Ever since Bitcoin made headlines worldwide during the “bubble” in 2017, there has been frenzied speculation among economists, tech enthusiasts, and the media over whether or not crypto has a viable future as a mainstream form of currency.
The very nature of cryptocurrencies means that they are unlikely to ever be considered in the same way that a stable, fiat currency is, but that doesn’t mean that they are any less desirable as an asset. There have been countless attention-grabbing headlines about people selling their mansions for Bitcoin, or coffee shops accepting Litecoin as a form of payment, but what’s the truth?
In reality, there are three currencies that are serious contenders for matching fiat in popularity; Bitcoin, Dash, and Litecoin. But which of these is currently most useful as money, rather than purely as an investment vehicle? Read on to find out.
Bitcoin
You’d think Bitcoin has the best shot simply by the virtue of it arguably being the most well-known cryptocurrency, but this isn’t necessarily the case. General awareness of Bitcoin’s existence is more limited than most people think, with Lottoland’s survey into the matter revealing that 1 in 5 people have no awareness of it whatsoever.
Therefore, there are other factors to look at. In terms of pure numbers, Bitcoin does indeed have the highest number of major vendors that accept it as a form of payment. Companies such as Shopify, Microsoft, and Mozilla all accept BTC as payment, with other companies promising to do the same in the future.
Dash
Source: Pixabay
Just because a few big names have agreed to accept bitcoin as part of a PR stunt doesn’t make it the de-facto best currency to use as money. Up-and-coming e-currency Dash is another major contender in part because it is one of the most stable currencies in terms of price fluctuations, whilst a full coin is still affordable to the average consumer.
The currency is also making a much more concerted effort than Bitcoin to be taken seriously as a currency. The company is currently entering a slew of partnerships with operators such as BitCart, CryptoWoo, and CryptoBuyer to allow people to use Dash as a form of everyday payment on sites such as Amazon and Booking.com, via an instant exchange mechanism.
Litecoin
Source: Pixabay
According to the latest Virtual Coin Squad rankings, Litecoin is the closest runner-up to BTC in terms of the number of major businesses and retailers that accept it as payment, with a full 25 accepting it (often alongside Bitcoin). There are also several retailers such as the sportswear business MazeFit and the cosmetics company Shiny Leaf which exclusively accept LTC.
Moreover, Litecoin’s rising popularity and recent favourability over BTC had led to many tech pundits referring to it as “the cash to Bitcoin’s gold”, meaning that, while Bitcoin may have a lot going for it as an investment asset, Litecoin’s properties make it much more useful as a potential form of money in the near future.
To conclude, the most accurate assessment of the current situation is that Bitcoin is the most useful crypto at the moment. Serious users of e-currencies should, however, consider using Litecoin, as this looks set to overtake Bitcoin in the near future.
