Top 10 cryptos to look at

Summary 

• Cryptocurrency is a virtual currency that works as a mode of payment for buying goods and services.
• As of 8 July 2021, the market cap of all the cryptocurrencies was more than $1.38 trillion.

Cryptocurrency is a virtual currency in which transaction is verified and recorded securely on a computer using cryptography. It can be used to buy goods and services, or one can trade to make profits. However, these currencies are not regulated by any authority and work on the concept of blockchain, a decentralised technology which is spread across a large number of computer systems that manages transactions.

There are more than 10,000 options available across Cryptocurrency. As of 8 July 2021, the market cap value of all the cryptocurrencies was more than $1.38 trillion, compared to April’s high of $2.2 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap, the world's most-referenced price-tracking website for cryptoassets.

Choosing the best cryptocurrency is a difficult task, so, let us look at the top 10 cryptocurrencies based on the market cap.

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

Launched in 2009, Bitcoin is the most used currency till date, and it is also referred as King of cryptocurrencies. The motive of Bitcoin was to become globally available as digital cash that is free from any regulation, hence decentralised. Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency based on market capitalisation and offers the highest liquidity amongst all the cryptocurrencies available. As of 8 July 2021 Bitcoin’s market capitalisation stood at $610.60 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Tesla, an American electric vehicle and clean energy company, had invested $1.5B in Bitcoin and was planning to accept the cryptocurrency as payment in the future, though it has suspended the plan for the time being due to climate change concerns.

2. Ethereum (ETH)

Launched officially in 2015, Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency, Ethereum’s market capitalisation as of 8 July 2021, stood at $251.90 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

 Ethereum platform enables other distributed applications (dApps) to run on it and other smart contract and tokens applications. Ethereum is also called the Blockchain Internet, Like Bitcoin is called the Blockchain money. In 2021, Ethereum plans to change its consensus algorithm from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, allowing Ethereum’s network to run with far less energy and enhanced transaction speed. 

3. Tether (USDT)

Launched in 2014, a blockchain-based cryptocurrency, Tether, is backed by traditional fiat currencies such as the dollar, euro, or Japanese Yen; hence it is first from the stablecoins group. This cryptocurrency gets the benefit of performing cross-border payments through secure, fast and cheaper blockchain technology. 

While some major cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Ethereum are highly volatile and their prices fluctuate pretty often, on the other hand, Tether is valued based on the US dollar and remains close to 1USD.

As of 8 July 2021, Tether’s market capitalisation stood at $62.30 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

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4. Binance Coin (BNB)

It is a cryptocurrency coin driving the Binance ecosystem. It is a crypto token based on Ethereum for trading cryptocurrencies as well as a means to pay fees on the Binance exchange. As of 8 July 2021, Binance Coin had a market cap of $48.26 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

5. Cardano (ADA)

It is a third-generation currency using the Proof of Stake algorithm, whereas, Ethereum has been planning this move for a long time. As of 8 July 2021, Cardano’s market capitalisation stood at $43.50 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Cardano is the crypto coin that runs on the platform its architecture is multi-layered, where the settlement layer handles transactions and the control layer run smart contracts.

6. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple is a venture-backed start-up that was designed as a global settlement network. Ripple allows instant and low-cost cash transfers. Bank of America has done partnership with Ripple and is looking to adopt the Ripple protocol to speed up their transactions.

Ripple comes on sixth place when it comes to market capitalisation, as of 8 July 2021, Ripple’s market capitalisation stood at $28.66 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. However, the XRP is expected to grow in future as the US Securities and Exchange Commission believes Ripple should be classified as a security. 

7. Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin was created in 2013 by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus. Dogecoin has got huge support from Redditors, a registered user of the website Reddit, boosting its price. Dogecoin is mainly used by people to tip each other on finding something useful or funny online.

As of 8 July 2021, Deogecoin’s market capitalisation stood at $27.73 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

8. USD Coin (USDC)

Another cryptocurrency referred to as a stable coin, which can be redeemed for a stable price of 1 USD. It was launched in September 2018 in collaboration with Circle and Coinbase. USD Coin is similar to cryptocurrency like Tether.

As of 8 July 2021, USDC’s market capitalisation stood at $25.88 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.               

9. Polkadot (DOT)

Polkadot was created by Gavin Wood and got launched in August 2020 only. Polkadot allows cross-chain transfer meaning it enables various assets to be shared between blockchains rather than just cryptocurrencies. Polkadot protocol is designed in a manner to connect permission and non-permission blockchains. However, out of large pool of cryptocurrencies available, none communicate with each other.

As of 8 July 2021, Polkadot’s market capitalisation stood at $14.82 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Also Read: Best Crypto Exchanges in the UK for 2021

Uniswap (UNI)

It is a growing protocol system named after the company which initially developed it. It is used for exchanging cryptos. UNI is its in-house governance token. Recently deployment of Uniswap V3 was announced to be deployed to the Ethereum mainnet.

As of 8 July 2021, Uniswap’s market capitalisation stood at $12.03 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.