Guide to the top 10 Cryptocurrencies for beginners - Part 2
This is a 3 part guide, Click here for part 1
What this post is about
I want to do a post about all the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market share, a little information about each of them. If you have been around cryptocurrencies for a while this post might not be for you so just keep that in mind.
Glossary of terms used in this post.
Market Cap - Market capitalization is just a fancy name for a straightforward concept: it is the market value of a cryptocurrencies available supply. This figure is found by taking the current coin price and multiplying it by the total number of coins that have been mined.
White Paper - A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. This is usually the first information to come out about a cryptocurrency
Blockchain - Every node in a decentralized system has a copy of the blockchain. No centralized "official" copy exists and no user is "trusted" more than any other. Transactions are broadcast to the network using software applications. Mining nodes validate transactions, add them to the block they're creating and then broadcast the completed block to other nodes. Blockchains use various timestamping schemes, such as proof-of-work to serialize changes.
4 - Litecoin - LTC 
Current price: $3.83US
Market Cap: $183,555,189
Available Supply: 47,864,454
All time high: $26US
My Thoughts:
Litecoin was one of the first well known Cryptocurrencies. My friends and I had a lot of fun mining litecoin early on, and the rise to its ATH was definitely exciting. Once (or still) called the silver of cryptocurrencies to Bitcoins gold, I still am confused how it has kept its price at such steady levels. It has a long blockchain and an interesting history, but to me personally does not offer anything more than what you can get from bitcoin.
Litecoin Explained:
itecoin is a peer-to-peer Internet currency that enables instant, near-zero cost payments to anyone in the world. Litecoin is an open source, global payment network that is fully decentralized. Mathematics secures the network and empowers individuals to control their own finances.
Compared to Bitcoin, Litecoin features faster transaction confirmation times (2.5 minutes) and improved storage efficiency. With substantial industry support, trade volume, and liquidity, Litecoin is a proven medium of commerce complementary to Bitcoin. Litecoin is the second most popular cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin - Litecoin Wiki
5 - Ethereum Classic - ETC 
Current price: $1.17US
Market Cap: $$99,543,018US
All time high: $2.30US
My Thoughts:
I don't want to go too far into my thoughts on Ethereum classic as the subject is quite divisive in the Ethereum community. While it sounds strange 'the dao' fiasco was a very exciting time for me, there was a hack, lots of furious development on fixes, a soft fork then a hard fork and the whole time lots of debating. Read 'How Ethereum Classic started' for more info on 'the Dao' hack. I had owned ETC after the hard fork, but sold it for more ETH using shapeshift.
Ethereum Classic Explained:
Ethereum Classic is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference. Ethereum Classic is a continuation of the original Ethereum blockchain - the classic ‘unforked’ version; free from external interference and subjective tampering of transactions.Ethereum Classic Github
The premise for Ethereum Classic
forgotten. Individuals interacting on Ethereum Classic are governed by this reality; Code is Law.
This does not necessarily mean that code replaces existing laws, or that only code is law (there are many geographical jurisdictions), but it gives users the opportunity to enter into a new blockchain-based jurisdiction where agreements are governed by code.
By entering into contracts on Ethereum Classic, you can be certain that the network remains neutral. The outcome of transactions will be dictated by code you voluntarily interact with. Unless explicitly defined by the contract code, there are no reversals, no undos, no opt-outs.
Transactions are final; applications are unstoppable.Ethereum Classic Github
How Ethereum Classic Started:
At block 192001 of the Ethereum network, miners who had selected to not support the hard fork of the Ethereum chain split the chain in two. One chain became Ethereum classic, and the main longer chain continued on the work of Ethereum. check here for a lot more information on this
6 - Augur - REP 
Current price: $8.69US
Market Cap: $95,611,116
Available Supply: 11,000,000
All time high: (NEW)
My Thoughts:
Augur is a prediction market, this is quite interesting to me. If you were involved in 'the Dao' Carbon Vote you will understand at the fundamental level how this works. Putting up worth or a bet on the outcome of a particular decision or upcoming event. But it the case of Augur, those who put tokens on the side that wins get back a return on investment and those who put their tokens on the losing side lose them.
This fixes the issue that happens a lot on online polls, when you have nothing on the line you are less inclined to think about your decision as much as if you had nothing to lose. There is issues with this way also, check the Augur social media links to find healthy debates on the topic.
Augur Explained:
Augur combines the magic of prediction markets with the power of a decentralized network to create a stunningly accurate forecasting tool - and the chance for real money trading profits.
Augur's prediction markets provide powerful predictive data - you can think of the current market price of any share in any market as an estimate of the probability of that outcome actually occurring in the real world. For example, a share priced at 64 cents has a 64% probability of happening.
The accuracy of prediction markets rests in the idea of the "The Wisdom of the Crowd". This states that the average prediction made by a group is superior to that made by any of the individuals in that group. Markets are the perfect way to aggregate this collective wisdom - which is made up of all the information, analysis and opinion held by members of the group. With these individuals buying and selling shares in the outcome of real-world events, based on their personal knowledge and opinion, the market prices reach an equilibrium that reflect the opinion of the entire group.
Prediction markets have proven to be more accurate at forecasting the future than individual experts, surveys or traditional opinion polling. They provide real-time predictive data and are traded using real money - which incentivises market participants to reveal what they think will happen, rather than what they hope will happen. Traders are putting their money where their mouths are. Augur.net
Stay tuned for part 3.
Future posts will be more geared towards the code and applications. I hope you have gained some insight into the basics of cryptocurrencies.
Thanks.
No worries.
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