Some feature amazing underlying block chain technology behind its creation. Some were created ‘just because’, or as a joke. Some were part of an elaborate pyramid scheme. Some are pretty useless to keep as they are perceived as worthless – any cryptocurrency is only as valuable as the value assigned to it by a mass audience.
Like any other assets (think of stocks, or property), its price can rise and fall quickly, making them highly volatile and risky investments.
Here are the top 10 cryptocurrencies and what they are known for.
Bitcoin
The original cryptocurrency and the one that started it all, Bitcoin was created and released in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, an anonymous figure. Bitcoin has the biggest market cap to date around $10billion, overshadowing all other cryptocurrencies in this list, combined.Ether
Ether is the cryptocurrency for Ethereum, a decentralised platform that can execute peer-to-peer ‘smart contacts’. As of September 2016 and as a result of an attack to The DAO, Ethereum was split into 2: Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).Litecoin
Litecoin was released in October 2011 by former Google employee Charles Lee as an alternative to Bitcoin. Overall, Litecoin is similar (and familiar) – it can be mined, used as currency and transacted for goods and services.
It has a market cap of roughly $180 million, a far cry from its highest peak of $1.2 billion back in 2013.
Known for: alternative to Bitcoin, most similar to Bitcoin
- Monero
Bitcoin is frequently mislabeled as an ‘anonymous’ currency (it’s not). Monero, on the other hand, is a cryptocurrency that focuses on privacy – using the ring signature technology, Monero is ‘secure, private and untraceable’.
At fourth place with $138 million in market cap, Monero is mostly used by individuals wishing to remain incognito on the web.
- Ripple
The next on the list, Ripple, is actually a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange and remittance network. The cryptocurrency is called ripples. Released in 2012 and with a current market cap of $243 million, the Ripple system has been integrated into a few banks and payment networks to reduce costs.
Known for: strong focus on banking market, real-time settlement
Dogecoin
Dogecoin was originally made as a ‘joke currency’ but have since garnered a real following. Modeled after the dog in the ‘doge’ memes, the cryptocurrency (released in December 2013 by programmer Billy Markus) is now frequently used to tip users in forums.Dash
Dash (short for ‘digital cash’) is a cryptocurrency with a strong focus on both privacy (using anonymization technology) and speed (of transaction). It was rebranded from Darkcoin as an attempt to stop being associated with the ‘dark web’.
Ranked eighth in the list, it has a market cap of $77 million currently rolling out Dash Evolution, an attempt to make the cryptocurrency more user-friendly.
- MaidSafeCoin
MaidSafeCoin (also known as Safecoin) is the cryptocurrency for the SAFE (Secure Access For Everyone) network, which is a security-centric data platform. Calling themselves a ‘crowd-sourced internet’, you can provide space in your computer in exchange for coins.
A number of decentralized apps now use the SAFE network to store data securely. The market cap for MaidSafeCoin is about $39 million.
- Lisk
Lisk is a crowdfunded cryptocurrency, and a unique one – it brands itself as “the first modular cryptocurrency utilising sidechains“. Unlike other systems on this list (aside from Ethereum), the Lisk system can be used by anyone to make their own decentralized apps (‘dapps’) in the programming language Javascript.
As such, this currency has practical application value and can be used to create many types of ‘dapps’, including social media platform, e-commerce store, and many others. It currently has a market cap of around $25 million.
- Storjcoin X
Storj released Storjcoin X in July 2014. At its core, Storj a decentralized, open-sourced and encrypted cloud data storage which uses Storjcoin tokens to gain access and usage in the Storj network. The market cap as of mid-September is $8 million.