In 2008, a certain developer Satoshi Nakamoto created a document in which he gave an explanation of the first electronic money. The new currency, according to the author, will not depend on the government and financial organizations. Virtual money has become a means to conduct transactions.
Coins
The first digital currency on the list of the top 100 cryptocurrencies was called Bitcoin. It ushered in an era of decentralization in which neither governments nor banks can determine a user’s privacy.
Cryptocurrency does not have the physical parameters inherent in fiat money. It is stored in a decentralized system called blockchain. To manage your money you have a public key. A private key is provided for authorization.
Despite its virtual nature, Bitcoin successfully competes with fiat money. It acts as a means of payment. A stable exchange rate against the dollar helps to attract investors.
Since the advent of the first cryptocurrency, many competitors appeared. In some aspects, they managed to get ahead of it. But overall, Bitcoin remains out of reach.
The price of one Bitcoin is now $19,278.55. The market cap is $ 369,816,764,783.
Tokens
They are often confused with cryptocurrency. In fact, tokens are units of account that play the role of securities in the virtual world. They are recorded in the registry of the blockchains. Tokens are managed through smart contracts, which contain data on account balances. They can be transferred from one account to another. Access to tokens is possible on special applications through an electronic signature.
There are lots of tokens in the cryptocurrency environment now. Generally they are concentrated in Ethereum. The most popular among them are:
- Chainlink, worth $ 7.57 and a capitalization of $ 3,716,240,889;
- Uniswap, worth $6.35 with a capitalization of $4,835,508,519.
Stablecoins
The name of the token indicates its stability. The most popular are USDC and BUSD, which are pegged to the dollar. There are other stablecoins, the value of which is provided by gold, oil. Stablecoins are useful because they reduce the volatility of assets.
We can name some tokens secured by gold and assets: Tether, Gemy Dollar, Paxos, DigixGlobal (DGX).
Read more about Stablecoins https://trends.aax.com/types-of-cryptocurrencies-and-their-features-explained at AAX Trends.
Popular Altcoins
Although Bitcoin remains out of competition among all cryptocurrencies, there are other platforms that deserve attention.
Ethereum
The closest to the most popular platform is Ethereum. This currency is used for selling and buying. The technologies used in the network allow users to speed up transactions, conduct operations without intermediaries.
Ripple
This platform allows to make a payment in 4 seconds. The network is able to process 1500 transactions in just one second. This allows Ripple to occupy the 6th place among the best cryptocurrencies in the world.
NFT
This is a non-fungible token used as a certificate of ownership of the asset. NFT helps users provide a variety of assets on the blockchain: works of art, photographs, video-audio materials, collectibles, music and artwork, real estate and much more.
The best NFTs belong to one or few people. This is an opportunity for artists, collectors to realize their products.
Examples of popular NFT: Blockchain Gaming Assets, BAYC, Metaverse Land.
DeFi
Decentralized finance (as DeFi stands for) is developed on several blockchains. They are most popular in Ethereum. DeFi is also used on the Tron, Kava, Bitcoin platforms.
The service aims to transfer the existing financial system to blockchains so that it becomes accessible to everyone. All financial transactions, according to the developers, should pass through smart contracts without intermediaries. The system works on the principle of peer-to-peer.
Today, the best in terms of capitalization are the following platforms based on DeFi: Chainlink, Uniswap, Wrapped Bitcoin.