It's been called one of the most revolutionary cryptocurrencies ever built. Here's a rundown of what you should know before you buy it.
For crypto investors, it is always exciting to find a smaller altcoin with the potential to grow. Ergo (ERG) certainly fits that description.
It improves on elements of the two market leaders, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). And it has ties to another top-five cryptocurrency in Cardano (ADA). Last but not least, Ergo has gained over 1,800% in 2021, more than double any of those coins.
Despite all that, Ergo is still well outside the top 100 biggest cryptocurrencies. Some believe it could eventually reach the top 10. That means it may be a good time to buy.
1. Ergo is a programmable blockchain without gas fees
As a programmable blockchain, Ergo provides a platform where developers can create decentralized applications (dApps). It is similar in that respect to Ethereum, which was the first and is also currently the largest programmable blockchain.
However, there is a key difference between Ergo and Ethereum. Ergo doesn't have gas (transaction) fees but Ethereum does and they are based on how busy the network is. Because of how popular Ethereum is, gas fees are often expensive.
The lack of gas fees on Ergo is beneficial for developers, who can more accurately predict the cost of creating dApps on Ergo.
2. It has several functional dApps, with more on the way
There are all kinds of use cases for Ergo, but let's look at a few of the ways it's already being used. Here are some of its current dApps:
SigmaUSD: A decentralized stable-coin that's pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Ergo Auction House: An auction house for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
ErgoMixer: The first non-custodial, non-interactive mixer in the cryptocurrency space. A mixer allows users to send tokens in batches of transactions and mixes those tokens together. This makes each user's transaction harder to trace than it would be if the crypto was sent directly from one wallet to another.
Ergo also has a decentralized exchange and a crowdfunding platform in development.
3. It uses a proof-of-work model
Like Bitcoin, Ergo uses a proof-of-work model for mining new coins and validating transactions.
Proof of work involves...
This article was first published on www.fool.com.
Written by Lyle Daly.