There are millions of cryptocurrency coins out there. But which are the best, and why? We know it’s difficult getting into crypto at first, so we made this list to teach you about the largest coins out there. We’ll be looking at the top 10 cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap. We will also give a brief overview of what the coin is, what it does, some price history and so on. Right, let’s jump into it!
1. Bitcoin (BTC)
Market capitalization: $558 billion
Bitcoin was created in 2009 by the mysterious “Satoshi Nakamoto” and is the first-ever cryptocurrency. Like virtually all cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin runs on a blockchain – or a digital ledger logging transactions comprised of millions of computers around the world. A cryptographic puzzle must be solved in order to add to the public ledger. This is called proof of work, and it helps keep Bitcoin secure from hackers.
Bitcoin is completely decentralised – meaning it operates without the interference of a third party.
Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency by far and has been for many years. Bitcoin price has increased vastly since its inception. Bitcoin was first minted for free, and now each coin can be bought for around $30,000.
So far, two countries have changed their national currency to Bitcoin and we expect many more to follow in the coming years.
Bitcoin is now viewed as “digital gold” or “digital property” as it is a great store of value, which looks like it will appreciate in the future.
Read this article on getting started with Bitcoin to learn more of the basics, how to buy bitcoin and so on.
2. Ethereum (ETH)
Market cap: $250 billion
Ethereum is a blockchain platform, as well as having their native token called “Ether”. Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency largely for pioneering the decentralized apps (dApps) movement. DApps, or smart contracts, automatically execute actions when certain conditions are met. For example, if X happens, Y must occur. No centralized third party is required in order to make said action occur. This technology is a revolution in the pursuit of decentralization.
DApps have allowed Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to flourish. DeFi has seen users able to interact with different DApps to do interesting things with their money, like lend, borrow, stake, farm and more. We generally have to go through a third party in the “normal” financial world should we want to do any of those things. Not with the Ethereum blockchain though. You can simply access a device with an internet connection, connect your wallet to a DApp, and interact with different financial instruments without having to go through a bank.
NFTs have introduced a whole new use case of cryptocurrency, namely classification and indisputable ownership of something. For example, many are anticipating that things like properties will become NFTs. The reason? You will be able to list or buy properties on the blockchain, as opposed to the traditional means. Usually, one would have to speak to an estate agent, lawyers and so on. If you could buy and sell properties on the blockchain, you could do this extremely simply and easy, and probably with a few clicks of a button. NFTs and DeFi give individuals more control over their personal estate and how they wish to interact with others.
Ethereum has also experienced tremendous growth. From April 2016 to the beginning of May 2022, its price went from about $11 to over $2,000, increasing almost 18,000%.
3. Tether (USDT)
Market Cap: $73 billion
Tether is different to most cryptocurrencies in that is it a stablecoin. Stablecoins are designed to mirror the price of a fiat currency. In this case, USDT is meant to mirror the U.S. dollar and be priced at $1. Stablecoins are a good intermediary between cryptocurrency and fiat. Stables allow you to quickly liquify your tokens into a (supposedly) stable asset, without the headache of moving funds back into fiat.
Each dollar that Tether has minted is supposedly matched within their treasury. So, in theory, Tether should always be $1 as if there is 20 billion Tether minted, they must have $20 billion in their treasury. Similarly, if there is only 20 Tether left, they should only have $20 in their treasury.
“Stable” coins are not always necessarily stable, though. We recently saw the collapse of Luna and UST, the second biggest stablecoin, get obliterated extremely quickly. Crypto assets are basically never safe, even if they are titled “stable”!
4. U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC)
Market cap: $54 billion
Just like Tether, USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. USDC also aims to be $1 at all times. USDC is powered by Ethereum. Also, it’s notable that all stablecoins are not created equally. Almost all of them have used different tactics and strategies to create their peg stable. Tether uses a supposed reserve fund to back each Tether minted. USDC uses a similar strategy but works with Coinbase and Goldman Sachs to verify their treasury is what they say it is. The USD coin is seen as one of the safer stablecoins out there. The USD coin can be bought on all major crypto exchanges. The price currently resides at $1.
5. Binance Coin (BNB)
Market cap: $52 billion
Binance coin (or BNB) is the native currency for the Binance exchange and Binance blockchain. You can use BNB to trade and pay fees on the exchange and blockchain.
BNB has come a long way since its inception in 2017. It is no longer just a trading tool on Binance. Now it can be used across multiple chains, used to pay for real-world goods and services, travel arrangements and so on.
Binance coin price was as low as $0.10 in 2017. However, now it is $313 and has seen highs in the $600 range. This is the beauty of investing in crypto. Extreme volatility!
6. XRP (XRP)
Market cap: $19 billion
From some of the creators of Ripple, XRP is a digital technology and payment processing company. XRP is a blockchain, like Ethereum. XRP uses a different technique to verify transactions to Bitcoin and Ethereum. It uses a consensus model, as opposed to proof of work or proof of stake. Many criticise XRP as being more centralized than the likes of Ethereum.
In any case, XRP is favoured by large banks and will be used to transfer funds quickly and effectively. Santander and Bank of America are already using XRP, which shows that it can have mainstream widespread use by huge financial institutions.
XRP is currently in a lawsuit with the SEC and many expect price changes when that dispute is finally settled.
Back in 2017, the XRP price was less than $0.01, but in June 2022 the price reached $0.41. Quite a phenomenal rise!
7. Binance USD (BUSD)
Market cap: $17 billion
Binance USD (BUSD) is yet another stablecoin. Paxos and Binance are working together to create this cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. Paxos holds the same amount of U.S. dollars as BUSD have been minted. So, again, this is the treasury-backed model of a stablecoin. Other forms of stablecoins are algorithmically pegged, partially backed and so on. Just like the other stablecoins described in this article, BUSD allows you to quickly liquidate a crypto asset into a more stable token.
BUSD provides regular accounting updates to show they have the cash to back their stablecoin. They are less suspicious than Tether in our minds. It also helps that BUSD is essentially based on Binance, the centralized largest exchange in crypto. Of course, the model could potentially fail like anything in crypto, so do not take the word “stable” as literal. Anything can stabilise – and quickly!
As of writing this, BUSD is holding its peg and the price is $1.
8. Cardano (ADA)
Market cap: $15 billion
Similarly to Ethereum and BNB, Cardano is both a blockchain and cryptocurrency. Cardano has opted for a “proof-of-stake” transaction validation model. The purpose of proof of stake was to overcome the problems Bitcoin and Ethereum have faced. That is, the competitive problem-solving aspect of Bitcoin mining and Ethereum’s proof of work models use too much energy, causing environmental damage, and making transactions too slow and also costly.
Proof of stake is also what Ethereum 2.0 hopes to achieve. Ethereum estimates that transaction costs, speed and environmental damage, as a result, will decrease by 99%.
Cardano is similar to Ethereum in that it is a blockchain that users can create DApps on. Cardano has yet to have its glory days. They finally launched at the start of 2022 but the chain was massively congested after first launching. Their most popular DEX (decentralized exchange), Sundae Swap, could barely function. Cardano has a long way to go before it reaches the usage of Ethereum.
One thing Cardano has going for it is widespread backing. Many people support Charles Hopkinson and his vision. So, despite not creating much of an environment to create DApps, Cardano still sits in the top 10 cryptocurrencies listed in terms of market cap. This is impressive to say the least! We will see if their popularity increases in the future as their chain comes more alive.
Back in 2017 Cardano was priced at around $0.02. The price in June 2022 is roughly $0.50.
9. Solana (SOL)
Market cap: $15 billion
Solana is yet another blockchain with its own native cryptocurrency: SOL. Solana was mostly created to facilitate Decentralized applications – mostly DeFi and NFT-based. The platform runs on a unique proof of stake and proof of history combination. Their model to process transactions quickly and securely has worked relatively well thus far. The only downside is that Solana has occasionally gone offline. This is a big no-no in the world of crypto. If the network can go offline, everyone’s funds are suddenly at risk. On the flip side, something like Bitcoin will not go offline due to the network of computers constantly monitoring the chain.
SOL has been extremely popular for both Defi and NFTs, especially NFTs, as they have gauged some of Ethereum’s NFT market share.
Again, the only gripe against Solana is some level of centralization Vs. a chain like Ethereum, which may hold them back.
Solana was launched in 2020 and started at around $0.75. As of June 2022, the price is $51. Sol reached into the multiple hundreds of dollars range in 2021. More crypto volatility! Early buyers made a lot of money with Solana. You can buy Solana on all the best cryptocurrency exchanges.
10. Dogecoin (DOGE)
Market cap: $10.5 billion
Doge coin was started as a joke back in 2013 by Billy Marcus and Jackson Palmer but was spearheaded by the community to become a crypto powerhouse. The coin’s logo and name came from a popular meme at the time that used the purposely misspelt word “doge” to describe a Shiba Inu dog. Doge is yet another blockchain and cryptocurrency combination.
“Doge was started to poke fun at Bitcoin.” according to Pat White the CEO of Bitwave. Doge holders certainly had a lot of fun, as the investors did things like sent the Jamaican Bobsleigh team to the Olympics in 2014.
Doge coin operates on a proof of work consensus model. Similarly to Bitcoin, miners solve a complex mathematical equation in order to process transactions and record them on their blockchain. By helping the blockchain, miners are rewarded with Doge coin, which they can then sell or hold. One thing that Doge has going for it is that these equations are harder than Bitcoin’s. This makes Doge faster than Bitcoin, meaning that is it more “useful” in a practical environment. Doge is around 10 times faster than Bitcoin. One simple practical use of Doge could be to accept payments, and it would be faster than Bitcoin in doing so. Bitcoin has a limited supply of 21 million Bitcoins, but Doge can be continuously minted.
One issue with Doge is that the supply is unlimited, so the total value of the tokens can change. This means that new Doge can be minted, thus diluting your holdings and making them less worth less money.
Elon Musk’s opinions expressed through Twitter for Doge were extremely positive. He called Doge his favourite cryptocurrency! Musk did this back in early 2021. Doge coin started at around $0.01 at the start of the year but ballooned up to $0.67 by May. Doge’s price now resides at around $0.07 in June 2022.
Wrapping up
A top cryptocurrency is not one that you should necessarily buy. The cryptocurrency market stretches far and wide, across different chains, nations and so on. However, learning about these top cryptos give you good context about the crypto market. As in, which are worth the most and why. As we can see, the currency that excels the most is that which owns its own blockchain. Providing the building blocks (or shovels?) for builders to create on is extremely lucrative. This part of crypto is still extremely underdeveloped and we expect to see price turmoil between the top digital assets. What is a good investment today might not be a good investment tomorrow.
Should You Buy a Top 10 Cryptocurrency?
An interesting conundrum exists with the best cryptocurrencies. On one hand, they simply are the best assets. These assets have the largest market capitalisation, the biggest communities and most investors. However, investors have less to gain when buying crypto in the top 10. The market caps are already extremely large and can only increase by so much.
For the newbie investor, it is worth buying a slew of different tokens. Get some top 10 assets. Get some micro caps. Get some mid-caps. Buy an NFT. Try DeFi. Yes, you can read about a protocol, an app, you can get investment advice from a friend, get a service that teaches you… But nothing will teach you about cryptocurrency like buying some, interacting with DApps and feeling everything for yourself.
After doing this, you can guarantee you find your appetite for risk. Some crypto traders only like to deal with “meme coins”, some prefer to farm and earn a stable income from their holdings, some value the top 50 coins over others and so on. Your investment strategy cannot simply come from advice from others. You must determine the amount of risk you are willing to accept, decide what you want to buy, what your financial situation is, and so on. Relying on other services for your investment advice is a sure-fire way to lose money in crypto. Only buy cryptocurrencies YOU believe in. The global cryptocurrency market cap is ever-growing – so it is our opinion that one should try to hold lots of major crypto coins for a long time. Time in the market generally beats timing in the market.
