There are thousands of different cryptocurrencies, ranging from Bitcoin and Ethereum to Dogecoin and Tether, which might be confusing when you’re just getting started in the world of crypto. To help you get started, these are the top ten cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization, or the total value of all coins currently in circulation.
1. Bitcoin (BTC) market capitalization: more than $350 billion
Bitcoin (BTC) is the initial cryptocurrency, created in 2009 by someone using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. BTC, like most cryptocurrencies, is based on a blockchain, which is a ledger that records transactions over a network of thousands of computers. Bitcoin is maintained private and safe from fraudsters because updates to distributed ledgers must be confirmed by solving a cryptographic problem, a process known as proof of work.
As Bitcoin has grown in popularity, its value has risen. In May 2016, the price of Bitcoin was around $500. Since then, Bitcoin has had many ups and downs, but it has also demonstrated great resistance. Bitcoin dropped 65% of its market value last year, and as of January 10, 2023, it is trading in the $17,500 to $18,000 area.
2. Ethereum (ETH) market capitalization: more than $170 billion
Ethereum, which is both a cryptocurrency and a blockchain platform, is a favourite among programmers due to the possible uses it offers, such as smart contracts that run automatically when certain conditions are satisfied and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Ethereum has also seen explosive growth. From April 2016 to the beginning of March 2022, its price increased by more than 27,000%, rising from around $11 to over $3,000. However, due to the broader market slump, Ethereum fell to a yearly low of $1,091 on November 9, 2022, before rebounding dramatically to almost $1,400 on January 10, 2023.
3. Tether (USDT) Market capitalization: more than $66 billion
Tether, unlike some other types of cryptocurrency, is a stablecoin, which means it is backed by fiat currencies such as US dollars and the Euro and theoretically maintains a value equal to one of those denominations. In theory, this implies Tether’s value should be more consistent than other cryptocurrencies, and it’s preferred by investors who are wary of other coins’ excessive volatility.
4. Binance Coin (BNB) market capitalization: more than $45 billion
The Binance Coin is a type of cryptocurrency that may be used to trade and pay fees on Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
Binance Coin has grown beyond simply conducting deals on Binance’s exchange platform since its inception in 2017. It is now possible to use it for business, payment processing, and even organising trip plans. It can also be exchanged or traded for other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum or Bitcoin.
In 2017, the price of BNB was only $0.10. Its price had climbed to nearly $413 by the beginning of March 2022, a gain of approximately 410,000%. Even after such a massive market drop, BNB remained quite stable and is now trading near $285 as of January 10, 2023.
5. XRP (XRP) Market capitalization: more than $18 billion
XRP, which was founded by some of the same people as Ripple, a digital technology and payment processing company, can be used on that network to facilitate swaps of various currency kinds, including fiat currencies and other major cryptocurrencies.
The price of XRP at the start of 2017 was $0.006. Its price hit $0.37 on January 10, 2023, representing a more than 6,000% increase.
Cardano (ADA) has a market capitalization of more than $11 billion
Cardano, which arrived on the crypto market later, is remarkable for its early embrace of proof-of-stake validation. By removing the competitive, problem-solving part of transaction verification found in platforms such as Bitcoin, this solution reduces transaction time, energy usage, and environmental effect. Cardano, like Ethereum, uses ADA, its native coin, to enable smart contracts and decentralised apps.
Cardano’s ADA currency has grown slowly in comparison to other major crypto coins. In 2017, the price of ADA was $0.02. Its price was $0.32 on January 10, 2023. This is an almost 1500% increase.
7. Solana (SOL) Market capitalization: more than $33 billion
Solana, which was created to support decentralised financial (DeFi) applications, decentralised apps (DApps), and smart contracts, is based on a unique hybrid proof-of-stake and proof-of-history method that allows it to process transactions rapidly and safely. The platform is powered by SOL, Solana’s native cryptocurrency.
SOL’s pricing when it first appeared in 2020 was $0.77. Its price was roughly $101 on March 1, 2022, a gain of nearly 13,000%.
Polkadot (DOT) has a market capitalization of more than $5 billion
Polkadot (DOT), established in 2016, is a one-of-a-kind blockchain interoperability protocol meant to connect multiple chains. It also allows parachains, or parallel blockchains, to exchange data and perform transactions without jeopardising their security. Developers can use the Polkadot security to develop their own blockchains.
Polkadot was established by Gavin Wood, the co-founder of Ethereum. The fascinating aspect of DOT is that there is no hard limit to its overall supply. Rather, a fresh token is continually being created.
Polkadot’s price peaked in May 2020 at $6.30, then fell to a low of roughly $4 in December 2022 after reaching an all-time high of $55.11 in May 2021. It was priced at $5.10 as of January 10, 2023.
9. Litecoin (LTC) Market Capitalization: More over $6 billion
Former Coinbase software developer Charlie Lee invented Litecoin (LTC), an open-source blockchain technology introduced in 2011. It was one of the first cryptocurrencies whose programming was modelled after Bitcoin’s. Despite its resemblance to Bitcoin, it is designed to have a speedier transaction confirmation time. It can be used to pay people all around the world without the need for a middleman. LTC is frequently referred to as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold.”
The overall round-off supply of Litecoin is 84 million coins. It reached a lifetime high of $413.47 in May 2021, but then declined by more than 50%. A rising number of merchants are accepting Litecoin. It is the world’s 11th-largest cryptocurrency, with a single token value of roughly $84.
10. Avalanche (AVAX) has a market capitalization of more than $4 billion
AVAX is an Avalanche blockchain native token that offers smart contract capabilities. It is renowned as one of the fastest and most trustworthy smart contract platforms in the DeFi market, and it operates on the Proof of Stake (PoS) method. It, like Ethereum, offers smart contracts to operate decentralised apps on its network and employs the Solidity programming language, which is also used by Ethereum.
There are only 720 million AVAX tokens available from Avalanche. Half of which were made and disseminated prior to its 2020 launch. The remaining tokens will be generated during the minting process as staking incentives. Furthermore, unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, Avalanche’s fees are not paid to validators; rather, all fees are burned, increasing AVAX scarcity.
At the time of its introduction in September 2020, AVAX was priced around $4.00. On November 23, 2021, the token peaked at $134.87. AVAX is currently valued at almost $15.4 as of January 10, 2023.
