Litecoin
Often referred to as "silver to Bitcoin's gold", Litecoin was amongst the first cryptocurrencies to be introduced into the digital space, created by former Google engineer Charlie Lee in 2011.
Similar to its more popular cousin, Litecoin relies on an open source world-wide payment network that lacks centralization under a single authority.
There is NO REASON $LTC should not hit 130-150. Litecoin is still very much on track so keep a look out! pic.twitter.com/ue0iENpMXi
— The Litecoin Queen [LTC] (@CryptosQueen) December 7, 2017
However, unlike Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency is mined (created) via "scrypt algorithm," an entirely different proof of work algorithm to Bitcoin.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Trades at Record High Above $15,000
At the same time, some commentators note that Litecoin is a more attractive cryptocurrency due to its faster block generation time (2.5 minutes to the Bitcoin's 10), thus it enables a more expedient confirmation of the electronic transaction.
In November 2017, Litecoin's market capitalization reached some $4 billion, demonstrating strong growth.
As of early December, the value of an individual Litecoin stood at $104.3.
Dash
Originally the DarkCoin, Dash was launched in 2014 by Evan Duffield, following a bug that hampered the operations Litecoin.
Owing to its easy and secure protocols, Dash is quite popular with the digital community, and its capitalization rests at about $4.8 billion.
Dash users also created the most vibrant "alt-coin" community with some 6,400 pages and 7.9 million reads on the BitcoinTalk forum.
Dash Biefly Passes $6 Billion Market Cap, Set to Fund $4 Million in Projects for Novemberhttps://t.co/8PGC7hcvOs#Dash #Bitcoin #Crypto #BTC #Blockchain #FinTech #TechNews pic.twitter.com/S6uTDNP4zt
— Dash Force News (@DashForceNews) November 29, 2017
As of today, a single Dash coin is worth about $696.6.
Ether
A bit of the late bloomer, Ether was launched by Russian-Canadian computer programmer Vitalik Buterin in 2015.
Ether forms an operating token for the Ethereum, an open, block-chain, decentralized software platform, which enables the network's users to codify, develop and operate applications within the system.
READ MORE: New Viral Sensation on Ethereum Blockchain Has Cost People Over $1 Million
Ethereum was funded by the pre-sale of some 11.9 million Ethers, reflecting the high public support for the platform.
The network's market capitalization exceeds $4.46 billion and Ether's price currently stands at $430, though it has recently suffered a 4 percent drop in value.
#Bitcoin (#BTC)
— CryptoPriceBot (@cryptopricebot) December 8, 2017
USD 14921.86
EUR 13538.41
UAH 441980.52
RUB 960000#Litecoin (#LTC)
USD 98.48
EUR 84.52
UAH 2880.39
RUB 6235.29#Ethereum (#ETH)
USD 444.53
EUR 381.32
UAH 13056.1
RUB 28358.4#Ripple (#XRP)
USD 0.2287
EUR 0.195
UAH 6.86
RUB 14.73
Zcash
Introduced in 2016, Zcash is a cryptocurrency that was launched by computer security expert Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn, who purported to build on the success of Bitcoin by adding further security measures.
Another distinct feature of Zcash is the "selective disclosure" mechanism than allows the users to audit their payments via the cybercurrency.
Its current value is $316.5.
Monero
Monero was launched in 2014 in an effort to make the cyptocurrency mining procedures more accessible to users as well as to improve their privacy.
The mining protocols for Monero tend to be more "egalitarian," allowing its community to enjoy a more distributive mining scheme.
READ MORE: New Monero Cryptocurrency is 'Safe as Houses,' Developer Tells Sputnik
Unlike Bitcoin, however, it is not a public-ledger currency, thus its units are indistinguishable from each other, enhancing anonymity of users and making it a popular coin for transactions on the dark markets.
Monero's value is about $277.7.
