In the last class, we introduced the top five mainstream cryptocurrencies. Let’s recall a little bit: they are “Digital Gold” Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), the Ripple Coin (XRP), Bitcoin's Forkcoin Bit Cash (BCH) and the current supernova EOS with high TPS performance. Then in this class, we will talk about the five cryptocurrencies NO.6-NO.10.
NO.6 Stellar Coin (XLM)
Stellar, a cryptocurrency project initiated by Jed McCaleb, the former founder of the Ripple Coin (XRP), is used to build a decentralized gateway for transmission between digital and fiat currencies.
The payment network created by Stellar is similar to the Ripple payment network function we talked about in the previous class. It also functions as a bridge currency in the system, acting as an intermediate between various currencies. At the same time, the Stellar system relies on Bitcoin blockchain technology to connect 180 currencies in the world in 2 to 5 seconds, connecting banks, payment systems, and the general public, thus reducing transaction costs and time delays caused by cross-border payments.
At present, many commercial organizations, including IBM and Deloitte, participate directly or indirectly in the payment system of the stellar network. Stellar's platform ecosystem began to build.
It’s almost certain that Stellar will be a strong competitor of Ripple in the future, because it is based on Ripple's technical code modification, and the business alignment of the two organizations is also very high. As for who can win in this user battle, it is not known at present, but we may be able to enjoy the convenience of payment after they compete.
NO.7 Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin (LTC) is actually a digital currency based on micro-improvements of Bitcoin open source code.
Compared to Bitcoin, it has three significant differences:
(1) The Litecoin network can process one block every 2.5 minutes (rather than 10 minutes), thus providing faster transaction confirmation;
(2) The Litecoin network is expected to produce 84 million Litecoins, which is four times the amount of currency issued by the Bitcoin network.
(3) Litecoin uses a new encryption algorithm in its proof of work algorithm, which makes it easier to perform Litecoin mining on a regular computer compared to Bitcoin (of course it is basically impossible now).
From a personal point of view, Litecoin is difficult to pose a threat to Bitcoin at the monetary level, and its strong currency attributes restrict it from hitting other digital currencies at other levels. In the long run, it will inevitably be caught up by a latecomer, and its value will drop.
NO.8 TEDA (USDT)
TEDA (USDT) is the token Tether USD for Tether's benchmark US dollar (USD). 1USDT = 1 USD, users can use USDT and USD for 1:1 exchange at any time. The essence is a virtual currency that links the cryptocurrency to the legal currency, which determines its two advantages:
(1) Make the price of USDT more intuitive
USDT is equivalent to the US dollars, which means 1USDT = 1 USD. In other words, USDT’s unit price is the same as the US dollars, which makes the USDT price more intuitive to the public. And this also brings its second advantage:
(2) A really stable currency to avoid the overall downside risk
From the last class, we learned that if we want to buy other digital currencies, we must first convert the currency into a mainstream digital currency such as BTC/ETH, and then use BTC/ETH to exchange other digital currencies, so in this currency to currency transaction, there are three common situations, taking the XRP/BTC transaction as an example:
After buying XRP with BTC, both BTC and XRP are rising, and you enjoy two benefits;
After buying XRP with BTC, BTC and XRP will rise and fall one by one, and your income depends on which of the two is higher or lower;
After buying XRP with BTC, the extreme market, both currencies are falling, you need to bear two losses.
So every time you encounter a third extreme market, the user can replace the digital currencies in the account with USDT, thus achieving the intention of hedging.
NO.9 Ida (ADA)
The ADA is the digital currency issued by Cardano, a smart contract platform.
Cardano is a concept and technology innovation based on learning and inheriting the advantages of the existing basic public chain. It hopes to finally solve the current defects of the basic public chains in the three aspects: scale, interactivity, and sustainability. It becomes a new generation of underlying basic public chain that is more convenient, faster and smarter.
Then let's see what innovations it has made:
(1) Layered eco. The whole system is divided into two levels, the settlement layer, and the calculation layer, to solve the problems of the two levels of currency and smart contract;
(2) The balance between freedom and regulation. In Cardano's design philosophy, the regulatory requirements are fully considered, and the privacy of the user is considered as much as possible, and an optimal balance between the two is sought. For example, if necessary and the user is willing to do so, KYC (customer identity) and AML (flow of funds) information can be submitted in a targeted manner to meet the most basic regulatory requirements;
(3) Sustainability. Most of the evolution of blockchain upgrades is achieved at the tragic cost of hard forks, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Caldano is a public-chain evolution through community voting, which is somewhat similar to EOS;
(4) A new proof of equity mechanism. Cardono uses the unique Ouroboros algorithm and claims to be the first “peer-reviewed” and “provable security” equity proof consensus algorithm (but actually similar to the DPOS consensus mechanism).
These innovative practices have determined that Cardano is more likely to cooperate with the government in the future, which means that Cardano is more likely to achieve greater success with the support of the government than other chains.
NO.10 Monroe Coin (XMR)
Monroe Coin (XMR), a digital currency based on CryptoNote technology, provides better anonymity through Ring Signatures.
What does the ring signature mean? In the blockchain network of Monroe, the network first mixes the signer's public key (it can be understood as the bank card number, there will be a detailed explanation about the public key in the following classes) with another public key, and then sign the message, which makes it impossible for the outside world to distinguish which public key in the collection corresponds to the real signer.
This is very similar to the joint letter in ancient China. In order not to expose the initiator, all people signed to form a ring, and there is no order so that others do not know who is the initiator. With the anonymity of Monroe, even the person who transfers the coin does not know which address the coin is given to, and the person accepting the coin only opens the wallet and does not know who transferred the coin.
This is both its biggest advantage and its biggest weakness. Privacy is valuable, but it can also make criminal activity impunity. The hybrid transaction of Monroe is easy to use for illegal financial transactions, such as money laundering and the sale of illegal drugs, which will eventually lead to government intervention.
No matter what kind of digital currency, its essence is the assets formed by consensus. Their value depends on how much people are optimistic about the project potential behind them. So before deciding to trade a certain digital currency, think about it. It is still a decision made after independent thinking, Investment is risky, and you need to be cautious in the digital currency world!
区块链小白投资入门之【选币指南】（2）
上一期给大家介绍了目前排名前五的主流数字货币，我们一起回忆下，分别是“数字黄金”比特币（BTC）、靠智能合约起家的以太坊（ETH）、作为机构跨境结算资产流动性的瑞波币（XRP）、比特币的分叉币比特现金（BCH）以及目前具有高TPS性能的超新星EOS。那么这一期我们接着讲NO.6-NO.10这五种数字货币。
NO.6 恒星币（XLM）
恒星币（Stellar），一个由前瑞波币创始人Jed McCaleb发起的数字货币项目，用于搭建一个数字货币与法定货币之间传输的去中心化网关。
Stellar所创建的支付网络，和我们上一期讲到地Ripple支付网络功能类似，它在系统中同样起着桥梁货币的功能，充当各类货币之间兑换的中间品。同时，Stellar系统依托比特币区块链技术，可以在2-5秒内连接世界上的180种货币，连接银行、支付系统以及广大民众，从而减少跨境支付带来的交易费用和时间延迟。
目前，包括IBM、德勤等众多商业机构以直接或间接的方式，参与到恒星网络的支付系统中，Stellar的平台生态开始逐步构建起来。
不得不说，Stellar未来将会是Ripple的有力竞争对手。因为它是基于Ripple的技术代码修改创建而来，而且两者面向的机构业务重合度也极高。但至于谁能在这场用户争夺战中获胜，目前不得而知，但我们或许可以做那个“鹬蚌相争”后面的那个“渔翁”，享受它们竞争后带来的支付便利等。
NO.7 莱特币（LTC）
莱特币（LTC），实际上是基于比特币开源代码进行微改进的一种数字货币。
与比特币相比，它具有三种显著差异：
（1）莱特币网络处理速度更快。每2.5分钟（而不是10分钟）就可以处理一个块，因此可以提供更快的交易确认；
（2）莱特币网络发行货币量更大。预期产出8400万个莱特币，是比特币网络发行货币量的四倍之多。
（3）莱特币挖矿更容易。莱特币在其工作量证明算法中使用了一种新的加密算法，这使得相比于比特币，在普通计算机上进行莱特币挖掘更为容易（当然现在基本也不可能了）。
从个人角度看，莱特币是很难在货币层面给比特币造成威胁的，同时它极强的货币属性又制约了它在其他层面给其他数字货币形成打击，长此以往，它必然会被后发者迎头赶上，至于价值就可想而知了。
NO.8 泰达币（USDT）
泰达币（USDT）是Tether公司推出的对标美元（USD）的代币Tether USD。1USDT = 1美元，用户可以随时使用USDT与USD进行1:1兑换。其本质就是一种将加密货币与法定货币美元挂钩的虚拟货币，这决定了它具有以下两大优点：
（1）让币价更加直观
因为USDT与美元是等值的，1USDT = 1美元，而每个币种 = 多少USDT，也就是它的单价是多少美元。而这也引出它的第二个优点：
（2）真正的稳定币种，规避整体下跌风险
从上一期我们得知，我们如果要进场购买其他数字货币，我们首先要用法币兑换成BTC/ETH等主流数字货币，然后再用BTC/ETH去兑换其他数字货币，所以在这种币币交易中，常见3种情况，以XRP/BTC交易为例：
用BTC买入XRP后，BTC和XRP都在涨，你享受两份收益；
用BTC买入XRP后，BTC和XRP一个涨一个跌，你的收益取决于两者的涨跌幅哪个更大；
用BTC买入XRP后，极端行情，两个币种都在跌，你需要承受两份亏损。
所以每次遇到第三种的极端行情，用户可以将账户中的数字货币替换成USDT，从而达到保值避险的作用。
NO.9 艾达币（ADA）
艾达币（ADA），是卡尔达诺（Cardano）这个智能合约平台发行的数字货币。
卡尔达诺（Cardano）是在学习和继承现有基础公链优点的基础上，进行概念和技术的创新，希望能最终解决目前基础公链在规模化、交互性、可持续性三方面普遍存在的缺陷，成为更便捷、更高速、更智能的新一代底层基础公链。
那我们来看看它在哪些方面做了创新：
（1）分层生态。将整个体系划分为结算层和计算层两个层次，分别来解决货币和智能合约两个层面的问题；
（2）自由和监管的平衡。在Cardano的设计哲学中，充分考虑了监管需求，同时也尽可能考虑用户的隐私性，并设法达到二者之间最优平衡点。比如，在必要且用户自愿的情况下，可以针对性的选择提交KYC（客户身份）和AML（资金流向）等信息，满足最基本的监管需求；
（3）可持续性。大部分的区块链升级进化是以硬分叉的惨痛代价来实现的，比如说比特币、以太坊。而卡尔达诺则是通过社区投票的方式实现公链自进化，这一点上有些类似与EOS；
（4）新的权益证明机制。Cardono采用的是独特Ouroboros算法，并宣称是第一个经过“同行评审”并“可证明安全”的股权证明共识算法（但实际与DPOS共识机制差别不大）。
这些创新性的做法，决定了Cardano未来与政府合作的可能性更大，也就是说Cardano未来在政府的支持下实现反超其他公链的可能性也就更大。
NO.10 门罗币（XMR）
门罗币（XMR），它是基于CryptoNote技术发行的一种数字货币，该技术通过数字环签名（Ring Signatures）提供更好的匿名性。
环形签名是什么意思呢？在门罗币的区块链网络里面，网络首先将签名者的公钥（关于公钥后面我们会有专题详细讲解，现在暂且理解为银行卡号）和另外一个公钥进行一起混合，然后对消息进行签名，使得外界无法区分集合中哪个公钥对应真正的签名者。
这很像中国古代联名上书的时候，为了不暴露哪一个是发起人，所以通常采用由所有人签名形成一个环状，没有前后顺序，这样就不知道谁是发起者了。门罗币的匿名性甚至可以做到让发送币的人不知道币打给了哪个地址、接受币的人仅打开钱包也不知道是谁打来的币。
这既是其最大的优势，也是其最大的弱点。隐私有价值，但它也可以使犯罪活动不受惩罚。门罗币的混合交易很容易用于非法金融交易，如洗钱和买卖非法毒品，最终会引来政府的介入。
通过最近两期【区块链讲座】，我们了解了目前排名前十的数字货币各自的优劣，但无论是哪种数字货币，其本质都是人们共识形成的资产，它们的价值取决了人们对它们背后的项目潜力有多看好。所以在决定交易某种数字货币前，先好好研究下你交易的数字货币背后的团队、项目等，经过独立思考之后在作出决定。毕竟投资有风险，入币圈需谨慎！
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