With Bitcoin (BTC) hitting what many predict was its absolute peak towards the tail-end of 2017, there are other altcoins on the horizon looking to topple it from its perch as an industry leader. Chief among these is Ripple (XRP), the value of which has exploded in the last 12 months. However successful 2017 was for Ripple, constant innovations in blockchain technology and the recent influx of new digital currencies to the market means that repeating that success in 2018 is by no means certain. Here are three cryptocurrencies that we feel could outrun Ripple in the year to come:Stellar is already poised for big things, following the announcement of its partnership with payment processor KlickEx and computing giant IBM. Stellar’s big selling point is the speed of its blockchain, the very thing that IBM and KlickEx are proposing to test. Just how fast is Stellar’s blockchain? They report processing times of two to five seconds – considerably faster than Bitcoin’s average. Should the feedback from IBM bear this out, it could well be in a position to beat Ripple.IOTA is a German cryptocurrency overseen and developed by a non-profit organisation: the IOTA Foundation. IOTA boasts what it calls a “blockless” blockchain, or Data Marketplace, where individual businesses are able to share and sell data that might otherwise go to waste. The Marketplace is completely open source and free to use and, though the Foundation has yet to secure a formal partner, many global brands, including Orange, T-Mobile, Accenture, and Fujitsu have signed on to their network as demo participants, which is already generating a buzz around the fledgeling currency.Komodo (KMD) is a new kid on the altcoin scene. It differentiates itself with the high-levels of security and anonymity built into its blockchain. Using what it calls delayed proof-of-work (dPoW) protocols, Komodo notarises blocks on its existing blockchain, adding further layers of security to prevent would-be hackers. As cryptocurrency edges towards the mainstream, this kind of assurance will become ever more attractive to more cautious investors. Will Ripple continue to thrive in the digital currency market, or will one of these other altcoins overtake them? Only time will tell.