Bitcoin (BTC)
- Price: $68,515
- Market cap: $1.3 trillion
As the harbinger of the cryptocurrency era,
Bitcoin is still the coin people generally reference when they talk about digital currency. Its mysterious creator — allegedly Satoshi Nakamoto — debuted the currency in 2009 and it’s been on a roller-coaster ride since then. However, it wasn’t until 2017 that the cryptocurrency broke into popular consciousness.
2. Ethereum (ETH)
- Price: $4,850
- Market cap: $574 billion
Ethereum — the name for the cryptocurrency platform — is the second name you’re most likely to recognize in the crypto space. The system allows you to use ether (the currency) to perform a number of functions, but the
smart contract aspect of Ethereum helps make it a popular currency.
3. Binance Coin (BNB)
- Price: $650.69
- Market cap: $109 billion
Binance Coin is the cryptocurrency issued by Binance, among the largest crypto exchanges in the world. While originally created as a token to pay for discounted trades, Binance Coin can now be used for payments as well as purchasing various goods and services.
4. Cardano (ADA)
- Price: $2.26
- Market cap: $75 billion
Cardano is the cryptocurrency platform behind ada, the name of the currency. Created by the co-founder of Ethereum, Cardano also uses smart contracts, enabling identity management.
5. Solana (SOL)
- Price: $245.71
- Market cap: $74 billion
Launched in March 2020,
Solana is a newer cryptocurrency and it touts its speed at completing transactions and the overall robustness of its “web-scale” platform. The issuance of the currency, called SOL, is capped at 480 million coins.