Bitcoin thoroughly dominates media coverage and public discussion of cryptocurrency. It is the oldest crypto-currency and does by far have the largest market capitalization—all Bitcoins are together estimated to be worth US$5.5 billion. More than sixty peer-to-peer currencies existed as of November 2013, and that number has dramatically risen since. As of April 8th, coinmarketcap.com lists market capitalization values for over 200 cryptocurrencies. Market capitalizations range from Litecoin’s US$300 million, much a smaller than Bitcoin but still substantial, to LiteBar’s $384. The sheer number of similar-sounding names (well more more than half include the word “coin”) raises the question… Why? Two weeks ago, I began a series of posts on Bitcoin-alternatives. This week, I’ll conclude the series by writing about two more motivations between the exploding diversity of cryptocurrencies.
{For a primer on Bitcoin, consider reading Holly’s interview with Emily Neville about her thesis on the currency.}
+ humor and journalism
The internet has earned infamy for weird fads and odd humor. JesusCoin, Coinye (as in Coinye West), Koindashian, and DogeCoin (for the unfamiliar, some background on the Doge meme) likely fall primarily under that banner. Journalists, generating fodder for their articles, have also created currencies of their own. Notable examples include ArsCoin—born from the website ArsTechnica—and Stawart Bucks, created by Joe Weisenthal for Business Insider. I, unfortunately, did not go those lengths for this post. This type of “just for fun” coin tends to be a direct clone of Bitcoin or another crypto-currency with no or very few technical alterations.