What’s the best cryptocurrency for fast flawless micro payments?
Cryptocurrencies come in all shapes and sizes, with various network architectures, different fee structures and processing times. Some cryptos have fees that rise significantly during times of network congestion.
This is why we turned to DashTickets, a leading New Zealand magazine whose writers are using cryptocurrencies to make micro and medium transfers on a daily basis. They certainly know which cryptos they avoid and why, and which are their go-to vessels for a fast worry-free micro payment.
Why the focus on micropayments? We don’t necessarily intend to send $0.20 to someone, but if some crypto is well-suited to sending that amount and getting it accepted quickly even during times of high network traffic, at a reasonable fee, then that cryptocurrency can be used for any amount. So many are not, as they become reasonably efficient only for transfers of $100 and above.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are not it
As much as we’d all want BTC to be the one cryptocurrency to rule them all, the fact of the matter is that is is not suitable for micropayments. The average transaction fee with Bitcoin is around 3 USD, which is plenty, and that’s when everything is relatively quiet. During a bull run it’s impossible to make a quick and cheap payment as the fees rise to 30 USD and above and the transactions take forever to process. It’s the same if not worse with ETH.
Bitcoin has attempted to solve its problems of network congestion and unsuitability for micropayments, and has, so far, failed. There is no doubt that there will be further upgrades in the future that might make Bitcoin a micropayment currency.
Until then, we need a cryptocurrency with a stable fee that remains the same at all times, even when the network is congested. Preferably, its network couldn’t even get congested because it scales easily.
Also, the transaction should be done in seconds. As a side note, there should only ever be one network the transfer would happen on, to avoid confusion and loss of funds because someone used the wrong network. For mainstream adoption and widespread usage, there must be one network only. This is why we won’t include sidechains such as Polygon and similar crypto enthusiast stuff.
LTC Litecoin
Designed specifically to tackle Bitcoin’s problem with micropayments, Litecoin is virtually unchanged since its inception because it works well. It has a single network, a transaction fee of about $0.03 per transaction, but they take a bit long to get there, often more than 2 minutes. This is good enough when you’re sending funds to wherever, just not good enough for POS purchases. Still, the widespread adoption of LTC makes it a really good workhorse – as long as you don’t mind the several minutes of waiting time. The fees depend on network congestion only, not on payment amount. Litecoin is 21st by market cap. DASH is a similar crypto from the same era, but with faster processing times of up to 2 seconds.
XLM Stellar
With an average transaction fee of only $0.0000035 and a transaction time of 3-5 seconds, the 31st cryptocurrency by market cap is a standout performer when it comes to micropayments. Lumens, the cryptocurrency on the Stellar network that has a ticker XLM, is intended to be used for instant global payments. It does what is says on the box, so if you can convert into XLM and the recipient of the funds wants to accept XLM, it’s a no-brainer. The money will be there in seconds at an almost zero fee that is always 0.000001 Lumens. That’s perfect. XLM, however, is a niche cryptocurrency that didn’t yet manage to enter the mainstream. Same goes for XNO Nano, a zero-fee currency with sub-one-second transaction times.
XRP Ripple
Everyone knows about Ripple because of the SEC case, but what a lot of people don’t know is that the traditional banks use the Ripple network to facilitate their own fiat transfers. Ripple has fast transaction speeds of 3-5 seconds and low gas fees that average at about $0.0011 per transaction. This is just as good as XLM as people normally won’t mind the 1/10 of a cent that you pay more, but with far greater adoption and better market traction. But the long legal battle is giving Ripple a reputation of something that could go down in flames at any time. XMR Monero should know a thing or two about bad rep, as it’s known as the dark web crypto and has therefore gone far from its intended use as worldwide money that the low transaction fee of $0.00014 would allow. Monero transactions are slow.
SOL Solana
A bit more expensive than Lumens, with an average transaction fee of $0.02275, the transfer of Solana will be there within 10 seconds. That’s reasonable enough even for POS payments. Or at least online purchases. Solana, dubbed the Ethereum killer, is the #5 crypto by market cap, but you wouldn’t be very wrong as you thought of it as #3 behind BTC and ETH. Solana is also an asset, as well as a smart contracts vessel, so it’s the Swiss army knife of crypto. It does everything well.
The winner: Solana
While Litecoin will handle the micropayment with quiet grace and agility, and so will XLM, these cryptocurrencies don’t have a purpose other than sending and receiving funds. Ripple is far more integrated into the daily financial system, yet it remains burdened by the legal back and forth.
Solana is therefore the champion – the widely-accepted cryptocurrency that also has smart contracts and sends payments almost instantly at a flat low fee. It also serves as an asset, since its price is increasing during a bull run. What more can you ask for?