The evolution and integration of blockchain to process transactions and secure user data base over the years has been mind blowing with new coins and technologies emerging all the time.
The first and most popular crypto currency recorded is Bitcoin, it was created by an anonymous person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Since then, over 1000 crypto currencies have emerged.
The decentralized digital ledger used to record transactions saw tremendous growth in Nigeria from July 2022 to June 2023. It saw a year-over-year growth of 9% in cryptocurrency transactions which totals $56.7 billion.
Although the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a ban in February 2021 on financial institutions from operating accounts in Cryptocurrency, the ban was lifted two years after and crypto has defied all odds leading the Nigerian economy.
In this article, we’ll explore the most popular cryptocurrencies for individuals who are new to the world of cryptocurrency or professionals.
Bitcoin
The most popular decentralized digital currency is not controlled or censored by any central authority. It uses the peer-to-peer network blockchain technology to perform and verify transactions.
Bitcoin is open-source, which means no one controls it and it is open to the public so anyone and everyone can participate. Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain.
An amazing fact about bitcoin is, the smallest unit of it is called a Satoshi, named after the creator. And there are 100 million satoshis in one bitcoin.
Ethereum
Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency. It is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts. It runs applications as programmed without any possibility of fraudulent practices or third party occurrence.
Ethereums can be used to create tokens. These are digital assets that can represent anything from a physical asset to a digital advantage. There are several kinds of tokens in Ethereum that include stablecoins, utility coins and security coins.
Originally proposed in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, a Russian-Canadian programmer, Ethereum can be used to run a variety of programs such as supply chain management, financial agreements, etc.
Ripple
Embraced by many financial institutions, this cryptocurrency, XRP, has been helpful in processing and redefining cross brother payments.
RippleNet, is a technology developed by Ripple to resolve the challenges of users facing issues with traditional banks when making international transactions by providing fast, seamless and cost-effective transfers.
As Nigerians continue to seek seamless, fast, and reliable cross-border transactions, XRP penetrates the financial market even more.
Ripple was launched in 2012 and was initially called OpenCoin. The company was then renamed Ripple in 2015.
Binance coin (BNB)
Finance can be used to acquire other cryptocurrency. It is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, used by millions of registered users around the world. BNB is the crypto currency coin that powers the BNB chain ecosystem.
BNB was originally created on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token in 2017, and then moved to BNB smart chain in 2019 and became the native coin of Binance chain
Dogecoin
The open source peer to peer cryptocurrency makes use of decentralized blockchain technology to store information. The blockchain technology which started as a joke to make everyone happy, has amassed a wide range of users and is now largely used in the Nigerian cryptocurrency market to trade.
