Beyond Bitcoin: Know the top 10 ‘Altcoins’ and their performance

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have entered the public consciousness, thanks to the promise they offer in revolutionising the concept of money but even more lately because of their performance – albeit being accompanied by volatility. And while Bitcoin has attracted the lion’s share of attention, other cryptocurrencies, also called ‘Altcoins’ should not be ignored – best because some offer even more promise than Bitcoin, or least because those considering investing in cryptocurrencies should diversify. Below are the top 10 ‘Altcoins’ based on their market capitalization along with their prices in Indian rupees, sourced from WazirX.

Ethereum: It is the second most popular cryptocurrency in the market. Created by programmer Vilatik Buterin in 2014, the platform was designed to utilise blockchain technology to store programmes that can be used to power financial contracts and applications. Price: Rs 1,49,888. Market cap: USD 290 billion; Year-to-date performance: 159.6%.

Tether: It is considered a stablecoin, a cryptocurrency that is pegged to an external benchmark, typically the US dollar, to avoid large fluctuations in its price. Launched in 2014, Tether is claimed to be backed fully by US dollar reserves with its value being stabilized by a software buying selling both assets. Price: Rs 76.9. Mcap: USD 62 billion dollars; YTD: 13.3%.

Binance Coin: It was launched in 2017 by leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, and largely did not pop up on crypto investors’ radar till it went parabolic on the price charts this year. Price: Rs 23,334.3. Mcap: USD 53 billion; YTD: 704.9%.

Cardano: Starting out as a project called ‘input-output Hong Kong’ created by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson in 2017, Cardano is one of the few cryptocurrencies that does not use a white paper. Instead, it utilises another blockchain technology called Proof-of-stake protocol which consumes less energy than the proof–of–work protocol used by cryptos like Bitcoin. Price: 103.4. Mcap: USD 49 billion; YTD: 644.4%.

Dogecoin: Created as a joke based on a ‘Doge’ meme that became popular on Reddit featuring a Japanese dog, Dogecoin represents the best and the worst that the world of cryptocurrency has to offer: its price has gone through the roof despite its proclaimed status of being a ‘meme currency’, which also underlines the mania that has engulfed the market. Price: 18.3 Mcap: USD 41 billion; YTD: +4,994.97%.

XRP: It is a cryptocurrency token built as part of Ripple, which is considered as a cryptocurrency and a digital network for financial payments, respectively. The Ripple network has a protocol that can be used by financial institutions to transfer traditional money as well.  Price: 49.99. Mcap: USD 29 Billion YTD: +185.39%.

USD Coin: Another ‘stablecoin’, USD Coin was founded in 2018 promised to offer both less volatility as well as tangible convertibility with traditional currencies. The promise of lack of volatility hasn’t stopped the currency from seeing a sharp spike in its price this year. Price: $0.99 (not available on WazirX). Mcap: 25.4 billion; YTD: 185.39%.

Polkadot: One of the newest cryptocurrencies in the market, Polkadot introduced new technical features that aim to differentiate it from the existing cryptocurrency market. Polkadot is designed to operate on two different types of blockchains, the main network where transactions are permanent and user-created networks called parachains which feed into the main network. Price: 1,212.5. Mcap: USD 23 billion; YTD: 65.57%.

Uniswap: Uniswap is a cryptocurrency that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. It was created in 2018 by a mechanical engineer who formerly worked in Siemens. Uniswap utilises a new kind of trading model known as automated liquidity protocol. Price: Rs 1,329. Mcap: USD 13 billion; YTD: 232.9%.

Tron(TRX): It is a blockchain platform founded by a Singapore-based non-profit organisation called the Tron Foundation.  Tron attempts to bridge the gap between content creators and content consumers by using peer-to-peer network technology to eliminate the middleman between the creator and the consumer. TRX is the token used on the Tron platform. Price: Rs 4.98. Mcap: USD 4 billion YTD: 140.56%.