Crypto-currency is rapidly growing, and can become confusing for users who want to know about the multitude of options. As 2016 is drawing to a close, one thing to consider when investing into the world of cryptocurrency is which coins were rated the best for the year. With a little effort I have compiled a list of the Top 5 best coins of this year.

5. Litecoin

Litecoin was the brain child of Charles Lee, a former Google employee. Lee came up with Litecoin as a way of improving on the current crypto-currency through a series of small changes. It has caught on considerably since its implementation, and has maintained a good portion of its original value over the years. The number of years it has been around, in combination with its good reputation, has made it accepted by a number of retailers. Because it’s innovations have been only minor, however, it has lacked in widespread acceptance.

4. Dogecoin

To date, over 200 companies world-wide accept Dogecoin, which might not seem like a lot compared to those that accept Bitcoin. It is a lot, however, when looked at side by side with the rate of use of other coins. The user base is also very strong with Doge, and has even been involved in several charity campaigns to help boost its legitimacy. The cute Japanese dog that adorns the logo of Dogecoin was once a viral image of internet past, and soon after, the image and name were tributes to the lovable pooch pics. One notable difference is Dogecoin’s hashing algorithm. Instead of the popular SHA-256 algorithm, Doge uses one called Scrypt. Originally Scrypt came about as a way to stop people from running on specialized mining equipment, resulting in dominance in the mining sector. As it just so happens, Scrypt can also be run on beefed-up gear as well, so this difference has been debatable.

3. Dash

Creators Evan Duffield and Kyle Hagan have incorporated several innovations aimed at increasing anonymity, along with other innovations to improve the way things operate. The key purpose of Dash was to be an online cash system, providing previously unseen levels of anonymity among online currencies. Dash is still being updated regularly by Duffield. While only a handful of independent retailers accept Dash, it still holds a strong user community, and its per coin value is one of the highest on the market. The most notable innovation Dash has is the Darksend system it uses. To make transactions untraceable, Master nodes, or specially designed computers, collect and execute multiple transactions at the same time. Think of Bitcoin mixers of today, but with a difference:  mixing is by default because this is the only path.  With Dash, however, multiple mixes are available for the very discrete user. This also leads to another innovation, which is the absence of a publicly available ledger associated with Dash transactions. While its anonymity isn’t 100%, it is considered to be the most privacy-centered crypto-currency available.

2. BlackCoin

BlackCoin came about as a way to improve the reliability behind a pure proof-of-stake verification system. Immediate integration into real world point-of-sale systems, and a very well put together portfolio, gave BlackCoin the solid launch its creators were looking for. Although it came storming out of the gate, it would seem that BlackCoin is stalling. It is still only accepted by a handful of businesses, ranging from yoga classes to landscaping services. BlackCoin does, however, bring welcomed innovations to the table with its proof-of-stake concept in the form of eliminating mass power consuming monster mining rigs. It also has a totally open source wallet, so auditing the validity of the software is no problem. Additionally, BlackCoin offers users who maintain an active wallet on the network, from 1% to 5% interest depending on the weight of the network. BlackCoin also offers its users a website called Nighttrader. A trustless, peer-to-peer trading network, Nighttrader comes with no fees and zero risks.  Blackhalo is BlackCoin’s contracting software that, it boasts, is a world first. Blackhalo uses a very unique double deposit system that involves no agents of escrow, no courts, arbiters, or middle men of any kind. Blackhalo users can buy, sell, and trade with virtually no risks involved with a brand new two-party escrow system. Bartering, trustless buying and selling, peer-to-peer cash, and unbreakable employment contracts are all guaranteed with Blackhalo. Think of it almost like EBay, only on steroids. Anonymity is also a concern of BlackCoin.  With this in mind they offer Legionairre, a stealth address system that works within the standard BlackCoin wallet.

1. Bitcoin

Since its inception, Bitcoin has been the most widespread, mass- used and followed cryptocoin on the market. Associated with both a lot of good and bad publicity, Bitcoin’s popularity soared upwards, seeing high points and low points that had a lot of Bitcoin users and experts scared. Not much else can be said about Bitcoin, other than the sheer gigantism in growth Bitcoin has seen since it was brought public. It is the most mainstream crypto-currency out there, used and accepted by more businesses and organizations worldwide than any other in its class. This is also Bitcoin’s biggest downfall, it would seem, making it the most widely attacked coin on the market. Bitcoin seems to draw more attention than any other crypto-currency to date. With more first-time users than the others, Bitcoin surpasses the competition. Bitcoin helps countless individuals get their digital currency feet wet. Due to its widespread popularity,  Bitcoin has been responsible for the most innovation and advances in security.

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