Bitcoin's successors: from Litecoin to Freicoin and onwards

Cryptocurrencies are attracting growing attention – but how do they work, and how can you choose which to use?
Everyone in the cryptocurrency world has heard of Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious inventor of Bitcoin. But not many have heard of Peter Bushnell, the not-so-mysterious inventor of Feathercoin. On 20 April, he announced his alternative currency to a gaggle of online followers. Two months later, over 8m of them have been mined.
Feathercoin is one of a range of alternative currencies that, like Bitcoin, are based entirely on mathematics. Known collectively as alt-currencies, they have been launching in increasing numbers over the past year. Some launch for ideological reasons; others for technical ones; still more, for financial gain. Bitcoin is unlikely to be the only cryptocurrency to enjoy huge successes. So which altcoin will follow in its footsteps?
"I released this and wanted to foster a small community," says Bushnell, who quit his job in May as head of IT at Oxford University's Brasenose College. Since then, he has been living off his collection of Litecoins – another alt-currency, on which Feathercoin is based. When creating Feathercoin, he copied the Litecoin algorithm, but tweaked some technical parameters, including the total number of coins that could be mined.

Source: https://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jun/25/bitcoin-successors-litecoin-freicoin