A cryptocurrency is a virtual form of currency that is secured by cryptography. This unregulated digital coin is being used to make payments. It can be sent to anyone, anywhere, without any third-party intermediaries.
This unregulated digital asset gained immense popularity this year. Many investors consider it an alternative to mainstream investment, and several companies have already started taking payments in cryptocurrency.
There are a lot of cryptocurrencies available in the market. Here, we explore a few of the popular crypto coins.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin was founded in 2009. It is the first cryptocurrency and is the most popular one. Bitcoin has US$625.99 billion in market capitalization.
Bitcoin is currently priced at U$34,836.25. The crypto coin notched its all-time high of US$64,829.14 recently. Bitcoin returned 19.45 percent year to date.
The digital currency’s supply totals 18.74 million. Bitcoin’s legal tender status in El Salvador makes it the first legal cryptocurrency in a country.
READ MORE: Where can you use bitcoin?
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is a software platform based on blockchain. It allows users to send and receive values through its native currency, Ether.
Ethereum, which has an all-time high of US$4,382.73, is currently priced at US$2,219.12. It has US$258.52 billion in market capitalization. The cryptocurrency returned 190.6 percent year to date.
It is the second-largest cryptocurrency and has a total supply of 116.49 million.
READ MORE: What will Ethereum’s price be at the end of 2021?
Tether (USDT)
Tether was created in 2014 by Brock Pierce, Reeve Collins and Craig Sellars. It was initially called ‘Realcoin’ and is dubbed as ‘stablecoin’ as it is tied directly to the US dollar.
This cryptocurrency did not take a major impact when the crypto market crashed in May.
Tether is currently priced at US$1.00, and it remains almost flat year to date. It has US$64.28 billion in market capitalization and an all-time high of US$1.32.
Tether has a total supply of 64.25 billion.
READ MORE: Just How Tethered is Tether?
XRP (XRP)
XRP is a crypto coin developed by Ripple Labs Inc. Ripple is a fintech company that develops payment solutions, and XRP is the digital asset used for transactions.
XRP currently has a price of 67.45 cents. It has a market capitalization of US$67.45 billion. XRP gained 200 percent year to date.
XRP’s all-time high is US$3.40 and has a total supply of 99.99 billion.
READ MORE: What is Ripple?
Source: Pixabay
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is a blockchain platform that facilitates transactions with its crypto coin ADA.
ADA is currently priced at US$1.36 and has an all-time high value of US$2.47. ADA’s market capitalization stood at US$43.85 billion in market capitalization, and it returned 639 percent year to date.
The cryptocurrency has a total supply of 32.19 billion.
READ MORE: What Is Cardano (ADA) Crypto? What Is Its Price Prediction?
Dogecoin (DOGE)
This cryptocurrency was initially launched as a joke in 2013, based on a meme featuring the Japanese dog breed Shiba Inu.
Dogecoin was trading a fraction of a penny earlier this. But it skyrocketed to an all-time high of 74.07 cents, fuelled by celebrity endorsements and the crypto craze this year.
The crypto coin’s current price is 25.159 cents and has US$32.73 billion in market capitalization. Dogecoin returned 5,139 percent return year to date and has a total supply of 130.09 billion.
READ MORE: Can Dogecoin touch $1 this year?
USD Coin (USDC)
U.S. Dollar Coin is a stablecoin based on Ethereum. It was launched in 2018 and is tied to US Dollar.
This crypto coin is currently priced at US$1.00 and has a market capitalization of US$24.55 billion. USD Coin, which has an all-time high of US$1.17, gained 0.12 percent year to date. Its supply totals 24.54 billion.
READ MORE: Which are the top cryptocurrency stocks to explore in the US?
Please note: The above constitutes a preliminary view, and any interest in stocks/cryptocurrencies should be evaluated further from an investment point of view.