1. Different Types of Cryptocurrencies
What is a Crypto Currency?
A digital payment system known as cryptocurrency doesn't rely on banks to authenticate
transactions. It is a peer-to-peer system that enables anybody, anywhere to make and receive
payments. Cryptocurrency payments only exist as digital entries to an online database
describing specific transactions, not as actual physical money that is carried about and
exchanged in the real world. A public ledger keeps track of all transactions involving bitcoin
funds. In digital wallets, cryptocurrency is kept.
Because it employs encryption to validate transactions, cryptocurrency earned its moniker.
This indicates that sophisticated coding is required for the storage, transmission, and
recording of bitcoin data to public ledgers and between wallets. Security and safety are the
main goals of encryption.
Cryptocurrencies are almost always designed to be free from government manipulation and
control—although, as they have grown more popular, this foundational aspect of the industry
has come under fire.
Coin and Token-:
But first we need to Understand the difference between a token and a coin. You might
regularly hear the words "coin" and "token" spoken when talking about cryptocurrencies.
Despite the fact that they may sound similar, there is a distinction. It's critical to maintain
their accuracy.
A digital coin functions very similarly to traditional currency and is created on its own
blockchain. It can be used as a means of trade between two parties conducting business
together as well as a way to store value. Coins like Bitcoin and Litecoin (LTC 2.66%) are
examples.
2. Why There Are Different types of Cryptocurrencies?
Since the source code for blockchain technology is available to everyone, any software
developer can utilize it to build new things. Just that has been done by developers. At the
time of this writing, there are reportedly more than 10,000 different cryptocurrencies in use,
and the number keeps rising. For comparison, just four years ago there were more over 1,000
cryptocurrencies.
The relative simplicity with which new cryptocurrencies can be minted is one of the factors
contributing to the growth. One can create another using the source code of another. For
instance, you might be able to produce your own unique digital currency using the Ethereum
network. There are occasionally "forks" in the software code that alter the regulations
governing a cryptocurrency, which can result in the formation of a new cryptocurrency. In
2017, a Bitcoin fork that permitted more transactions to be recorded on a single block of the
blockchain led to the creation of Bitcoin Cash (BCH 3.31%).
Many developers have tried to get a piece of the action as a result of rising cryptocurrency
prices. Additionally, blockchain technology has applications that go beyond cryptocurrencies.
The technology's decentralized nature and the technology's large range of potential
applications in the software industry are the two factors that account for the proliferation of
cryptos, even though some of them may be short-lived bubbles.
Different Types of Cryptocurrencies-:
Bitcoin $749 billion
Ethereum $313 billion
Tether $79.5 billion
Binance Coin $62.6 billion
USD Coin $53.2 billion
XRP $34.4 billion
Terra $32.9 billion
Solana $28.5 billion
Cardano $28.4 billion
Avalanche $20.6 billion
3. Bitcoin-
A cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin (BTC), eliminates the need for third parties to be involved in
financial transactions by acting as money and a means of payment independent of any one
person, group, or entity. It is available for purchase on numerous platforms and is given to
blockchain miners as compensation for their efforts in verifying transactions. By utilizing the
alias Satoshi Nakamoto, an unidentified developer or group of developers presented Bitcoin
to the general public in 2009.
Since then, it has grown to be the most well-known cryptocurrency worldwide. Numerous
additional cryptocurrencies have been developed as a result of its popularity. These rivals
either try to displace it as a means of payment or they serve as utility or security tokens in
other blockchains and developing financial systems.
Ethereum-
With an initial supply of 72 million Ether (the site's currency, or fuel), Russian-Canadian programmer
Vitalik Buterin founded Ethereum in 2015 as an open-source, blockchain-based, decentralized
computing platform. It incorporates several important differences while building on Bitcoin's
invention. While both allow you to send money digitally to banks and other payment partners,
Ethereum is programmable and functions as an unrestricted market for financial services, gaming,
and other apps. Let's examine its factors for growth and how it will affect our "digital future."
4. If you're unsure of Ethereum's potential in, say, 5–10 years, you may draw a straight
comparison to Linux in the early days of the internet. The Ethereum Virtual Machine, or EVM,
is the Ethereum network's equivalent of Linux, which powers Google and Facebook's servers.
Ethereum can be compared to Linux for blockchain-based applications since it provides a
wide range of use cases and potential.
Tether-
Tether (USDT) is a stablecoin that is backed "100% by Tether's reserves," according to its
website, and is pegged to the U.S. dollar. The Hong Kong-registered corporation iFinex, which
also operates the cryptocurrency exchange BitFinex, is the owner of Tether. When Tether first
debuted in July 2014 as RealCoin, it underwent a rebranding in November of the same year.
Tether, which was first built on the Bitcoin blockchain, now supports the Ethereum, TRON,
EOS, Algorand, Solana, and Bitcoin Cash (SLP) blockchains in addition to the Bitcoin Omni and
Liquid protocols.
Tether is a stablecoin, a rapidly expanding class of cryptocurrencies that strive to maintain the
value of its tokens by most frequently pegged to the value of a conventional currency, such as
the U.S. dollar. Tether also offers tokens tied to the euro, the offshore Chinese yuan, the
Mexican peso, and gold, although none of them have a market valuation greater than a tiny
portion of its USDT tokens, which are pegged to the U.S. dollar.
5. Binance Coin-
The cryptocurrency known as Binance Coin, which trades under the sign BNB, is a product of
the Binance exchange. With a $6.7 billion trading volume as of August 2023, Binance
Exchange is the biggest cryptocurrency exchange globally.
Initially using the ERC 20 standard on the Ethereum blockchain, Binance token has since
evolved into the native token of the Binance chain. It was released in July 2017 as part of an
initial coin offering (ICO) and has a strict cap of 200 million BNB tokens. It offered 20% of its
BNB tokens, or 20 million, to angel investors, 40% of its tokens, or 80 million, to the founding
team, and the remaining 50%, or 100 million, to the various ICO participants.
BNB was initially based on the Ethereum network but is now the native currency of Binance's
own blockchain, the Binance chain.
6. USD Coin-
A stablecoin, or cryptocurrency backed by dollars or assets denominated in dollars like U.S.
Treasury securities, is USD Coin (USDC). The reserve assets of USDC are kept with supervised
U.S. financial institutions in segregated accounts.
You might be wondering how USDC keeps the peg to the US currency at 1:1. If you start a
transaction to purchase a single USD Coin with fiat money, the fiat money will be deposited
and stored as one US dollar, and a fresh batch of USDC will be created as a result. When you
exchange a USD Coin for fiat money, the USDC is destroyed (transferred to a wallet without
access credentials) when the fiat money is refunded to your bank account.
The organization Centre, which was co-founded by the financial technology firm Circle and
the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN), manages USD Coin. Center connects every
person, business, financial service, and currency on the planet in an effort to transform the
world's financial landscape.
7. XRP-
The firm that created XRP is Known as Ripple, and it operates a global currency exchange
network and payment settlement system. Utilizing its own money, XRP, Ripple is a blockchain-
based digital payment network and protocol. Similar to the SWIFT system for international
money and security transfers used by banks and financial intermediaries trading across
currencies, Ripple's major focus is as a payment settlement asset exchange and remittance
system.
Ripple runs on a peer-to-peer, open-source, decentralized infrastructure that makes it simple
to transfer money in any currency, including dollars, yen, euros, and cryptocurrencies. Major
financial services companies and banks are among the clients of this global payments
network. With the use of XRP, rapid currency conversions are made possible.
Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb, who co-founded Ripple, originally introduced it in 2012.
Terra-
Terra is an open-source blockchain payment platform for an algorithmic stablecoin, which are
cryptocurrencies that automatically track the price of currencies or other assets. Terra
stablecoins can be instantaneously spent, saved, traded, or exchanged thanks to the Terra
blockchain.
The Terra protocol develops stablecoins intended to faithfully mirror the value of a fiat
currency (a currency backed by the government, such as the U.S. dollar or the euro). There
are two cryptocurrency tokens in it- Terra and Luna. By guaranteeing that the supply and
demand for the stablecoin are consistently balanced, the Terra protocol keeps the price of the
8. Terra stablecoin constant. In order to accomplish this, Luna is used as the unstable
counterweight to the Terra stablecoin.
Solana-
A blockchain platform called Solana is intended to run scalable, decentralized apps. It was
established in 2017 and is an open-source project that is currently managed by the Geneva-
based Solana Foundation. San Francisco-based Solana Labs developed the blockchain.
Compared to competing blockchains like Ethereum, Solana processes transactions
substantially faster and charges significantly lower transaction fees. The Solana (SOLUSD)
cryptocurrency, which uses the ticker symbol SOL, and runs on the Solana blockchain saw an
almost 12,000% increase in 2021. At one point, it had a market valuation of over $66 billion,
ranking it as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency at the time.
Cardano-
A decentralized proof of stake (PoS) blockchain called Cardano (ADA) was created as a more
effective substitute for proof of work (PoW) networks.
In honor of Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (1815–1852), widely regarded as the first
computer programmer, Cardano's cryptocurrency is called Ada. The blockchain's PoS
consensus algorithm uses Ada. It is awarded to users who take part in a stake pool as
compensation for their contributions to the blockchain.
Between Cardano and Bitcoin, there are a number of significant distinctions. Peer-to-peer
payments are the main goal of the Bitcoin system. With the help of the Cardano ecosystem,
other programmers can build tokens, decentralized applications (dApps), and other
applications for a scalable blockchain network.
9. Avalanche-
Avalanche (AVAX) is a cryptocurrency and blockchain platform that rivals Ethereum. The
Avalanche blockchain uses smart contracts, like Ethereum does, to support a number of
blockchain applications, and AVAX is its native coin.
The Avalanche blockchain can offer almost immediate transaction completion. The Avalanche
network is protected by AVAX, which also serves as a fundamental unit of account among the
blockchains in the system. The Avalanche blockchain reportedly can process 4,500
transactions per second.1 Launched in 2020, Avalanche aims to be fast, versatile, secure,
affordable, and accessible. Avalanche. In addition, Avalanche is an open-source project,
meaning anyone can view and contribute to the platform's code.