Summary

• In recent times cryptocurrency has gain popularity in the UK market with over 2.3 million investors as per an FCA survey. 

• One can invest in cryptocurrency by using regular currency on any of the UK based cryptocurrency exchanges.

Cryptocurrencies are virtual currency designed to work as a mode of payments for goods and services exchange. The ownership and transaction data is stored securely on computerised database using cryptography. Most importantly, being a digital asset, it cannot be counterfeit like paper currency.

The cryptocurrency is already very popular in the UK, with over 2.3 million Britons holding crypto assets, according to an FCA survey conducted in January 2021. In United Kingdom the most common way to invest and trade in cryptocurrency is to an open account with crypto exchange which provides a wide range of services for registered users.

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Let’s look at the Top 10 Cryptocurrencies available in the UK:

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency that was based on blockchain technology. Launched in the year 2009, Bitcoin is the most popular and has the highest market cap in all cryptocurrencies.

Each Bitcoin token founded till now is by the process of crypto mining. When a trader successfully solves a computational transaction puzzle, he is rewarded with a certain number of bitcoins.

But mining is not the single approach to obtain bitcoin. You can buy bitcoin on the crypto exchange with regular currency as well.

Ethereum (ETH)

Programmer Vitalik Buterin founded Ethereum, and the coin went live in 2015. It is the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Ethereum is based on blockchain technology and smart contract.

Since its launch, the demand for Ethereum has grown steadily. Many investors believe that Ethereum may overtake Bitcoin in value in coming years based on its underlying blockchain technology with real-life applications.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano was launched in 2015 by Ethereum co-founder. Cardano is an open-source and decentralised currency, which facilities peer to peer transactions. Cardano is quite popular in the UK because it was designed to overcome both Ethereum and Bitcoin based technology shortcomings. Cardano has improved its offering and is able to survive competitions from several other currencies. It is placed fifth in terms of market cap.

Tether (USDT)

Tether is backed by currencies like US dollars or the Euro, hence it comes under the category of stablecoin. As the value of the Tether coin is based on the US dollar, it aims for 1 USD to 1 USDT value. Based on blockchain technology, Tether coins are used for global transactions. It is the third-highest valued cryptocurrency.

Ripple (XPR)

Released in 2012, Ripple is a network created by Ripple Labs Inc. in the US to help banks in cross-border currency exchange and remittance. Ripple was designed to enable secure and fast global currency transactions.

Since Ripple is used in the banking ecosystem and has the backing of major companies, many investors believe that Ripple will get a higher valuation in future and could survive if any new government regulations are introduced to control crypto markets.

Binance Coin (BNB)

Binance Coin launched in 2017 with an initial coin offer (ICO), which can be used on Binance crypto exchange to trade or pay fees. Binance Coin has the fourth-largest market cap.

Registered user on Binance exchange receives a discount in transaction fees when paid through Binance coins. Other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins or Ethereum can be traded using Binance coins.

Stellar (XLM)

The Stellar network is based on Lumen, allowing low-cost cross border transfer of any pair of currency. With the increase in demand for decentralised finance, stellar has numerous real-world applications.

Recently Ministry of Ukraine announced a partnership with Stellar to develop Ukraine digital infrastructure, after which this cryptocurrency value was up by 40%.

Uniswap (UNI)

Venture capital backed, Uniswap is based on Ethereum blockchain used in the exchange of cryptocurrency and tokens through smart contracts.

Uniswap is the tenth largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap and uses an automated liquidity model for trading.

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Launched in 2013 as meme currency by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, Dogecoin has recently become a hot topic on the internet, thanks to interconnected networks and social media. Unlike the other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins which are in limited supply, Dogecoin has an unlimited supply of coins, making Dogecoin devalue if future supply increases. It is the sixth largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

USD Coin (USDC)

USD coin was founded by Circle, a peer-to-peer payment company, USD coin comes under the category of stablecoin which means they are backed by a US dollar which are held in reserve. USDC is based on Ethereum blockchain technology, and it is the eighth largest cryptocurrency by market cap.