The growth of the cryptocurrency market in the last decade has been astonishing. In November 2021, it went from being a niche market to a market with a higher market cap than Apple. Market cap is a shortened term for market capitalization, determined by multiplying the current coin price of a certain crypto market by its circulating supply. Today we are going to explore the top 10 cryptocurrencies. Top 10 Popular Cryptocurrencies Among Investors.
Table of Contents
Bitcoin
Since its creation in 2009, Bitcoin has been the number one cryptocurrency in the market. While the majority of business and corporate investment is primarily in Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies are hot on its heels. The price of Bitcoin has fluctuated wildly since its inception, but the general upward trend in this period is staggering. Take, for example, the now infamous story of Laszlo Hanyecz, who made the first real-world transaction with Bitcoin by buying two pizzas in Jacksonville, Florida, in May 2010 for 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC). This amount would have surpassed $600m if the deal had been done in April 2021.
Bitcoin (BTC) is seen as a valuable and lucrative investment. It was the most handsome return you could have wished to find in the 2010s. This includes all stocks, shares and other assets, such as property. For Bitcoin to go from a digital currency to a real-world currency in a decade is quite astonishing. Many major global companies now accept it. Despite these incredible explosions in the price of Bitcoin, there are also other cryptocurrencies that have returned solid results since their inception.
Ethereum
Ethereum is the cryptocurrency that currently sits in second place in the top 10, and it has been this way for several years. Ethereum, conceived in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, is a much newer cryptocurrency. Other developers include Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio and Joseph Lubin.
Ethereum provides more utility than Bitcoin and has incredible technology that underpins it. For this reason, people believe Ethereum is a better investment than Bitcoin in the long run, as it continues to innovate in the cryptocurrency space.
BNB
Binance coin, also known as BNB, is an even newer cryptocurrency. BNB provides a token that cryptocurrency traders can use to purchase smaller cryptocurrencies and exchange them for more established ones. It is a cryptocurrency used purely on the Binance exchange, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The success of this cryptocurrency shows how big the market is for smaller cryptos with no utility. However, BNB has solid utility and provides a useful bridge between these two types of markets.
XRP
At one point in 2017, XRP was the second biggest cryptocurrency in the world. Developed by Ripple Labs in America, their technology innovated the crypto space and could be the first cryptocurrency that obtains legal clarity in the United States. Currently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating the company for selling the coins against regulations. However, it is still hugely popular in the UK and Japan. If it wins the SEC case, it could propel the cryptocurrency back towards the top two or three.
Cardano (ADA)
Charles Hoskinson, who helped develop Ethereum, later left that project and created Cardano. The price has exploded over the past few years, from trading at $0.03 a token 36 months ago to hitting $3.10 in September 2021.
Solana
The sixth coin on our list is Solana. It enjoyed hugely successful gains in 2021 and remains in the top 10.
Dogecoin
Dogecoin is known as a memecoin and does not have the use or utility of any other coins in this list. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took to promoting the coin on Twitter, with mixed results It remains to be seen whether this coin will survive in the top 10, as its support has dwindled.
Polkadot
Ethereum creator Gavin Wood created Polkadot after he left Ethereum. It remains a popular choice with investors, and large corporate investors such as Grayscale have invested in it.
Shiba Inu
The second memecoin we have on our list is Shiba. Again, like Dogecoin, this is a crypto with no utility but it has enjoyed massive amounts of investment and social media promotion. It may not retain its spot in the top 10 this time next year, but who knows?
Matic
The final cryptocurrency we have to discuss is Matic. This is a crypto that has serious utility and even more serious levels of investment. Enjoying a recent spike, it is another crypto that has received investment from large financial institutions and could rise within the top 10 over the next 12 to 18 months.
