Altcoins, altchains, and ICOs

- It would be easy to conclude that Bitcoin is the only…cryptocurrency available.…Sure, it's the only one I've discussed so far.…In fact, there are many more cryptocurrencies,…many that have forked from the original…open source Bitcoin code and there are quite a few…alternative blockchains.…We call these altcoins and altchains, respectively.…As of mid-July 2017, there are around 900 cryptocurrencies…in circulation.…

Yes, 900.…These include names such as Blackcoin, Dash, Gridcoin,…Lightcoin, Peercoin, Ripple, and Zcash.…Bitcoin is by far the largest and this is followed by…Ethereum, Ripple, and Lightcoin.…Because Bitcoin is open source anyone can create…an altcoin including you and I.…Why are people and organizations creating…their own cryptocurrencies?…Apart from the obvious allure of being someone…who has created a new currency,…there are four core motivations for the creator.…

Number one, there altcoin can have a different…monetary policy.…Two, it can have a different proof of work…or consensus mechanism.…Three, it can have specific features or focus areas…