There are thousands of cryptocurrencies revolving in the crypto world, but which is the best to invest in? As we know that investing in cryptocurrencies can be risky since nobody knows when any token might disappear from the market.
However, people are still fascinated to invest more and more in several cryptocurrencies ignoring the price instability. By investing in cryptocurrency, you can either become an overnight millionaire or bankrupt; therefore, it is very important to invest smartly.
In this article, we have compiled a list of the top 10 most popular cryptocurrencies that are ruling the crypto world. The cryptocurrencies mentioned in the list are tested in-depth and have been in the top competitor for years.
So, let\’s get started with our compilation of the top 10 cryptocurrencies in terms of popularity and market capitalization.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Market cap: Over $1.07 trillion
Bitcoin is considered as the most popular cryptocurrency in the world that is highly popular for its dominance and market size in the industry. It always remains in the limelight of the crypto world.
Whenever we think about the term \’cryptocurrency,’ the first word that strikes our mind immediately is \’Bitcoin.’ Being this much popular and profitable, Bitcoin is the go-to cryptocurrency for most traders and investors. Once the miners are done with mining 21 million Bitcoin, no new coin will come up in the future.
Bitcoin is often considered as the most basic cryptocurrency that you just need to have in order to invest in other cryptocurrencies mentioned in the list. A lot of cryptocurrencies are not eligible to be purchased in US dollars; to buy them, you must have Bitcoins.
Therefore, Bitcoin is one of the most profitable cryptocurrencies for investors to invest in.
Ethereum (ETH)
Market cap: Over $543 billion
The second in our list of the most popular cryptocurrencies is Ethereum, which is the number one competitor of Bitcoin. Initially, when Ethereum was introduced as a cryptocurrency, some experts and investors had a very strong belief that at some point in time, Ethereum might dethrone Bitcoin. But nothing like this happened in reality, and Bitcoin is still in the first place, whereas Ethereum captured second place.
However, some advantages of Ethereum overpowers Bitcoin. Ethereum offers smart contracts that conduct 5 times more transactions per second when compared to Bitcoin.
A majority of people are unaware of the fact that Ethereum is both: a cryptocurrency along with a blockchain platform. It is also the most favorable cryptocurrency among programmers as it offers many benefits such as smart contracts, NFTs, and many more.
In the last 5 years, Ethereum has experienced tremendous growth in its market price that went to $4700 straight from $11.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Market cap: Over $103 billion
Now, let\’s move on to the third most popular cryptocurrency in the crypto world, i.e., the Binance Coin. It is a utility coin that functions as a payment gateway whenever you pay for trading while conducting any Binance exchange.
The Binance Coin was initially introduced as an ERC-20 token that used to operate over the Ethereum blockchain network and functions with the Proof-of-Stack technique. But later on, it was finally launched as an independent cryptocurrency that uses a consensus methodology.
Tether (USDT)
Market cap: Over $74 billion
Moving on to the fourth-place holder, that is, a stable coin whose value is set at one US dollar is named as Tether. If you are unaware of what is a stable coin, then it is a coin whose value is equal to the value of a single asset.
Therefore, the value of one Tether coin is one US dollar. This cryptocurrency is commonly used as a bridge currency that actually serves as a bridge whenever any investor or trader shifts from one cryptocurrency to another.
Although a lot of people remain concerned about the security of Tether. The reason is that it is not backed by any reserved dollar; instead, it is just an unsecured debt.
Solana (SOL)
Market cap: Over $71 billion
Now, let\’s talk about the fifth most popular cryptocurrency in the crypto market, which is expected to give tough competition to Ethereum, commonly known as Solana. This cryptocurrency serves as a faster and cheaper alternative for Ethereum that also supports smart contracts and some more features offered by Ethereum.
Behind the rising popularity of Solana, its application in NFTs and other digital initiatives plays a crucial role. With the significant advancements in the features and functionalities of Solana, its price has also risen. If we talk about the growth of Solana in the previous few years, then it is the most deserving winner in this list that has been increased by 10,000%.
Many investors and traders see Solana as an alternative to Ethereum since both of these cryptocurrencies support smart contracts. Apart from this, Solana offers faster processing rates and lesser transaction fees when compared to Ethereum.
Cardano (ADA)
Market cap: Over $55 billion
The sixth most popular cryptocurrency on our list is Cardano that allows you to send and receive digital currency over the network. It is not just a crypto coin but a marketplace for decentralized applications.
Cardano offers several benefits to investors, but apart from this, it also has a vast user base of developers. A team of developers introduced this cryptocurrency to allow people to make financial transactions easily.
Cardano is the only cryptocurrency which is known to be the world\’s financial system that introduces decentralized financial products in the market. It also provides intelligent solutions for tracking legal contracts, identifying fraud voters, and chain interoperability.
XRP (XRP)
Market cap: Over $46 billion
If we talk about the next cryptocurrency in our list of most popular cryptocurrencies, then it is not just a simple currency transaction, but it also serves as a medium for cross-border financial transactions. It is commonly known as XRP.
This cryptocurrency is highly popular because it significantly reduces currency conversion rates and offers real-time exchange values to its users by collaborating with different financial organizations.
Many people are unaware of the fact that before the introduction of XRP, banks used to depend upon on mediators for conducting cross-border transactions. These transactions used to be quite expensive and required several days for completion. With the introduction of XRP, the whole process of cross-border transaction has become completely hassle-free.
With XRP, you can make payments with different real-world currencies as it employs a secured methodology for completing transactions.
USD Coin (USDC)
Market cap: $39 billion
Moving on to the eighth most popular cryptocurrency, which is also a stable coin just like Tether, commonly known as USD Coin, which is linked to the US dollar. The founders of this cryptocurrency often claim that it is supported by reserved assets (or we can say that equal fair worth assets) that are securely stored in US institution accounts.
Being a stable coin, the price of the USD Coin is way more stable when compared to other cryptocurrencies in the list.
Polkadot (DOT)
Market cap: $35 billion
Polkadot is the ninth most popular cryptocurrency in the crypto market, which was recently released in May 2020. It is basically a digital cryptocurrency that ultimately links several blockchain networks to other cryptocurrencies in the market.
Many people believe that Polkadot will soon beat Ethereum just because one of the Polkadot inventors is non-other than but a co-founder founder of Ethereum. This cryptocurrency is often considered as a unique proof-of-stake coin that offers compatible transactions with other cryptocurrencies.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Market cap: $27 billion
Last but not least in the list is Dogecoin, which was originated from an online meme that described a Shiba Inu dog, and this meme was created for the run-up in Bitcoin. This cryptocurrency was created by two software developers named Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer in the year 2013.
When we compare Dogecoin with other cryptocurrencies, then one of the major differences is that it has an infinite supply. In contrast, other cryptocurrencies have an issued cap that decides the number of coins that can be issued. Dogecoin is majorly used for making transactions and payments.
Wrapping It Up
With the introduction of cryptocurrencies, the definition of the world\’s financial expectations has changed completely. It all started in 2009 when the very first block of Bitcoin came into the picture. After that, thousands of new cryptocurrencies have come up and formed a new marketplace sphere which is often known as the crypto market.
Since there are so many cryptocurrencies present in the crypto world, and each of them offers a unique set of features and benefits, it is very difficult to decide on which you should invest your money.
But the best way to decide is considering the market capitalization that determines the global distributing quantity of a cryptocurrency. After that, you can check out their features to understand whether or not that cryptocurrency is suitable for your future transactions.
No matter whichever cryptocurrency you invest in, one thing is for sure that cryptocurrencies are the future of transactions and payments.