Several forms of currencies have emerged as mediums of money over the time. These currencies have mostly been centralized to their geographical origin. A new phenomenon, known as the cryptocurrency was invented back in 2008. Investopedia identifies cryptocurrency as internet-based digital medium of exchange (virtual currency), which uses secured cryptography to protect the financial transactions conducted over the internet. The most significant feature of a cryptocurrency is that it is not controlled by any central authority: the decentralized nature of the system which keeps the records of transactions of a cryptocurrency makes it more immune to third-party interferences such as the government or other regulatory bodies.  The two parties involved in the transaction of cryptocurrencies can carry the transaction directly through the use of encrypted public or private keys.  These transfers can be done with minimal processing fees, allowing users to avoid the steep fees charged by traditional financial institutions. Want to know more about top cryptocurrencies to invest? click bitcoin era app

Why Invest in Cryptocurrencies?

Although Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, it was later followed by the introduction of a series of different digital currencies. With the increased awareness of portfolio diversification among the investors, and the uncertainty mongering over the stock market, greater number of people have now started investing in cryptocurrencies. Since 2013, the cryptocurrency market has witnessed a tremendous growth. Currently, there are more than 1500 different cryptocurrencies, all created in less than 5 years.

The best year for the cryptocurrencies' performance was 2017. The market capitalization of cryptocurrencies grew by 4000%. The market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies was around $21 billion by March 2017, and has now grown up to $454 billion.

If you are currently looking to invest in a cryptocurrency, here are 4 top-performing cryptocurrencies in the market right now:

1.     Bitcoin (BTC)

 Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency, given it currently has a 40% share in the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. It is the oldest cryptocurrency and it still dominates in the market. Bitcoin has several advantages over other digital currencies, e.g. it has the highest liquidity in the crypto market, which also makes it the best cryptocurrency to buy for a beginner. There will always be someone on the other end ready to match your order. Bitcoin's influence, demand and mass adoption are expected to go up in the years to come, and as demand increases, Bitcoin's price is expected to rise substantially as there will only ever be 21 million coins. According to Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev, Bitcoin price could keep increasing to $50,000 in 2020, he said in an interview with Bloomberg.

2.      Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is a decentralized software platform which allows Smart Contracts and Decentralized Applications (DApps) to be built and run without any downtime, fraud, control, or interference from a third party. Ether was introduced in 2015, and is currently the second-largest digital currency by market capitalization after bitcoin.

Ethereum grew by about 3000% in the year 2017. By the end of 2019, the price of Ethereum was slightly higher than $720, with a total market cap of around $70 billion. At the beginning of 2018, Ethereum climbed and reached its highest price of $1423 on January 4. At this time, the total market cap for Ethereum was $138 billion.

Currently, Ethereum (ETH) has a market cap of almost $40.5 billion and a per-token value of $358.53. Ethereum is an advanced blockchain project. It also offers something special i.e. by using Ethereum's platform, developers can also create their own cryptocurrencies.

3.     Ripple (XRP)

Ripple is a hybrid system which was launched in 2012. It works as both a cryptocurrency and a digital transaction payment system.

The digital payment part of ripple is more prevalent than the cryptocurrency. Operating as a decentralized platform, ripple allows for a smooth transfer of money.

One of the key features of Ripple is that apart from being a cryptocurrency, it is also a very efficient payment system. Ripple uses blockchain technology to make quicker and securer international payments. Multiple financial corporations for example American Express and Santander have already been utilizing this technology. Also, Ripple is working with one of the leading banks in the world such as China's LianLian International and other major banks.

Ripple was one of the bests-performing cryptocurrencies in 2017, with a growth of around 36,000%. Currently it holds a market cap of around $10.8 Billion and is therefore one of the best and most promising digital currencies to invest in.

4.     Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin is one of the alternative cryptocurrencies based on the concept of Bitcoin. It was launched in 2011, and similar to bitcoin it is an open source decentralized network of payment. It has a faster block generation rate than bitcoin and has high liquidity and a large market cap. The total supply of litecoins is limited to 84 million coins (in comparison to Bitcoin 21 million) and a block reward of 25 LTC. Litecoin offers one of the highest block rewards in cryptocurrencies. Its average mining time of the block is around two minutes, which is also faster than several other cryptocurrencies. 

All of the aforementioned characteristics of the litecoins, along with the fact that Litecoin is one of the big four on Coinbase, leads experts to believe that in spite of the uncertainty of the future, Litecoin will certainly remain a strong altcoin.

According to the reports of Investopedia and Coinmarketcap.com, Litecoin is considered one of the best cryptocurrencies, despite the strong competition. Based on these factors, it would be safe to say that Litecoins is also a very promising cryptocurrency to invest in.