Here are the top 10 cryptocurrencies according to CoinMarketCap as of February 6th 2022:
For the subsequent top alt-coins, see “Top 110 Cryptocurrency Alt Coins“. Got a favorite coin? Leave a comment below.
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange which is currently the largest exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2017 and is registered in the Cayman Islands. Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao, a developer who had previously created high frequency trading software.
The company has launched various cryptocurrencies: Binance Coin (BNB), launched June 2017, and Binance Smart Chain (BSC), launched September 2020. Binance Smart Chain operates using “Proof of Staked Authority”, a combination of proof of stake and proof of authority.
Binance is currently under investigation by both the United States Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service on allegations of money laundering and tax offenses. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ordered Binance to stop all regulated activity in the United Kingdom in June 2021.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency invented in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto and started in 2009 when its implementation was released as open-source software. Bitcoin was the first decentralized cryptocurrency.
Cardano is a public blockchain platform. It is open-source and decentralized, with consensus achieved using proof of stake. It can facilitate peer-to-peer transactions with its internal cryptocurrency, ADA. Cardano was founded in 2015 by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson.
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Amongst cryptocurrencies, Ether is second only to Bitcoin in market capitalization. Ethereum was conceived in 2013 by programmer Vitalik Buterin.
Polkadot is an open source, blockchain-based distributed computing platform that enables the blockchains built on top of it, known as “parachains”, to execute atomic inter-chain transactions between themselves in a trust-minimized way, thereby creating an interconnected internet of blockchains.
The protocol was created by the Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood and is developed by the Web3 Foundation with the initial implementation by Parity Technologies.
Solana is a public blockchain platform. It achieves consensus using proof of stake and proof of history. Its internal cryptocurrency is SOL. Bloomberg considers Solana to be “a potential long-term rival for Ethereum”. Like Ethereum, Solana can run smart contracts.
Terra is a blockchain protocol that uses fiat-pegged stablecoins to power price-stable global payments systems. According to its white paper, Terra combines the price stability and wide adoption of fiat currencies with the censorship-resistance of Bitcoin (BTC) and offers fast and affordable settlements.
Terra’s native token, LUNA, is used to stabilize the price of the protocol’s stablecoins. LUNA holders are also able to submit and vote on governance proposals, giving it the functionality of a governance token.
Tether is a cryptocurrency with tokens issued by Tether Limited, which in turn is controlled by the owners of Bitfinex. Market capitalisation: $73.02 billion
USD Coin (known by its ticker USDC) is a stablecoin that is pegged to the U.S. dollar on a 1:1 basis. Every unit of this cryptocurrency in circulation is backed up by $1 that is held in reserve, in a mix of cash and short-term U.S. Treasury bonds.
USD Coin is managed by a consortium called Centre, which was founded by Circle and includes members from the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and Bitcoin mining company Bitmain, an investor in Circle.
The stablecoin originally launched on a limited basis in September 2018.
XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the ledger for Ripple.
Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange and remittance network created by Ripple Labs Inc., a US-based technology company. Released in 2012, Ripple is built upon a distributed open source protocol, and supports tokens representing fiat currency, cryptocurrency, commodities, or other units of value such as frequent flier miles or mobile minutes.
