Cryptocurrencies have been around for over a decade now, with Bitcoin being the first cryptocurrency to be created in 2009. However, Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency that has been around for a long time. There are several other cryptocurrencies that have been around for almost as long as Bitcoin, and some even longer.
Litecoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies that is still in circulation today. Created in 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer, Litecoin is often referred to as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold.” Litecoin was created to improve upon some of the shortcomings of Bitcoin, such as slow transaction times and high fees. Litecoin uses a different mining algorithm than Bitcoin, which allows for faster block times and lower fees.
Another older cryptocurrency is Namecoin, which was created in 2011 as a fork of Bitcoin. Namecoin was the first cryptocurrency to use a blockchain for something other than transactions. Namecoin was created to be used as a decentralized domain name system (DNS), which means that instead of relying on centralized servers to look up domain names, the Namecoin blockchain is used to store and retrieve domain name information.
Peercoin is another older cryptocurrency that was created in 2012. Peercoin is often referred to as a hybrid proof-of-work/proof-of-stake cryptocurrency, as it uses both mining and staking to secure its network. Peercoin was created to address some of the environmental concerns surrounding Bitcoin mining, as mining requires a significant amount of energy.
Feathercoin is another cryptocurrency that was created in 2013. Feathercoin was created to be a more accessible cryptocurrency than Bitcoin, as it was designed to be mined with consumer-grade hardware rather than specialized ASICs. Feathercoin also has faster transaction times and lower fees than Bitcoin.
Below you will find the list of classic altcoins divided by hashing algorithms.
SHA-256 Alternate Cryptocurrencies
Altcoins using SHA-256, the same hashing algorithm as Bitcoin.
- NMC – Namecoin
- PPC – Peercoin
- DVC – Devcoin
- TRC – Terracoin
- BTE – Bytecoin
- IXC – Ixcoin
- I0C – I0coin
- FRC – Freicoin
- XJO – Joulecoin
- ZET – Zetacoin
- ASC -AsicCoin
- DEM – Deutsche eMark
- UNO – Unobtanium
- PT – Platinum Coin
- BLC – Blakecoin
- RKC – Reikicoin
- TIT – Titcoin
Scrypt Alternate Cryptocurrencies
Altcoins using scrypt algorithm
- LTC – Litecoin
- NVC – Novacoin
- FTC – FeatherCoin
- WDC – WorldCoin
- BTM – Bitmark
- LAT – Latium
- MID – MidasCoin
- ELC – Elacoin
- DGC – DigitalCoin
- CGB – Cryptogenic Bullion
- MΣC – Megacoin
- GLD – GoldCoin
- TAG – Tagcoin
- MMC – Memorycoin 2.0
- BTCs/BTC2 – Bitcoin Scrypt
- IFC – Infinitecoin
- KRN – Ekrona
- ANC – Anoncoin
- PND/PAND/PANDA – PandaCoins
Alternate cryptocurrencies can be mined using the same hardware as for mining Bitcoins (mostly SHA-256 alt coins). While bitcoin mining is going to use FPGA and ASIC devices, scrypt based alt coins can be mined using GPU cards.
Hybrid and CPU alternate cryptocurrencies
Alt coins using other, innovative hashing algorithms such as X11, X13, X15, NIST5, 100% POS:
- ETH – Ethereum Cloud Mining
- XPM – Primecoin
- QRK – Quark
- SRC – Securecoin
- Nxt – Next
- QORA
- CLOAKcoin
- NHZ – NeXT Horizon
- YAC – Yacoin
- SKN – Skeincoin
- PTS – Protoshares
- DRK – DarkCoin
- MYR – MyriadCoin
- SWIFT – BitSwift
- Curecoin
- OFF – Offerings to Cthulhu
- MED – MediterraneanCoin
- MCZ – Mangocoinz – the first altcoin for smarthphones
If you don’t have a GPU or ASIC hardware you can still mine some of the CPU-only altcoins.
Invest in Altcoin ICOs
Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is your chance to invest in new, advanced and most promising altcoins. Don’t miss this great opportunity – read our articles on newest ICOs and alcoin development plans.
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