is known as Bitcoin. It was created in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto under the concept of sending a monetary value from user to user without the need for intermediaries, such as a bank. And this is how Bitcoin has been used as a payment method. Laszlo Hanyecz made the first purchase with Bitcoin on May 22, 2010, when its price was USD $0.03. This user exchanged 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas. At that time 10,000 bitcoins represented USD $41. The highest dollar value for a Bitcoin ever recorded was USD $19,900; therefore, referring to this value, Laszlo Hanyecz paid USD $199 million just for two pizzas. This day is known as ¨Bitcoin Pizza Day¨.
Since its inception and over the years, Bitcoin’s acceptance and adoption has grown favorably around the world. Bitcoin was created on blockchain technology. Blockchain in very general terms is a decentralized and distributed digital ledger. The latter is formed by means of a blockchain, where each block contains encrypted information that must be validated and confirmed, in order to be added to the chain and then form a sequence. Some of the most important pillars of blockchain technology are security and immediacy, no need of intermediaries, and the transparency and traceability of the transactions that are carried out.
Following the massive adoption of Bitcoin and the endless possibilities that blockchain technology provides, ¨altcoins¨ emerged. The term altcoin is made up of two words: alternative and coins. Which literally translates to alternative currencies, which were created after Bitcoin. They have the purpose of diversifying and enhancing the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
The creation of altcoins occurs more and more frequently. The reason why is because the blockchains of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Stellar are open source. This allows developers to carry out ideas and development of new tokens with these blockchain protocols. Some of the best known and currently used altcoins are Ether, Stellar Lumens, Ripple, Traxalt, among others.
The relevance and importance of altcoins is because each one of them solves different needs. It all depends on which blockchain they are based on and what their ultimate objectives are. There are thousands of altcoins in the world, but there are relatively only a few that are growing in this highly competitive market.
