<p>A very large majority of these altcoins are essentially scams. There is a cottage industry that takes a coin, changes something minor (name, logo), and releases it with great fanfare, enticing people to buy it, allowing the forker to unload their typically worthless coins.</p>

<p>As  Нонн Болдырев said, there is a small list of worthwhile coins. I'd leave Ripple out, since it's not a cryptocurrency per se, but otherwise his list seems sensible.</p>

<p>Here's my very short list of interesting currencies:</p>

<ul>
<li>Monero: adding privacy and fungibility (the most prominent of Cryptonote coins)</li>
<li>Ethereum: smart contracts, ability to create contracts on the blockchain, automatically redeemed when predefined conditions are met</li>
<li>Cryponite: mini blockchain, solving the scaling problem (though it's not being worked on anymore)</li>
</ul>

<p>I can't comment on the others on  Нонн Болдырев 's list due to not knowing enough about them.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-03T16:41:40.533Z
What makes Ripple different?
makerofthings7
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-04T07:40:52.687Z
It is totally centralized (ie, controlled wholly by Ripple Labs). It does use the concept of a blockchain though.
user36303
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-03T15:21:26.713Z
2016-06-03T15:21:26.713Z
user36303
<p>99% of altcoins claim an "innovation" that is broken or unproven.</p>

<p>I would say that the first thing to do is look at unique codebases that aren't based on Bitcoin, which basically means (besides Bitcoin) you should look at Ethereum, Ripple, NXT, Monero, BitShares. Then if you're bored, PeerCoin / NuBits and Lisk.</p>

<p>Once you are done with those you can look at altcoins that just clone Bitcoin, but if they don't have whitepapers with cryptography that explains what they're doing then they're just full of hot air.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-03T14:46:17.297Z
Searching out unique codebases is a great approach to prioritizing alts. In addition to the list above, consider Vcash and the newly released Steem.
brandondoge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-03T15:42:02.860Z
@brandondoge Vcash isn't a new codebase, it refactored the Bitcoin code base (which breaks copyright and is illegal...)
Нонн Болдырев
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-03T16:11:07.410Z
Source to the claim of illegality? Poloniex and Bittrex are typically very careful with compliance, so I find it hard to believe that Vcash is in direct violation of copyright law.
brandondoge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-04T07:45:51.263Z
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=920344.0  (gmaxwell is a bitcoin core developer). Bitcoin core is MIT licensed, and apparently (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=920344.msg10125574#msg10125574) copyright notices were stripped, which is directly against the licence, and therefore the copying of the code is not permitted by copyright law, as they do not have a licence for it.
user36303
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-03T08:38:23.940Z
2016-06-03T08:38:23.940Z
Нонн Болдырев
<p><a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/">This website lists</a> hundreds of crypto currencies. Some whimsical, others with a unique value.</p>

<p>Is there a catalog, or diff between all the implementations that highlights innovation, or a unique use case? </p>

<p>My goal is to prioritize which implementations to learn the most (BTC, ETH, and Ripple with the most market cap is my first priority)</p>

<ripple><altcoin><alternatives><ethereum>
What are the differences (and value adds) among all the different Crypto Currencies?
makerofthings7
# What are the differences (and value adds) among all the different Crypto Currencies?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-03)

[This website lists](https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/) hundreds of crypto currencies. Some whimsical, others with a unique value.

Is there a catalog, or diff between all the implementations that highlights innovation, or a unique use case?

My goal is to prioritize which implementations to learn the most (BTC, ETH, and Ripple with the most market cap is my first priority)

**Tags:** ripple, altcoin, alternatives, ethereum


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-06-03. Score: 9

99% of altcoins claim an "innovation" that is broken or unproven.

I would say that the first thing to do is look at unique codebases that aren't based on Bitcoin, which basically means (besides Bitcoin) you should look at Ethereum, Ripple, NXT, Monero, BitShares. Then if you're bored, PeerCoin / NuBits and Lisk.

Once you are done with those you can look at altcoins that just clone Bitcoin, but if they don't have whitepapers with cryptography that explains what they're doing then they're just full of hot air.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Searching out unique codebases is a great approach to prioritizing alts. In addition to the list above, consider Vcash and the newly released Steem.  
> **username_2**: @username_3 Vcash isn't a new codebase, it refactored the Bitcoin code base (which breaks copyright and is illegal...)  
> **username_3**: Source to the claim of illegality? Poloniex and Bittrex are typically very careful with compliance, so I find it hard to believe that Vcash is in direct violation of copyright law.  
> **username_1**: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=920344.0  (gmaxwell is a bitcoin core developer). Bitcoin core is MIT licensed, and apparently (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=920344.msg10125574#msg10125574) copyright notices were stripped, which is directly against the licence, and therefore the copying of the code is not permitted by copyright law, as they do not have a licence for it.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-06-03. Score: 7

A very large majority of these altcoins are essentially scams. There is a cottage industry that takes a coin, changes something minor (name, logo), and releases it with great fanfare, enticing people to buy it, allowing the forker to unload their typically worthless coins.

As username_2 said, there is a small list of worthwhile coins. I'd leave Ripple out, since it's not a cryptocurrency per se, but otherwise his list seems sensible.

Here's my very short list of interesting currencies:

* Monero: adding privacy and fungibility (the most prominent of Cryptonote coins)
* Ethereum: smart contracts, ability to create contracts on the blockchain, automatically redeemed when predefined conditions are met
* Cryponite: mini blockchain, solving the scaling problem (though it's not being worked on anymore)

I can't comment on the others on username_2 's list due to not knowing enough about them.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: What makes Ripple different?  
> **username_1**: It is totally centralized (ie, controlled wholly by Ripple Labs). It does use the concept of a blockchain though.  

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