The 10 most popular cryptocurrencies in circulation today are an odd bunch. Cryptocurrencies in general are too much of an abstract concept for many people which is part of the reason why not many people have adopted them yet. However, they are virulently spreading in rapid successions just like the 7 most catastrophic computer viruses of all time and a lot of them already have quite a bit of influence and value in certain markets. Let’s take a look at how they work.
It is, first and foremost, worth mentioning that those currencies are decentralized. This means that they are not based on promises from a central, sentient organization such as a government or a bank. They solely depend on the base protocol which governs their release. This means that an intelligent piece of software will predictably release a sum at a given time interval that is openly known by everyone. Keep that in mind for the next paragraph.
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If you want to store cryptocurrency you need a “wallet”. This “wallet” is the piece of software which becomes a node in the cryptocurrency’s network. In what way does one acquire cryptocurrency, you might ask. Well, with these ones here, you can literally “print” your own. However, there is no currency to print, it is all virtual. The software that defines each currency uses a finite (with known limits) block chain (a type of database) which is distributed to everyone running the software (wallet). Each node has access to the block chain and each node is what maintains and keeps the block chain operating. However, this uses no user input, which enforces the decentralized nature of the currency. Nobody has control over it and nobody can alter the way in which it operates.
What people can do, aside from exchanging any form of “coins” back and forth, is “print” their own cryptocurrency money. However, this activity is instead called “mining”. It helps if you visualize the block chain (database of all existing coins) as a mine for precious minerals. Each 10 minutes (for example) the algorithm which handles the currency defines a number of additional coins. You “mine” them by trying to mathematically decypher their address in the database or protocol. What you trade with other people is not a number, nor a physical bill. Instead you trade the address of your bitcoin to whoever you are paying.
However, all these currencies have an expiration date. There is only as much as the algorithm will generate before it hits the limit. This is because with each iteration of the generation cycle, it gets harder and harder to decipher the addresses and additionally, less coins get defined for each of the cycles. Imagine it as when getting deeper into the mine means going through harsher conditions and harder rock. This is what gives value to all of them, the fact that you need to invest in serious computer power in order to mine them. What is more, due to you not having to eventually check with a sentient, human controlled ledger, cryptocurrencies remain completely anonymous as far as transactions are concerned.
Let’s take a look at the most popular cryptocurrencies in circulation today, ranked by their market capitalization (as of the time of writing) which can be monitored in real time and estimated relatively easy due to the openness of protocols/block chains.
10. MaidSafeCoin
Market Cap: $ 9,079,016
MaidSafeCoin is an intermediary coin, used to release 10% of MaidSafe’s SafeCoin which is used as a currency inside the company’s services and developer network.
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9. Stellar
Market Cap: $ 10,006,604
Stellar is a cryptocurrency developed by a non-profit company which aims to free people (especially the underrepresented ones) of the limitations today’s economy poses.
8. Dogecoin
Market Cap: $ 12,366,358
Dogecoin started out as a joke to a certain extent but that played out quite well for the cryptocurrency which is now the eighth largest out there.
7. BanxShares
Market Cap: $ 12,647,505
BanxShares is a name for cryptocurrency based shares of BanxCapital, a cryptocurrency exchange company which also deals with pawn-brokering and more.
6. Dash
Market Cap: $ 13,801,204
Dash is a specialized, self-maintaining cryptocurrency with close to 0% errors and very low developer cost. The currency is completely anonymous and untraceable.
5. BitShares
Market Cap: $ 15,960,699
Arriving soon at version 2.0, BitShares is a decentralized platform for asset exchange with industrial-grade performance and speeds comparable to NASDAQ.
4. Ethereum
Market Cap: $ 53,186,213
Ethereum is an application hosting platform which uses a cryptocurrency called Ether for the payments that users need to make to the network for the resources they use. See the list of 10 companies and businesses that accept Ethereum.
3. Litecoin
Market Cap: $ 122,021,894
Litecoin comes at the third place in the list of the 10 most popular cryptocurrencies with a performance comparable to Bitcoin. It is 100% decentralized and proven as a payments medium
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2. Ripple
Market Cap: $ 212,337,662
Ripple is a system of currency exchange which “lets everyone participate in the global economy” by balancing all input currencies, be it fiat currencies or cryptocurrencies with its own native cryptocurrency, XRP.
1. Bitcoin
Market Cap: $ 3,411,544,421
The first popular cryptocurrency and the most valuable of them is the very predictable first place holder in this list of the 10 most popular cryptocurrencies in the world today.
