How many crypto coins are there?

Cryptocurrencies have had spectacular growth in the past decade as interest in the blockchain industry has risen around the world. An industry that was virtually nonexistent in 2009 saw its market value soar to more than $3 trillion in 2021. The number of cryptocurrencies has also risen substantially in this period. Let us look at how many cryptos there are and their types.

Number of cryptocurrencies in 2022

The number of cryptos in existence has been in constant growth in the past decade. This growth has been helped by the relatively lower regulation in the industry and how easy it is to create a digital currency. It is easy to create a cryptocurrency or a digital token within a day using popular standards like ERC 20 and BEP20.

According to CoinMarketCap, there were more than 21,000 cryptocurrencies in 2022. Given that there were only seven digital currencies in 2014, this is a significant increase.

Other data by CoinGecko shows that there were over 13,100 cryptocurrencies in 2022. This difference is mostly because CoinMarketCap is more active in listing these coins than other platforms. The number of coins may continue to grow in the coming years.

Still, while the number of coins has been growing, most buyers and investors focus on mainstream coins like BTC, ETH, and XRP.

Cryptocurrency market cap in 2022

The valuation of cryptocurrencies is relatively volatile since it depends on their price performance. In September 2022, all cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap had a total market cap of more than $946 billion. That was a 43,000% growth from the lowest valuation in 2015.

At their peak in 2021, cryptocurrencies had a total market cap of over $3 trillion. Only four countries – the US, China, Japan, and Germany - have a bigger GDP than that. Similarly, the figure was much higher than all companies in the FTSE 100 and the DAX index combined.

Bitcoin was the biggest cryptocurrency in 2022 by market cap. In September, it had a market value of over $387 billion. It was followed by ETH, which had a valuation of over $167 billion. The other large cryptocurrencies are Tether, BNB, USD Coin, and Cardano.

While the number of cryptocurrencies has been growing, Bitcoin and Ethereum have a substantial market share. In fact, most people who buy crypto coins focus on these two. They have a market dominance of 40% and 17%, respectively. Excluding BTC and ETH, all cryptocurrencies have a market cap of over $413 billion.

Types of cryptocurrencies

To explain how many cryptos there are, it is important to look at their different types. First, there are payment-focused cryptocurrencies like BTC, LTC, and Monero. These coins were created to disrupt the payments industry by substituting fiat currencies.

Second, there are stablecoins, which solve the challenge of volatility in the crypto industry by being pegged to an asset like the US dollar. Examples of centralized stablecoins are Tether and USDC. Decentralized stablecoins like DAI and USDD are soft-pegged to the US dollar.

Third, there are utility tokens, which run on an existing blockchain like Ethereum, Elrond, and Binance. These coins are mostly used for governance purposes in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO). An example of this is the FTX token.

Fan tokens are another type of cryptocurrency; they are digital currencies developed by sports organizations to improve fan engagement. They include Santos and Alpine.

In terms of their technology, cryptocurrencies can be divided into proof-of-work (PoW), proof-of-stake (PoS), and proof-of-authority (PoS). PoW coins like BTC and Ravencoin are mined using expensive computers, while PoS coins rely on validators to confirm transactions.

Summary

The number of cryptocurrencies is growing. As a result, the number of exchanges has increased, with many of them being valued at billions of dollars. According to CoinMarketCap, there were 528 cryptocurrency exchanges like XBO and Binance in October 2022.

Risk Disclosure: Trading in cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory, or political events. The laws that apply to crypto products (and how a particular crypto product is regulated) may change. Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading in the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed. Kalkine Media cannot and does not represent or guarantee that any of the information/data available here is accurate, reliable, current, complete or appropriate for your needs. Kalkine Media will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading or your reliance on the information shared on this website.