Bitcoin- BTC
Bitcoin (Bitcoin) is a cryptocurrency that was created in 2008 by an anonymous individual or group of people who went by the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin is a decentralised digital currency that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the use of intermediaries. It has no central bank or single administrator. Network nodes use cryptography to verify transactions, which are then registered in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain.
If its price rises or falls, there is no denying that bitcoin will continue to dominate the cryptocurrency sector. Traders will benefit from high liquidity regardless of market stability as long as it continues to exist. Although bitcoin is unpredictable, it has a steady upward trend.
With a market capitalization of $1.01 trillion, BTC, as it is known by its market ticker, is the most popular cryptocurrency. It was developed as a means of facilitating decentralised transactions as well as a store of value.
Ethereum- ETH
Ethereum, is a decentralised software platform that allows Smart Contracts and Decentralized Applications (DApps) to be designed and run without the need for third-party downtime, theft, control, or intervention. Ethereum is a permissionless, non-hierarchical network of computers (nodes) that generate and achieve consensus on an ever-growing sequence of “blocks,” or batches of transactions referred to as the blockchain.
The platform’s native cryptocurrency is Ether (ETH). After Bitcoin, it is the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization. Vitalik Buterin, a programmer, proposed Ethereum in 2013. The network went live on July 30, 2015, with an initial supply of 72 million coins, after being crowdfunded in 2014. Ethereum is used for decentralised finance, the production and exchange of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and many Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). The coin market capitalization is at $195.54 billion on 29 March, 2021.
Tether- USDT
Tether, previously known as Realcoin, was launched in 2014 and is one of the first cryptocurrencies to be pegged to the US dollar. Tether is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency whose crypto coins are backed by an equal sum of conventional fiat currencies kept in a specified bank account, such as the dollar, euro, or Japanese yen. The Tether is a stablecoin, a form of cryptocurrency that aims to hold cryptocurrency prices stable, as opposed to the large fluctuations seen in the prices of other common cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Tether was the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization in January 2021, with a total market capitalization of $24.4 billion and a per-token value of $1.00.
Cardano- ADA
Cardano is a cryptocurrency network and open source project with the aim of creating a public blockchain platform for smart contracts. Ada is the internal cryptocurrency of Cardano. Charles Hoskinson, a co-founder of Ethereum and BitShares, started developing the platform in 2015 and released it in 2017.
Charles Hoskinson, one of Ethereum’s five original founding members, was a co-founder of the project. After some disagreements with Ethereum’s course, he left and later assisted in the development of Cardano. As of 9:36 a.m. IST on March 29, ADA, the non-profit digital currency, was trading at $1.19 and had a market cap of $40.4 billion.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot is a one-of-a-kind proof-of-stake cryptocurrency that aims to provide blockchain interoperability. Its protocol links permissioned and permissionless blockchains, as well as oracles, allowing systems to interact under one roof. Polkadot was created by Gavin Wood, Thiel Fellow Robert Habermeier, and Peter Czaban. Gavin Wood is a co-founder of the Ethereum Project and was previously the Chief Technology Officer. As of March 2021, Polkadot has a market capitalization of $30.3 billion and one DOT trades for $32.83. Via the Polkadot relay chain, Polkadot enables an internet where independent blockchain can share information and transactions in a trustless manner. Polkadot aims to make creating and connecting decentralised apps, utilities, and organisations easier.
Ripple- XRP
Ripple is a cryptocurrency and a digital payment network for financial transactions that was first released in 2012. Ripple Labs created XRP as a payment token to be used on its decentralised payment system. XRP is used with a network of validation nodes rather than a blockchain, as the company started with a blockchain-based system. As of April 2, Ripple XRP has a market capitalization of $26,8 billion and oneXRP trades for $0.5926.
Uniswap- UNI
Uniswap is a cryptocurrency exchange protocol that operates on a decentralised basis. The name of the company that created the Uniswap protocol is also Uniswap. Through the use of smart contracts, the protocol allows for automated transactions between cryptocurrency tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. As of April 2, it has a market capitalization of $$15,2 billion and one UNI trades for $29.21.
Litecoin-LTC
Litecoin is a cryptocurrency and open-source software project that was released under the MIT/X11 licence. Litecoin is nearly identical to bitcoin in terms of technical specifications, making it an early spinoff or altcoin of the popular cryptocurrency. In comparison to Bitcoin’s 10 minutes, the Litecoin Network aims to process a block every 2.5 minutes. As a result, Litecoin can confirm transactions much more quickly than Bitcoin. As of April 2, it has a market capitalization of $$13.8 billion and one LTC trades for $206.75.
ChainLink – LINK
The Chainlink decentralised oracle network (DON) is a leading on-chain provider that allows smart contracts on Ethereum to securely connect to external data sources, APIs, and payment systems. Chainlink (LINK) is an Ethereum token that powers the Chainlink decentralised oracle network (DON). As of April 2, it has a market capitalization of $12.8 billion and one LINK trades for $30.58.
Bitcoin Cash- BCH
Bitcoin Cash is a cryptocurrency that was created in 2017 as a fork of Bitcoin. The goal of Bitcoin Cash’s creation was to allow for a larger block size than Bitcoin, allowing for more transactions to be stored in a single block. Despite their differences, Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin share some technical similarities, including the use of the same consensus mechanism and a supply limit of 21 million coins. As of April 2, it has a market capitalization of $10.8 billion and one BCH trades for $575.17.
ConclusionGiven the popularity of cryptocurrencies, investing in them needs severe caution. Before investing in a cryptocurrency, investors must carefully assess its potential prospects.
Whether you like it or not, you can’t ignore its enviable popularity, market supremacy, and continued relevance in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.