What is Market Cap & Top 10 Cryptocurrencies to look at (Part 2)
The market price of a cryptocurrency is just but one small factor to determine the success of a coin, but Market Capitalization is by far the most popular indicator of the success of a coin.
For a cryptocurrency, market capitalization (or market cap) is the total value of all the coins that have been mined. It’s calculated by multiplying the number of coins in circulation by the current market price of a single coin.
So, what is the point of ranking by market cap? What are we learning from this metric? It shows us how much risk we are dealing with when we choose to invest in a cryptocurrency.
Here are the top 10 (part 2) cryptocurrencies ranked by Market Cap.
(Data current as of 1 May 2021)
#6. Cardano (ADA)
Market Cap : $43.4 Billion
Cardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform: the first to be founded on peer-reviewed research and developed through evidence-based methods. It combines pioneering technologies to provide unparalleled security and sustainability to decentralized applications, systems, and societies.
With a leading team of engineers, Cardano exists to redistribute power from unaccountable structures to the margins — to individuals — and be an enabling force for positive change and progress.
TL;DR : 3rd Generation Cryptocurrency that undergoes peer-review process by scientists and programmers in academia.
#7. Dogecoin (Doge)*
Market Cap : $43.1 Billion
Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency based on the popular “Doge” Internet meme and features a Shiba Inu on its logo. Dogecoin is a Litecoin fork. Introduced as a “joke currency” on 6 December 2013, Dogecoin quickly developed its own online community and reached a capitalization of US$60 million in January 2014. Compared with other cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin had a fast initial coin production schedule: 100 billion coins were in circulation by mid-2015, with an additional 5.256 billion coins every year thereafter. As of 30 June 2015, the 100 billionth Dogecoin had been mined.
*Even though Dogecoin has the 7th largest market cap, Dogecoin at this moment still largely remains a coin with no utility and is a highly speculative asset. We personally prefer projects or coins that bring actual value to the world of blockchain.
TL;DR : Store of Value / Meme Coin
#8. Polkadot (DOT)
Market Cap : $36.7 Billion
Polkadot is a platform that allows diverse blockchains to transfer messages, including value, in a trust-free fashion; sharing their unique features while pooling their security. In brief, Polkadot is a scalable heterogeneous multi-chain technology.
Polkadot is heterogeneous because it is entirely flexible and makes no assumption about the nature or structure of the chains in the network. Even non-blockchain systems or data structures can become parachains if they fulfill a set of criteria.
TL;DR : New Internet of Blockchain that simplifies cross-chain communication and interoperability
#9. Uniswap (UNI)*
Market Cap : $21.09 Billion
UNI is the governance token for Uniswap. UNI was introduced on 16th September 2020 through a retrospective airdrop to users who have interacted with the protocol either by swapping tokens or by providing liquidity. The UNI token allows token holders to participate in the governance of the protocol. Key decisions such as usage of the treasury or future upgrades can be decided through a governance vote.
Uniswap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that makes it easy for users to swap an ERC-20 token for another ERC-20 token without the need of a centralized intermediary. With a DEX, traders do not have to deposit their tokens on an exchange and be exposed to the security risks of a centralized exchange.
Users just need an Ethereum wallet like Metamask and they can immediately start swapping tokens. Users can then swap tokens directly without the need of an orderbook. This works using an Automated Market Maker (AMM) where Liquidity Providers (LP) deposit tokens into the smart contract and this liquidity then provides a price quote to traders without relying on any professional market makers. Liquidity Providers are compensated with a 0.3% trading fee for providing liquidity on the protocol.
IFOSwap is similar to Uniswap, a DEX that works using an AMM for users to provide liquidity and earn interest on their idle coins. However IFOSwap is developed on Binance Smart Chain and uses BEP20 Token Standard.
TL;DR : Decentralized Exchange (DEX) for users to exchange tokens on the Ethereum Network
#10. Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Market Cap : $19.05 Billion
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a form of cryptocurrency much like Bitcoin. In fact, Bitcoin Cash was a fork of Bitcoin as a result of a chain split when a certain group of Bitcoin developers became dissatisfied with Bitcoin’s overall scalability direction.
To sum it up simply, the Bitcoin Cash developers were originally dissatisfied with the decisions made in regards to Bitcoin’s development. Specifically, they were dissatisfied over the implementation of Segregated Witness (SegWit). The Bitcoin Cash developers believe that SegWit is a compromise to the decentralization of the Bitcoin network. They believed that the network could have increased its block size instead in order to allow Bitcoin to grow as a currency. Together, this group formed a plan to split from the Bitcoin blockchain and created Bitcoin Cash with a larger block capacity limit of 8 MB. Bitcoin went ahead with their plan to implement SegWit but the newly forked Bitcoin Cash did not implement SegWit. On 15 May 2018, the Bitcoin Cash block size limit was subsequently increased from 8 MB to 32 MB.
TL;DR : Payment System
*Honorary Mentions*
PancakeSwap (CAKE)
Market Cap : $6.65 Billion
CAKE is the governance token for PancakeSwap.
The supply of CAKE is not hard-capped. Theoretically, CAKE’s supply is unlimited. The team is looking into conducting regular token burns to make deflation higher than emission. For example, the team will burn 10% of the CAKE collected on lottery tickets and burn half of the fund raised through Initial Farm Offerings (IFO).Binance USD (BUSD)
PancakeSwap is a Decentralized Exchange (DEX) built on top of Binance Smart Chain (BSC). It is the biggest Automated Market Maker (AMM) based exchange in BSC.
Binance Smart Chain has much lower transaction fees than Ethereum.
IFOSwap is inspired by PancakeSwap, but focused on IFOs and creating a safer Defi space for both investors and entrepreneurs.
TL;DR : Decentralized Exchange (DEX) for users to exchange tokens on Binance Smart Chain
Binance USD (BUSD)
Market Cap : $7.43 Billion
Binance USD (BUSD) is a stable coin pegged to USD that has received approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). BUSD will be available for direct purchase and redemption at a rate of 1 BUSD = 1 USD.
