The possibilities of Blockchain technology are many and we are just beginning to scratch them: smart contracts, atomic swaps ... but what if we only want something that serves as a currency for commercial transactions in everyday life?
Nothing more apparently simple: something that serves as a reservoir of value and confidence; that can be passed from one person to another without complications to change it for goods or services.
I have already defined this issue in WHAT MAKES AN ELECTRONIC CURRENCY A REAL COIN? However, it is worth digging a little deeper because we have a wide range of good (crypto)currencies at our disposal. And because, let's face it, paying in Bitcoin is something that must be seriously questioned due to high transaction fees and the time it may take.
There are other cryptocurrencies that, in principle, only aspire to be coins and they serve perfectly for that purpose. In fact, it seems evident that they are being used as refuge currencies for various reasons: their value does not fluctuate rapidly, commissions are low and transactions are carried out very quickly. So much so that it is much more practical, for example, to make a transaction in one of those currencies to an Exchange and trade them there for Bitcoin, instead of sending Bitcoin directly.
So the question is: why not use these currencies before Bitcoin for everyday transactions? The answer seems clear: simply because a majority of people have just come to the idea of using Bitcoin and change their minds to think about other currencies is a step further. I do not doubt that this step will be taken but, on the other hand, we will have to deal with the diversity of currencies. And the solution will come in the form of services that will allow any merchant to accept any cryptocurrency and change it on the fly for the preferred currency. So we can use any of these simple but effective currencies in our vital economic routine.
I have quoted many of these coins in different posts but it is good to review some of my favorites and thus contribute to improve ostensibly the life of my kind readers.
CRIPTOMCURRENCIES THAT ARE IDEAL COINS
Dogecoin (DOGE): it seems a lie that a cryptocurrency that was born as a joke and has not been updated for two years is an ideal coin, but it is. Its total emission will be 100 billion; a quite high figure in comparison with Bitcoin but this contributes to that it does not have strong fluctuations, which is something desirable in a currency for current use. Despite its lack of updates, its network has an excellent health.
Litecoin (LTC): it's simply a considerable improvement over Bitcoin and also one of the oldest. In circulation there will be about 84 million and blocks are created 4 times faster than in the Bitcoin blockchain so transactions are considerably faster. The community of developers of this open source coin is remarkably active so the final question could be: why use Bitcoin when we have Litecoin?
Monero (XMR): secure, private and intraceable; what more could you want? It is the favorite cryptocurrency of those who value their anonymity, for whatever reasons, which can be many and diverse. In this sense and in many others it far surpasses Bitcoin. Its blocks are produced every 2 minutes which gives it a great speed in transactions. Unlike the others cited here Monero will be created indefinitely, approximately 157680 new coins annually. This facilitates that its value is quite stable.
Faircoin (FAIR): I have cited it on numerous occasions because in one sense it is the most stable of all cryptocurrencies. This is because it is being used by a large community of people who believe in a better world, which would only be a nice thing if they had not also developed a great real economy. The practical part is that, in addition to a price given by the market and that is unusually stable there is an official price determined by that community. And it is easy to convert it to other currencies at both the market price and the official price (which are usually quite similar). Since there are 53 million coins in circulation and this is the final figure, it also participates in the characteristic of scarcity, which makes its value increase over time.
BUT YOU LIKE THE BITCOIN NAME
Do not worry, around what is already a brand (Bitcoin) numerous variants are appearing. I have quoted (almost) all the Forks or derivations of Bitcoin in ALL THE BITCOIN FORKs So far, the first and most notable is Bitcoin Cash (BCH or BCC), a fork that actually looks more like the original idea of the creator of Bitcoin although the war between factions of followers to the one or the another is still ongoing. To be honest, Bitcoin Cash, for the moment, works much better than Bitcoin itself and, therefore, barring imponderables, is destined to be the Bitcoin of everyday use while BTC is becoming a relic; an increasingly valuable relic but very impractical to go buy bread.