When you think of cryptocurrencies , you think of Bitcoin. It was the first one to burst onto the scene and it is the largest by market capital. But, these virtual currencies are threatening to one day surpass it completely. Ethereum Although many people believe that Bitcoin and Ethereum are similar, there is one major difference Ethereum can handle currency and non currency blockchain applications, where Bitcoin can only handle currency applications. They have a great following, and at the end of 2017, there were approximately 200 organisations in the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, with a number of industries and sectors. As well as this, they also implement smart contracts, which really sets to bar high for other cryptocurrencies to perform like Ethereum. Ripple Ripple appeals solely to financial institutions and have already been backed by several financial institutions. They have fast processing times, and low transaction fees, regardless of where they are going to in the country. The thing that sets Ripple apart from others is that they already have a number of high profile partnerships, including one with MoneyGram International. That said, it has faced a lot of criticism, especially over this past week, and it has a lot of prove.Nano has the capacity to process 7,000 transactions per second, and these speeds could just head higher and higher as time goes on, and could even rival Visa. The secret behind this is the block lattice structure, which allows transactions to be processed incredibly quickly, and it is this speed that gives Nano the potential to one day be bigger than Bitcoin.Like Ethereum, Qtum is employing the use of smart contracts, and takes the best aspects of both Bitcoin and Ethereum, and turning them into a unique network. But, the reason that Qtum has the potential to grow bigger than Bitcoin, are the recent partnerships that they have formed with Chinese businesses. These partnerships give Qtum the potential to really excel and eventually out shadow Bitcoin.