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Year after year, and even month after month, the list of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap continues to surprise. Coins that were supposed to go up and make waves linger and are overtaken by new entries.
It's important to note that the list doesn't prioritize individual cryptocurrency prices, but rather how large of a percentage of the total crypto market each token accounts for. So it's, above everything, an accurate gauge of current market sentiment.
Note: The list is ever-changing.
The coins we are covering now could very easily be usurped by others in the near future. We'll list the top 22 coins (at the time of this writing), and name a few that aren't in that group but have the makings to break into it.
Largest Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap
Bitcoin
For all of the market's evolution, it's still ruled by Bitcoin. The top cryptocurrency's unknown makers issued it in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis as a response to central bank money printing and other ill-advised policies.
It was meant to act as a decentralized, people's means of exchange. Instead of having an issuer, it's mined through a consensus network. As the token exploded in value, it became less feasible to consider it as a means of transaction and more as an asset and long-term store of value.
A primary appeal of the token is its fixed supply of 21 million, which is a large part of its bottom line. The fixed supply is meant to counteract money printing and free-floating money in general, which has given BTC the moniker "digital gold" time and again.
Ethereum
Ethereum has trailed Bitcoin steadily on the number 2 spot. Released in 2014 by Vitalik Buterin and his team of developers, the coin is in many ways Bitcoin's opposite. Whereas Bitcoin is meant to act as a currency, Ethereum is intended to be its own network.
Many of the most popular coins use the Ethereum network to run so-called smart contracts. For the majority of its existence, the coin and its network have chiefly provided crypto users a faster alternative to Bitcoin, the transactions of which can take hours compared to those on the Ethereum network.
The coin has seen tremendous expansion in its near-decade of existence, though not to everyone's liking, resulting in a hard fork not unlike as in the case of Bitcoin.
Tether
As the name suggests, Tether is a token that has a 1:1 backing to the U.S. dollar. Though there have been some questions over its backing, its tie to the dollar remains solid. The token's issuers, based in Hong Kong, use a variety of assets to provide the backing, including repo notes and Treasury bills.
Tether's use and popularity have placed the idea of the stablecoin on the map and have given way to numerous competing tokens with the same purpose since then. Nonetheless, none of these have managed to approach Tether's popularity and market cap so far, though there are some that are trying to.
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BNB
It should come as no surprise that the native token of the largest cryptocurrency exchange is this high on the list. Binance sprung into action in 2017, and has since established a global reach and remains the world's largest crypto exchange by market cap.
BNB is used to lessen fees associated with trading tokens on the exchange, though there are other uses as well. Although BNB isn't necessary to use the exchange, it lowers the overall fee structure when making trades and transactions. Given the daily volume that the platform sees, this was clearly all that was needed to launch the token right next to the big two.
USD Coin
Another stablecoin with a 1:1 backing to the U.S. dollar. It has only a fraction of Tether's market cap, but has proven tremendously popular over the years. Whoever doesn't like Tether is most likely to go for USD Coin, and it's also a sort of stablecoin hedge in case something happens to Tether.
Like its primary competitor, it runs on the Ethereum network and has real-world backing. It was initially only issued on a limited basis in 2018, but the popularity has since made the coin widely available.
XRP
Ripple is one of the oldest coins on this list, and one whose intent hasn't changed from the start. It was first issued in 2012 with financial institutions as the primary target. Ripple is meant to act as an improvement or altogether replacement of SWIFT when it comes to settlements and international transactions, showing the scope and ambition of this project.
Since the company rebranded to Ripple, it has followed an aggressive expansion plan. This includes partnerships with large institutions such as Bank of America and Standard Chartered. Ripple's goal is to have these institutions and even countries use its network for payments, making it a kind of Ethereum for the financial sector.
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Solana
When talking about coin surprises, one needs to look no further than Solana. Its explosive rise to the top 10 a little over a year after its launch caught many, if not most by surprise.
Solana is among the coins that compete, or aim to do so, with Ethereum in terms of utility. If Solana's issuers have their way, their network will become the dominant one for the creation of decentralized apps. Like Ethereum 2.0, it utilizes a proof-of-stake mechanism, making it a popular long-term holding option.
Terra
Another surprise entrant into this list, Terra has only been in operation since 2019. In three years since its initial coin offering, the South Korean coin's market cap and valuations have grown immensely. It can be seen as a more ambitious take on stablecoins.
Whereas most stablecoin issuers are content with issuing pegged coins and providing lending utility, Terra has created an entire network where numerous proprietary stablecoins are offered.
The token uses its native currency to facilitate smooth transactions of stablecoins on its network. It also functions as a governance and staking mechanism, a theme that is prominent with many of the coins on this list.
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Cardano
Of the two "Ethereum killers", Solana is one and Cardano is the other. Its founder Charles Hoskinson even co-founded the Ethereum network. Like the two competing tokens, Cardano aims to introduce a dominant network for smart contracts.
It places the heaviest emphasis on decentralization among the three, and relies heavily on a proof-of-stake mechanism. Upgrades to the network are required to be approved by the token's holders, making it another coin that is very popular as a long-term investment.
Founded in 2017, the coin has one of the more detailed roadmaps on this list, with different phases sporting colorful names laid out years in advance.
Cardano (ADA)
TerraUSD
TerraUSD is the U.S. dollar stablecoin on the Terra network. That it alone features so highly on this list tells a lot about how promising Terra seems and what kind of popularity it enjoys. Like other stablecoins, it has come to increasingly emphasize yields and interest as opposed to just being used for transactions.
Terra's issuers argue that their stablecoin has better scalability, closer tracking of interest rates and greater compatibility with other blockchains. It ties heavily into Terra's network and makes use of the native Terra token. Therefore, an increase in popularity of one will invariably benefit the other.
Avalanche
Avalanche is somewhat similar to Ethereum but, not unlike as in the case of Solana and Cardano, suffers from a lack of name recognition. Despite offering unique benefits and upgrades over Ethereum, its path to overtaking it will be a challenging one.
In the case of Avalanche, speed is its main selling point. The smart contracts on the Avalanche network are faster than those that run on any other network. Unlike Ethereum, it also boasts a native token that is hard-capped and made even scarcer by frequent token burning.
Dogecoin
All of the digital assets on this list are interesting, but Dogecoin takes it to a new level. It's the priciest "meme coin" that came as a result of a fork from Litecoin. It was first issued in 2013, and lingered around very low valuations for most of its existence.
Unlike most coins on this list, Dogecoin never had a particularly serious bottom line. Its explosive rise has taken aback even its issuers, who proclaimed that the coin maybe shouldn't be where it is now. Nonetheless, user interest continues, with the coin being popular for transactions, trading and mining.
Binance USD
Binance wasn't content with just having its own native token: it had to issue a stablecoin as well. Its role and use are similar to other stablecoins: a virtual currency with a 1:1 value backing to the U.S. dollar.
Nonetheless, Binance aims to use this token for a variety of purposes on its platform, including lending, staking and trading of derivatives.
Polkadot
Another very well-laid out project whose founders have ample experience in the fintech industry, Polkadot aims to become an internet in its own right. Its primary orientation is towards interoperability, more specifically cross-chain interoperability.
Polkadot's goal is to provide a network where tokens, assets and data can be seamlessly moved from one place to another. It can connect networks and blockchains that would otherwise be incompatible and allow them to share information and exchange assets privately.
Polkadot stands out, among other things, by having a protocol that allows for significant updates to its core network without the occurrence of hard forks.
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Shiba Inu
The second "meme coin" on this list, Shiba Inu takes itself more seriously than Dogecoin. Like Bitcoin, it has an unknown issuer with a somewhat lighter take on the coin compared to BTC. Shiba Inu has been dubbed the "Dogecoin killer", and many hope for it to replace Dogecoin as the most popular meme coin.
Rising this high in market capitalization in less than two years tells us plenty about the coin's popularity. Like Dogecoin, it has benefited tremendously by being listed on numerous popular exchanges where intraday traders buy and sell in large volumes.
With over 100 takes on these two coins now in circulation, it's likely that the main battle will remain between the Doge and the Shiba Inu, though one can't truly say when it comes to the crypto market.
Wrapped Bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin is a digital currency co-developed by three companies in the crypto space: BitGo, Kyber Network and Ren.
The token's founders have intimate experience with the blockchain network dating back to 2013, and are generally involved in several other projects that show promise and seek to make strides in the cryptocurrency market.
Wrapped Bitcoin is, in the simplest of terms, Bitcoin that runs on the Ethereum network. It lets holders have all the benefits of Bitcoin without suffering from some of the drawbacks, primarily transaction times. Whereas Bitcoin transactions have an average validation duration of 10 minutes, a Wrapped Bitcoin can be sent in as little as 15 seconds.
Polygon
Polygon's goal and function is very similar to that of Polkadot and Avalanche, but instead of attempting to compete with the Ethereum network, it uses it for operations. Like the other two tokens, Polygon provides interoperability among different blockchains and networks.
Launched in 2017, Polygon has a somewhat laid-out groundwork while also boasting that no significant upgrades are necessary to its basic layer.
The Polygon network can validate over 65,000 transactions every second, providing much-needed scalability solutions during a time of massive crypto market expansion.
Tron
Tron and its founder Justin Sun are definitely among the more recognizable names on this list. Sun, who has experience in the industry from his tenure as Ripple's representative, launched the token in 2017 in an aim to revitalize file sharing and distribution.
Having formerly used the Ethereum network, Tron now runs on its own network where users can create and offer any kind of data and receive TRX tokens in returns. It aims to remove centralized intermediaries like YouTube and Spotify, which is certainly an ambitious goal.
In line with its file-sharing oriented purpose, Sun acquired the popular BitTorrent service in 2018, giving this project a head start when it comes to familiarity and reach.
NEAR
A layer-one blockchain, NEAR stands out on this list for several reasons, one of them being that it's a community project. Although it has a robust team of experienced developers, the protocol can and is being updated by the so-called NEAR Collective, or token users.
It has already hosted several noteworthy projects on its network, such as the NFT-minting platform Mintbase.
While some might view readable account names as security compromises, NEAR's founders and proponents argue that this is a perk that allows the network to run much smoother and easier compared to Ethereum, whose wallet addresses are encrypted.
DAI
Yet another stablecoin on this list, DAI is likewise part of a broader ecosystem called MakerDAO, which was founded in 2015. Unlike as in the case of other stablecoins on this list, DAI's backing comes in the form of cryptocurrencies that are deposited on a blockchain network when new DAI is issued.
Therefore, it moves even further away from both regular stablecoins like Tether and those that are part of a broader project. MakerDAO itself is a decentralized, proof-of-stake consensus network where token holders vote on project development, as is the case with quite a few other items on this list.
Cronos
Cronos is the native token of Crypto.com, a payment platform not unlike Binance and other top exchanges. However, the brokerage services offered by this company already stand out from other exchanges and similar platforms, and expansion is set to continue with its frantic pace.
Crypto.com was launched in 2016, with the token becoming available in 2018. It has had an aggressive advertising campaign since then, and the platform name alone has undoubtedly helped spread its popularity and allowed it to gain recognition.
Like BNB and other exchange tokens, Cronos is used for staking, trading fees and the like.
Litecoin
Litecoin is both an old token and an example of how easy it is for tokens to lose out in popularity as new coins with promising backdrops spring up. It was unveiled in 2011, making it almost as old as Bitcoin itself. Formerly a top token, its past performance only gets it so far, as it now sits just barely outside of the top 20 spot.
As the name suggests, Litecoin is intended to be a lighter version of Bitcoin, both in price and transaction speed. It has many similarities to the top token, including the name recognition that has ensured its acceptance as a method of payment globally even as other tokens overtook it in terms of global crypto market cap.
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Crypto Projects to Watch
While not as popular on paper as the 22 listed above, these digital currencies were either part of that list, have the makings of getting on it, or both. Keep these projects on your radar.
Monero
While all crypto assets are meant to offer security and a degree of decentralization, Monero takes it a step further. The privacy-oriented cryptocurrency has been available since 2014, and its founders have stuck to their mission of offering the safest and most private payment method available.
Ethereum Classic
ETC is a classic example of a hard fork, which came about in 2016 as members on the network disagreed over how to handle a breach. These days, Ethereum has moved away from many of its original selling points, including a proof-of-work mining reward mechanism that ETC still provides.
Stellar
Stellar is another hard fork, this time of Ripple, that was launched in 2014. Its underpinnings, such as team and goals, are extremely robust. Like Ripple, it aims to become the default payment network for institutions and nations, and boasts several unique traits such as low and fixed transaction fees.
Decentraland
A project that aims to make the most of the "metaverse," holders of Decentraland's native tokens MANA and LAND can use them to purchase digital real estate and perform many other similar functions. How well Decentraland performs down the line hinges entirely on how popular its virtual world becomes.
