Bitcoin<\/a>\u00a0has not just been a trendsetter, ushering in a wave of cryptocurrencies built on decentralized\u00a0peer-to-peer\u00a0network, it\u2019s become the de facto standard for\u00a0cryptocurrencies<\/a>\u200b. The currencies inspired by Bitcoin are collectively called\u00a0altcoins<\/a>\u00a0and have tried to present themselves as modified or improved versions of Bitcoin. While some of these currencies are easier to\u00a0mine<\/a>\u00a0than Bitcoin is, there are tradeoffs, including\u00a0greater risk brought on by lesser\u00a0liquidity, acceptance and value retention. Since Bitcoin prices are soaring new highs, we look at six cryptocurrencies, picked from over 700 (in no specific order) that could be worth your while.<\/p>\n Litecoin, launched in the year 2011, was among the initial cryptocurrencies following bitcoin and was often referred to as \u2018silver to\u00a0Bitcoin<\/a>\u2019s gold.\u2019 It was created by Charlie Lee, a MIT graduate and former Google engineer. Litecoin is based on an open source global payment network that is not controlled by any central authority and uses “scrypt” as a proof of work, which can be decoded with the help of CPUs of consumer grade. Although\u00a0Litecoin is like Bitcoin in many ways, it has a faster block generation rate and hence offers a faster transaction confirmation. Other than developers, there are a growing number of merchants who accept Litecoin.<\/p>\n1) Litecoin (LTC)<\/strong><\/h2>\n