The number of cryptocurrencies continues to grow every day. Since the success of the first coin, Bitcoin, developed by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, thousands of developers have begun to leverage blockchain technology to design thousands of cryptocurrencies that have different purposes. The most important utility is using BTC as a means of payment by converting BTC to EUR; many crypto investors focus on this utility since it builds trust between buyers and sellers.
As of June 2022, there are around 19,800 cryptocurrencies in the world. At the time of writing, there are 19,828 cryptocurrencies listed on Coinmarketcap. It is a stunning upswing in contrast with the number a few years back, like in 2013, when there were only about 50 coins in the crypto market.
How many Cryptocurrencies are Scams
The unstable nature of cryptocurrency has led to the demise of 2,416 coins, according to Coinopsy. These coins were scams, joke coins, abandoned, or hacked coins, while others couldn’t endure the fickle market. Many do not live past a year.
One significant controversial case is the death of quadrigaCX in 2019, following the demise of its developer, Gerald Cotten. After his demise, 169 million Canadian dollars disappeared, and clients lost all their investments. It led to findings of the questionable dealings of the pioneer, prompting many conspiracy theories, as certain people believe that Gerald Cotten is not dead. Still, he faked his passing and stowed away with clients’ money.
Regardless of the scams in cryptocurrency, people still trade it; some traders have gone full into crypto as their day job and get their profit off the market by selling their BTC to EUR to maximize their gains. It’s beginning to be acknowledged by large companies building the force for mass adoption.
Some have attained more prevalence among the long list of cryptocurrencies accessible than others. These are less unstable coins or have lasted for years, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Some others are stable coins like Tether, Binance USD, etc., insured by fiat currencies, commodities like gold, or other cryptocurrencies, especially Ethereum. Below is a list of top-ranking cryptocurrencies according to Coinmarketcap.
WHAT ARE THE TOP TEN RANKING CRYPTOCURRENCIES?
- BITCOIN: Bitcoin was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. It operates on the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism. Platforms allow you to convert BTC to EUR with low fees and fast transaction speed. Being the initial cryptocurrency, Bitcoin tops the chart.
- ETHEREUM: Bitcoin is trailed by Ethereum, conceived by Vitalik Buterin and other co-founders in 2015. It is a fork of Ethereum Classic and enables smart contracts on decentralized applications. Ethereum is a highly versatile currency that currently uses the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism but plans to switch to Proof-of-Stake.
- TETHER (USD): Tether is a stable coin (stable coins are modeled to sustain a stable market value) that is backed up to US dollars and is insured by Tether hoards. Tether was introduced in 2014 by Ifinex, a Hong Kong company.
- USDC: The US dollar coin is a stable coin that was introduced in 2018. It is governed by a consortium called Center, formed by Circle, which incorporates members from Coinbase and Bitcoin Mining Company (Bitmain).
- BNB: Binance Coin is digital money distributed by Binance Exchange. It is a native currency of the Binance chain introduced in 2017 and can be obtained to make purchases on the Binance Exchange.
- ADA CARDANO: Cardano is a blockchain platform that operates on the proof-of-stake mechanism. Ouroboros, the first peer-reviewed blockchain protocol, enables the Cardano network. It was introduced in 2017 and is a smart contract forum. Its native currency is called ADA.
- BUSD: The Binance USD is a stable coin introduced in 2019 and supported by the U.S. dollar. The Binance USD was initiated in partnership between Paxos and Binance. BUSD runs on three blockchains: Ethereum, Binance chain, and Binance smart chain.
- XRP: XRP was launched in 2012 by Ripple. It is a currency for product development and is a global payment network. It is pre-mined and has a less intricate mining technique.
- SOLANA: Solana was introduced in 2020 by Anatoly Yakovenko. It embraces new technologies like the proof-of-history mechanism. Solana’s strength lies in its speed. Like Ethereum, it enables the performance of decentralized apps. Solana’s native currency is SOL.
- DOGECOIN: Dogecoin was introduced in 2013 by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. It began as a joke that blended Bitcoin and the doge picture, which featured the Shiba Inu (Japanese canine) in 2013 to shape dogecoin. They included the picture of the Shiba Inu as its logo.
CONCLUSION
The cryptocurrency market is saturated with thousands of digital currencies. You must decide what to purchase or use based on its function and reliability. Buying a scam coin could destroy your capital, do your research and invest in the best ones with proven utility and a trusted developer. When you’re in profit, take some off, convert your BTC to EUR, and enjoy yourself.