A Beginner's Guide To Cryptocurrency: What Is Shiba Inu Coin, Dogecoin, And More

By Jove Moya May 06, 2021

Cryptocurrency is the future of money; however, only a few people are really familiar with this term. In this article, Tatler explains everything you need to know about crypto and how it emerged as a system of trading in the digital age.

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As of 2020, the number of active cryptocurrency users was estimated to be between 2.9 to 5.8 million worldwide. Despite the huge figure, many people are still perplexed when they hear or encounter terms related to crypto.

Since the dawn of civilisation, men have involved themselves in different systems of trading; there was the barter system where instead of money, people traded their services for goods and vice versa. There is also the more common banknote or paper money that people use to get their hands on goods with equivalent value as their cash.

In the modern age, men have evolved and entered a new era where everything is run by digital machines or devices. Today, trading can be done with a swipe of a finger.

For starters, cryptocurrency is a digital currency that can be used to avail different sets of goods and services through the help of an online ledger with strong cryptography to secure online transactions. You can think of them as you would casino chips or arcade tokens that you can eventually trade for other products.

As of this writing, there are more than 4,000 cryptocurrencies available; some popular ones are Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu coin. In this article, we will discuss and differentiate these four currencies for you.

BITCOIN (BTC)

Perhaps the cryptocurrency that people hear the most is Bitcoin, Launched in 2009, this digital currency was put up by an unknown person (or group of people) under the moniker Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bitcoin promises its users a secured online currency without the need of any central authority, unlike other government-issued currencies.

LITECOIN (LTC)

Launched in October 2011, Litecoin was an early bitcoin spinoff. It was initially designed to be the "silver to bitcoin's gold" according to its founder Charlie Lee. One of Litecoin's biggest pros is its fast transaction, while its biggest con is its low market capitalisation compared to Bitcoin.

ETHEREUM/ETHER (ETH)

Ethereum is an open-source, blockchain-based software platform launched in 2015 for its own cryptocurrency, Ether. The platform enables users to build and run Smart Contracts and Distributed Applications without any downtime, fraud, and interference from a third party.

DOGECOIN (Ɖ)

Like all cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin can be bought and sold like an investment. As of this writing, the value of this currency increased by 6,000 per cent and is now the fifth most valuable crypto on the market.

SHIBA INU COIN

Dubbed as the "meme token," the Shiba Inu Coin is a cryptocurrency that is listed and incentivised on ShibaSwap, its own website. According to reports, the new currency aims to "replicate the success" of Dogecoin which was released to the market as a joke in 2013.

As of this writing, the Shiba Inu Coin is sitting at £0.000021 ($0.00003026). Experts say that it could unlikely reach $1 as it has not shown growth like its counterpart Dogecoin.