BTMs Aren’t Just for Bitcoins! (Part 1)
BTMs Aren’t Just for Bitcoins! We Also Have 29 Altcoins
The world of digital currency comprises a lot more than just Bitcoin, although that is the most famous crypto. But Coin Cloud allows you to buy and sell 30 digital currencies, including Bitcoin and 29 altcoins, each one created for a specific use.
Some are mined, some aren’t. Some are backed by fiat currency, some aren’t. Over the next few days, we’re going to take a look at all 30 of them, broken down by category.
Cryptocurrency
While “cryptocurrency” is often used as an all-encompassing term, technically cryptocurrencies are only mined digital currencies, almost always recorded and verified on the blockchain. This category includes the big players you’ve probably heard of — Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) — as well as Ripple (XRP), Stellar (XLM) and Monero (XMR).
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is the world’s first and most popular decentralized digital currency, and began being mined in early 2009. Over the past decade it has proven to be the most successful attempt to create virtual money using cryptography — the science of protecting information through codes.
Bitcoin transactions are recorded and stored on a public ledger known as the blockchain. Blockchain technology is being used for more and more purposes, but digital currency is the first and most well-known. Bitcoin is created when Bitcoin miners with powerful computers run complex programs that confirm groups of transactions stored on the blockchain; it takes about 10 minutes to form each block of the chain, which is rewarded by paying the miner a set amount of Bitcoin. This reward is halved over time, known as “halvening.”
Many Bitcoin ATMs, or BTMs, only handle Bitcoin, and in fact a lot of them only allow you to buy Bitcoin or sell Bitcoin — but not both. Coin Cloud BTMs give customers a lot of options by also including 29 of the most popular altcoins, each with two-way buy-or-sell options.
