Cryptocurrencies are a form of digital currency where monetary transactions are verified and recorded on a decentralized system known as the blockchain using cryptography. Cryptocurrencies are not controlled by any centralized authority. Transactions are approved and added to the public ledger by miners and they are rewarded with crypto for their effort. The value of a cryptocurrency is free floating in the market and traded on exchanges with no banking entity setting any monetary policy to influence its value. A crypto user will have both a public address key and a private key for transactions. Cryptocurrencies can be stored in digital wallets both online and in cold storage on USB drives or hardware wallets.
There is estimated to currently be over 4,000 cryptocurrencies, below is listed the current top ten cryptocurrencies in 2021 by market capitalization.
Size rank/Symbol/Price/Market Cap/
- Bitcoin BTC $35,391.21 $669,061,503,852
- Ethereum ETH $2,374.27 $279,830,162,490
- Tether USDT $0.9999 $61,733,354,775
- Cardano ADA $1.61 $52,608,249,169
- Binance Coin BNB $324.53 $50,871,178,420
- Ripple XRP $0.8717 $40,683,357,763
- Dogecoin DOGE $0.30 $39,466,157,561
- USD Coin USDC $0.9995 $22,362,283,969
- Polkadot DOT $20.40 $19,546,673,354
- Uniswap UNI $24.49 $14,141,472,816
Regardless of opinions or predictions these are the cryptocurrencies that have the most interest, liquidity, and size showing the winners in the space to date. Liquidity is the most important fundamental in any financial market without buyers and sellers there is no on to trade with. Acceptance of a cryptocurrency for transactions will be one of the biggest factors in their ultimate success and value beyond just being speculations.
Data via coinmarketcap.com
