Investing in cryptocurrency has become an increasingly popular means of making money. Cryptocurrencies have seen an unprecedented surge over recent years and experts expect this trend to continue for a prolonged period of time.
The following list is compiled based on market capitalization, price stability and public interest as indicated by Google Trends.
Bitcoin remains one of the most sought-after cryptocurrencies on the market since 2009 and remains virtually untouched by hacker attacks. Furthermore, its security makes it one of the most sought-after coins available – though mining requires expensive hardware which may make Bitcoin less accessible for people with smaller budgets or lacking technical knowledge about cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash | First cryptocurrency on the block As the pioneer cryptocurrency, Bitcoin was an essential cornerstone of digital currency development. Other digital currencies would follow but its initial small size proved distancing for both developers and users; its “blocks”, data blocks on its blockchain network, were often disappointing. One megabyte was enough for one “block”. Bitcoin Cash attempted to eliminate transaction times and fees when it forked off from its parent in 2017 with an 8 MBs block size limit. Although not as secure or widely used as its name-sake, Bitcoin Cash does have an increased degree of stability, potential to scale, and ranks 12th most valuable cryptocurrency worldwide. Although its peak was over $1600 in 2021, current prices of around $500 still surpass that level compared to when BCH began the year exactly where it left off a year before.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum (ETH), also known as Scottie Pippen cryptocurrency, has long been the underdog to Bitcoin. At over $2.5 billion market cap and an approximate market share of 2.76 billion within the global crypto market, ETH’s popularity cannot be overlooked. At 18%, Ethereum holds significantly less market share than its closes token; however, its dominance remains almost four times that of any other token. Technically known as Ether but more commonly referred to as Ethereum; it serves as the main platform for decentralized financial services or DeFi. Users are able to create smart contracts that execute automatically when certain conditions are fulfilled, potentially eliminating third parties such as banks, clearinghouses and brokerages – like Ethereum. Money-saving platform. DeFi has become more and more popular over time allowing people to issue tickets, cryptocurrency or create and exchange nonfungible tokens (NFTs), among other uses.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano (ADA) was introduced into circulation in 2015 as a competing cryptocurrency to the most prominent ones.
Cardano stands out from other cryptocurrencies by having several distinct features that distinguish it. While other coins exist solely as electronic money, Cardano was designed to serve more than this purpose; it acts as a platform for running financial applications on blockchain technology with smart contracts and applications running over it.
Cardano offers some very interesting features, including:
1.Implement two layers of security: Ada holders who store their funds in an account and anti-hacking systems like Encrypted Proof of Stake protocol;
2.Governed by a democratic foundation;
3.Designed to adapt with evolving technological developments, regulatory considerations, and global adoption trends.
Cardano is the first blockchain platform developed from a scientific philosophy and research-first approach, making it unique in creating smart contracts, which serve as building blocks of complex decentralized applications (DApps). Cardano creates these smart contracts using binary code understood both by humans and machines – an achievement unprecedented in any other blockchain platform!
Cardano, currently valued at $43 billion and fifth most valuable cryptocurrency, is moving toward offering smart contracts that should become fully functional by fall 2021.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Dogecoin is a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency developed by programmer Billy Markus of Portland, Oregon in 2013.
Dogecoin works in much the same way as other web currencies; however, its design differs significantly in two key ways. First, it uses an adaption of Scrypt Key Derivation Function as its proof-of-work algorithm; and secondly it has an extremely large coin limit of 100 billion coins.
Dogecoin was inspired by an online meme depicting Shiba Inu dog “Doge”. The intention behind its creation was to lighten up on blockchain craze. Over the last year alone, cryptocurrency market witnessed an exponential surge of over 400%! Market Cap: Eighth largest cryptocurrency. Dogecoin reached its highpoint in early May at 70 cents but since has declined slightly. Due to greater circulation, however, its price remains well under $1 and provides unlimited mining capacity. Bitcoin can only reach 21 million coins; currently there are 130 billion Dogecoins out there and more are continually added each year. Blocks are open for mining. Although highly speculative, Dogecoin has an almost unparalleled mining rate or hash rate compared to Bitcoin and this allows it to be mined faster with quantifiable advantages over its top competitor cryptocurrency.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Binance Coin (BNB) is an electronic token issued by Binance Exchange that can be traded against different cryptocurrencies on the exchange. As well as being used to reduce trading fees, Binance Coin also serves as an innovative form of collateral protection against theft or any possible hacks on any given exchange platform.
Binance Coin provides traders with an incentive for locking funds in the exchange and reducing volatility of its trading pairs by being able to trade cryptocurrency at reduced trading fees.
Binance Coin (BNB) has quickly become one of the most sought-after digital coins on the cryptocurrency market, and prices have steadily been increasing over time as more value is placed upon this coin. Estimates project that by 2021 BNB could be worth $30.
Binance Coin (BNB), the 41st most popular cryptocurrency by market cap, was designed by Changpeng Zhao – CEO of Binance – to reduce transaction fees on their platform and reward users based on trade volume. First implemented as an asset with deflationary mechanisms that rewarded trade volume users, it was introduced on December 13, 2017 on Binance Exchange.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot has been under development for several years with the purpose of developing an adaptive and scalable blockchain solution.
Polkadot will become available for everyone’s use by 2021. Individuals, businesses and governments can utilize this new technology to avoid common blockchain issues like scalability and sustainability concerns.
Polkadot is a new blockchain technology designed to address issues surrounding scalability, interoperability and governance.
Polkadot offers an alternative to Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which has experienced scaling issues over time. It features a Proof of History consensus algorithm which eliminates mining requirements – meaning no chance of 51% attacks!
This project seeks to establish an interchain operability protocol, enabling blockchains from various projects to interact without sacrificing security or decentralization. The Polkadot system features many tools for governance facilitation within specific networks; this will make communication and cooperation between participants with differing views easier while cooperating more efficiently on governance matters.