The cryptocurrency market is changing by the minute, and it’s not uncommon to see a new coin take the top spot within a matter of days. While there are so many different coins to choose from, this article will focus on the top 5 coins by market cap.
Introduction
It is used by cryptocurrencies, which are digital or virtual tokens, to safeguard their transactions. As a result of their decentralized nature, cryptocurrencies are not under the jurisdiction of either a government or a financial institution. In addition to being commonly exchanged on decentralized exchanges, cryptocurrencies can be used to pay for products and services. The market capitalization of cryptocurrencies as of January 2018 was $814 billion. This article lists the top cryptocurrencies by market cap.
Bitcoin
The most well-known and widely used digital money worldwide is Bitcoin. Created in 2009, it uses cryptography to secure its transactions and to control the creation of new units. Bitcoin has become more popular than ever, with over 100,000 merchants now accepting it as a form of payment. Here’s a look at the top five cryptocurrencies by market cap:
1. Bitcoin: $127 billion
2. Ethereum: $28 billion
3. Ripple: $19 billion
4. Bitcoin Cash: $14 billion
5. Litecoin: $8 billion
Ethereum
Ethereum is a public, open-source distributed computing platform and operating system that uses blockchain technology and supports smart contracts (scripting). Vitalik Buterin, who invented Ethereum, characterized it as having applications that function exactly as intended, free from fraud or outside intervention. On July 30, 2015, the Ethereum network went operational.
As of January 2019, Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and also the second most valuable digital asset after Bitcoin. It has a total supply of 100 billion ethers.
Ripple
Ripple is a digital asset and payment system founded by Brad Garlinghouse in 2012. It operates as a decentralized open-source platform with its own native currency XRP. Ripple aims to make global payments more efficient and quicker and to reduce the cost of cross-border transactions.
Since its inception, Ripple has been focused on developing partnerships with banks and other financial institutions. As of November 2018, over 100 banks were using Ripple’s products, including American Express, BBVA, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, BNP Paribas, Santander, and Wells Fargo.
Litecoin
One of the first and most well-known cryptocurrencies available is Litecoin. It was created in 2011 by a Google engineer. Lite coin’s goal is to be the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold.” Litecoin has a faster block generation time than Bitcoin, and it uses a different proof-of-work algorithm than Bitcoin. This makes it more difficult for anyone to create an infinite number of Litecoins. As of May 2018, Litecoin had a total market cap of $10.2 billion.
Bitcoin Cash
It was created on August 1, 2017. Its increased block size limit of 8MB is based on the Bitcoin Blockchain. Bitcoin Cash also has a faster block generation time than bitcoin. As of February 15, 2019, Bitcoin Cash had a market cap of $11.7 billion and was the 12th most popular cryptocurrency.
Monero
A safe, secret, and untraceable cryptocurrency is called Monero (XMR). It is open-source and decentralized, with no central authority or single administrator. Transactions are confirmed by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public ledger. Monero is unique in that it allows for instant transactions without the need for pre-funding. This provides greater financial flexibility for users and increases privacy and safety.
As of July 2018, Monero is the 18th largest cryptocurrency by market cap with a value of $2.17 billion. It has had a growth rate of 204% over the past year and has been growing at a rate of around 15% per month since January 2018.
Ethereum Classic
A decentralized platform called Ethereum Classic is used to run smart contracts, which are programs that execute exactly as intended with no chance of fraud or outside influence. Ethereum Classic is similar to Ethereum, but with one important difference. Ethereum Classic uses the original Blockchain, whereas Ethereum is built on the same protocol but with some modifications.
Ethereum Classic aims to be a secure and stable platform for online commerce. The platform offers a unique feature called “Gas Limit” which allows users to specify how many transactions can be processed per second. This prevents spam and unnecessary traffic on the network.
Another unique feature of Ethereum Classic is its governance model. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum Classic does not have a pre-mine or founders reward. The community votes on proposed changes through a process called “Ethereum Core Dev Summit.” This guarantees that all ETC holders have an equal say in the future of the network.
Dash
As digital assets continue to gain in popularity, so too do cryptocurrencies. Digital currencies are not all created equal; some are more well-known than others. In this article, we will take a look at the top crypto coins by market cap and discuss which ones are worth your attention.
Conclusion
It’s hard to keep up with the latest and greatest in the crypto world, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stay informed. In this article, we will be ranking the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. This is not a scientific or unbiased list; it is simply based on how much money each cryptocurrency has currently been worth as of writing. If you are looking to invest in any of these cryptocurrencies, make sure to do your research first!
