Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that don’t have any sort of physical manifestation anywhere in the world. Cryptocurrencies are based on blockchain technology. Blockchain technology helps in mining, trading and maintaining cryptocurrencies without any discrepancies.
The first-ever cryptocurrency in the world is Bitcoin, which is popularly known to be created by Satoshi Nakamoto, even though this claim of bitcoin’s creation doesn’t have any solid evidence. According to market buzz, if Bitcoin ever gets listed on the New York Stock Exchange, it will become the seventh-largest entity on the stock market in terms of total market capitalization.
This example helps in understanding the rapidly growing popularity of cryptocurrencies across the world. Together the top 10 cryptocurrencies of the world have a staggering total market capitalization of 1.2 trillion US dollars. These top 10 cryptocurrencies if considered separately will become billion dollars worth of unicorns. That is the potential cryptocurrencies have managed to leverage.
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Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is deemed as the first cryptocurrency of the world which also has a highly decentralized presence. It is the single most valuable cryptocurrency in the world and secures 1st place among all other cryptocurrencies in terms of total market capitalization.
Bitcoin’s total market capitalization is 844 Billion US dollars which is more than double of its nearest competitor, Ethereum. Bitcoin is traded as BTC. Though Skeptical, crypto enthusiasts have credited Sathashi Nakamoto as the creator of Bitcoin and thus gave rise to the world of cryptocurrencies, changing the course of finances forever. Bitcoin was created in the year 2009
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is one of the most versatile and globally accepted cryptocurrencies in the world and is a competitor to Bitcoin. With 344 billion US Dollars, ETH stands at second position in terms of total market capitalization.
Even though the total market capitalization value is off the roof, it is not even half of the total market capitalization of Bitcoin. Not just being a cryptocurrency but Ethereum has other applications as well. ETH uses smart contracts to authenticate and secure various operations and transactions across industries.
These applications of ETH have made it a critical option for governance, logistics, payments, insurance, banking and real estate. Ethereum was created in the year 2015.
Cardano (ADA)
It was created in the year 2017. Cardano is the first cryptocurrency that is designed to work based on a proof of stake ( PoS) mechanism. Cardano is deemed to be the most eco-friendly cryptocurrency in the world as it eliminates several energy-intensive steps of the mining process, thus leaving a smaller carbon footprint behind.
Due to its proof of stake mechanism, Cardano is used in checking counterfeit commodities, preventing agricultural commodities wastage and used for voting in governance. It has a total market capitalization value of 45 billion US Dollars.
Ripple (XRP)
Ripple is also well known as OpenCoin and it is also utilized by several banking financial institutions like Axis Bank and Yes Bank to facilitate overseas money transfers at a cost even lesser than the standard payment methods like RTGS, NEF and SWIFT.
Ripple is commonly misinterpreted as the name of the coin itself but it is the name of the blockchain network on which the coins are based. XRP is the name of the coin and is the code for trading the same. Due to its impact on fiat currencies, XRP has gained the attention of Regulatory bodies affiliated with the United States Government.
The resolution passed by those bodies will decide the fate of XRP in various domestic markets across the globe. It has a total market capitalization value of 36 billion US Dollars.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Dogecoin was started as a joke or meme inspiration by some crypto enthusiasts in 2013. The logo of the coin was inspired by the Shiba Inu dog breed. This coin is traded as DOGE in cryptocurrency markets.
Dogecoins were initially used for donations and tipping on online forums, communities and charities, but due to the pumping given by Elon Musk, Futuristic entrepreneur and founder of Tesla, SpaceX and PayPal, Dogecoins prices have soared, increasing the total market capitalization of the coin.
Dogecoin is the only Altcoin with an unlimited number of coins, as there is no cap or regulation on mining the dogecoins. It has a total market capitalization value of 31 billion US Dollars.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot was developed by a Swiss-based research foundation. DOT is popularly known as an Ethereum competitor as the blockchain on which Polkadot is built has a wider range of applications like the Ethereum blockchain. PolkaDot works on the Nominated Proof of Stake mechanism (NPS) which facilitates the blockchain technology’s assistance in securing various operations and transactions in insurance, banking, healthcare, real estate, entertainment, logistics, production, supply chain and other major industries. Kusama / KSM tokens are given to DOT stakeholders as a reward.
Polkadot stands out from the rest of the cryptocurrencies as it is the only blockchain platform along with Ethereum which utilizes smart contracts to authenticate the operations. It has a total market capitalization value of 19 billion US Dollars.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin Cash emerged when the bitcoin fraternity fragmented. Lagging behind the precursor bitcoin in terms of market cap, bitcoin cash still became popular across the crypto community, thanks to its swift transactions and nominal transaction fees. It has a total market capitalization value of 10.4 billion US Dollars.
Solana(SOL)
Solana was created in 2020. Unlike the competitors, Solana works on a proof of history mechanism, which takes approval from computers/nodes based on all the previous transactions that happened on that blockchain platform. Solana is used for decentralized finance operations. It has a total market capitalization value of 10.1 billion US Dollars.
Litecoin (LTC)
As the name states, Litecoin is the lighter version of its precursor, bitcoin and litecoin became popular as the currency which supports transactions made by marginal merchants. The price of the lite coin has doubled over the past 3 years and investors are anticipating an increase in the price over the upcoming years.
Litecoin is popularly termed as Silver against Bitcoin being called the Gold of cryptocurrencies.
Stellar coin
Stellar became popular as the blockchain technology which is used for payments in financial transactions, similar to XRP. Stellar coins became widely popular claiming faster transaction speed and competitive transaction fees. It was created in 2014.
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