When you see the news or hear people talk about cryptocurrencies, what immediately comes to mind is Bitcoin. Nowadays, Ethereum is catching up, but do you know that there could be about 10 thousand cryptocurrencies in the world right now? It is hard to name a figure, but a good guess should give you a number above 7k at the moment.
This year, there is a rush toward investing and managing crypto accounts worldwide. Some investors are very astute – looking for signs of a bullish crypto market and taking quick profits, whatever gets them through a trading day.
As you read on, take note of the top fifteen cryptocurrencies that we believe you should know about this year. Bitcoin is already a household name but will another coin overtake it in the near future? That’s a million-dollar question. However, instead of scanning through thousands of coins at once, the ones listed below could get you started on a good footing.
Make no mistake about it, and these are the largest coins by market cap at the time I wrote this. So, pay attention as the knowledge of crypto is beneficial in many ways.
- Bitcoin (BTC)
This is the father of all cryptocurrencies. No one can talk about them without mentioning Bitcoin. It started in 2009 as the only cryptocurrency in the world. Its success has been referred to as a roller-coaster ride ever since then. However, it was not till 2017 that Bitcoin broke into massive popularity.
It is a virtual currency that is popular for peer-to-peer transactions. It is made to be used outside the control of a person, group, or organization. It first became popular as a means to reward blockchain miners for the work they’ve done to verify transactions.
- Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is the second most popular in the crypto world because it has the second largest market capitalization. It is now used as a means to perform various functions online. It became popular by means of the smart contract aspect of transactions.
This is a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality. It got started in 2013. It goes by another name – Ether. Being open-source, anyone can have input into the technology that brought it to life. Users are able to create and exchange NFTs.
- Binance Coin (BNB)
As the name implies, this crypto is from the stable of Binance, and it is among the largest trade exchanges in the world. At one time, it was known as the largest exchange in the world when it came to the daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2017 by two people. It was initially based in China, but now the cryptocurrency is known worldwide, especially when it left China because of the government ban on cryptocurrencies. The company behind Binance has been making large donations to the war going on in Ukraine.
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
According to the story behind this coin, it started as a joke back then in 2013 as the meme coin or the dog coin. However, it is now considered a legitimate investment prospect for anyone who loves to invest in it. It is still known as a fun and friendly internet currency. The great aspect of this coin is that it has no limiting issuance. Today, it is still one of the most popular coins used for payments or sending money.
- Terra (LUNA)
This is another currency that has huge market capitalization. It is known as a possible world currency. It is perhaps the oldest crypto in existence, having started in 2001. It is based on a closely related concept from the 1930s. This is a platform that helps a range of coins based on real currencies such as the dollar or the euro. This is one crypto that ensures the stability of the price of coins through various technical means. Another beautiful aspect is that it supports smart contracts.
- TerraUSD (UST)
This is a fairly new cryptocurrency. It was created in 2020 as a decentralized, scalable, interest-bearing token that comes with a whole range of nice features. It is capable of benefitting a large community of users. It is famous for its principal substantially accessible monetary policy. Continually, there’s been a growing need for this stable coin. For now, it is moving in a manner that affords it the opportunity of challenging the DAI. When there are scalability issues, this coin offers investors room to breathe.
- Cardano (ADA)
Cardano has a huge market capitalization, so close to that of Binance Coin. Created in the year 2015, it is the crypto behind ADA, which also happens to be the name of the coin. It also uses smart contracts, thereby enabling identity management. This is the largest cryptocurrency to a proof-of-stake blockchain, which is regarded by experts to be a better alternative to proof-of-work protocols.
- XRP (XRP)
Formerly known as Ripple Payment Protocol, XRP is a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange, and remittance network. It was initially released in 2012. Its capitalization is also in the range of Cardano and Binance Coin. This coin offers a good way to pay in many different real-world currencies. It is good as a cross-border means of transaction, using a trust-less mechanism to enable payments. It is built on a distributed open-source protocol.
- USD Coin (USDC)
The crypto was created in September 2018. The name is simple and sweet. More importantly, it is a stable digital coin that is pegged to the United States dollar, and this could be the reason it came in this name. This stable coin is managed by Centre, a consortium on which web page you can find more information about the coin. The organization has members from Bitcoin and Coinbase companies.
- Tether (USDT)
This coin is hosted on the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains. Tokens are issued by a Hong Kong Company called Tether Limited. It has a huge market capitalization. And the founders originally wanted it to be worth nothing more than a dollar. It was determined that it will always maintain that $1.00 in reserves for each tether issued. This is what actually makes it a stable coin that’s not susceptible to volatility in the crypto world. It works best as a medium for when traders to engage in transactions using multiple currencies. There are those who think that the coin isn’t backed by the dollar at all, thinking it uses a short-term form of unsecured debt.
- Binance USD (BUSD)
Here’s another dollar-backed stable coin from world-renown Binance, and the dealership also includes Paxos. It was launched in 2019, and it is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. This coin also runs on the Ethereum blockchain. BUSD was founded in 2017. One can purchase it with cash as with other cryptocurrencies. Investors can purchase it with zero fees and transfer it globally with ease while doing so at a reduced cost. People can deposit this coin and earn interest by lending.
- Solana (SOL)
This new cryptocurrency is hardly two years old as I write this. It came on the scene in March 2020. One thing it boasts of is the ability to complete transactions at record speed. Another plus for it is the robust capability of its web-scale platform. As I write, the issuance of the coin is capped at 480 million coins. Some notable people have in the past shown interest in using this coin to launch NFT. The stable coin thrives on Proof of history and proof of stake.
- Pax Dollar (USDP)
Pax is built on speed, as the world we live in prioritizes speed above quality. In technical terms, it is an ERC-20 tokenized digital dollar. Since its use, it has been said to be able to move instantly across the world at great speed. Another good thing is that it is programmable. It is known as a stable asset that is commended for proving true to the claim of being stable. It is also one of the coins running on the Ethereum blockchain. It is very reliable, requiring up to 12 network confirmations. Also, it is properly regulated.
- TrueUSD (TUSD)
This coin is also backed by the dollar. It is also a yield-bearing stable coin from the decentralized Terra blockchain. It is still fairly new, having been launched in 2020. Yet it stands out among its peers because it has a high level of scalability and ease of interoperability between blockchain networks. TUSD is fully collateralized and protected by law.
- Liquidity USD (LUSD)
On this platform, users can borrow LUSD interest-free against their Ether and use it as collateral. That means they are able to get an ETH-backed loan without any recurring costs. Users don’t have to worry about paying interest that could be spread over the duration of their loans. Of course, when making use of the LUSD platform, users have to pay a one-time borrowing fee. It is non-custodial, immutable, and governance-free.
- Avalanche (AVAX)
Also known as Avalanche Multiverse, this is a decentralized, open-source proof of stake blockchain that has smart contracts functionality. It was released in September 2020. It started off as good means for solving consensus in a network of unreliable machines. It is blazingly fast and very effective for making transactions. At first, the project was carried out in a realm of academic circles that were interested in exploring consensus protocols, but now, it has grown much more than that.
- Polkadot (DOT)
This token is also an open-source blockchain platform. It came on the scene in May 2020. That year seemed to be a year for cryptocurrencies to arrive and thrive. It is good for interconnectivity and also interoperability between blockchains. Thus, independent chains could securely exchange messages and perform transactions without a go-between. Through what is called relay chains and parachains, users are able to create and operate their own blockchains. Relay chain can provide a primary chain, while parachian can host a large number of validatable and globally consistent data structures.
- Shiba Inu (SHIB)
Although this token appears to be not so popular at all, it stands at number fifteen on Coinmarketcap. I managed to squeeze it in at number 18 here on this list of the best cryptocurrencies you could look forward to interacting with in the future. It came on board in August 2020. At this point in time, it has a market cap of $12.5 billion. It was created in Japan by an anonymous group known as Ryoshi. The name is derived from a Japanese dog of the same name. However, it is good to note that this symbol is the same as that of Dogecoin. Shiba Inu is known as a meme coin and also a pump and dump scheme.
- Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)
It is loud on the fact that this token delivers the power of Bitcoin with the flexibility of an ERC20 token. It is good to know that this is the first ERC20 token backed 1:1 with Bitcoin. Users put a high price of importance on it because it brings greater liquidity to the Ethereum ecosystem. This token changes the fact that most trading takes place on centralized exchanges with Bitcoin. It successfully brings Bitcoin’s liquidity to DEXs. On the other hand, it creates smart contracts for Bitcoin, meaning that it is able to write smart contracts that integrate Bitcoin transfers.
- Tron (TRX)
In 2018, this decentralized open-source blockchain was born. It also has the capacity for smart contract functionality. It was actually an idea in 2014 in the head of one person, but by 2017, it came to be supervised by TRON Foundation. That is an organization situated in Singapore. Tron was originally an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token. In 2018, it switched its protocol to its own blockchain.
Conclusion
No doubt, I believe that one or two of these cryptocurrencies is your favorite. For example, everybody loves Bitcoin and Ethereum, but one can also explore other up-and-coming tokens that have a somewhat better future forecast. Whichever one you decide to invest in, it is better that you ensure you don’t put in more money than you can afford to lose. The reason for this is that in this industry, volatility is a very common occurrence. Traders could lose or gain massively in less than 24 hours. Also, you never know; a novice could be playing against highly sophisticated players, which can make the process frustrating at times.
