The most popular cryptocurrencies

When choosing investment options, many analysts recommend paying attention to the most popular cryptocurrencies. They set trends for the entire industry and are supported by the community to stay afloat even in the face of a global collapse of financial markets.

Over 7,000 different cryptocurrencies are on the cryptocurrency market, and the digital economy is still actively developing today. At any time, a new digital coin may be released that can break into the ranks of the most famous coins. Let’s look at the main cryptocurrencies of 2021, which are already in demand by traders and investors on the cryptocurrency exchanges.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin (BTC) is still the main and most popular cryptocurrency. When a person who is not familiar with cryptocurrency trading hears the word cryptocurrency, the first thing that comes to their mind is Bitcoin. Everyone already knows about Bitcoin, even those who have never been interested in new technologies.

• The coin was created in 2009 by an unknown developer hiding under the nickname Satoshi Nakamoto. The creation of Bitcoin prompted the emergence of new cryptocurrencies and such a rapid development of the entire industry. This gives it worldwide recognition and fame that other coins do not have.
• Bitcoin is also called digital gold. There are over 18 million coins in circulation today, and their value is higher than any other cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has a market capitalization of over $320 billion, accounting for 65% of the total market capitalization.
• At the moment, bitcoins are the most popular decentralized money. You can pay with BTC coins in many online stores and offline points of sale. BTC is also a key asset in the cryptocurrency market. It sets the trends for the entire industry; the value of other coins always follows the BTC, as if it acts as an indicator of trust in the entire market.
• Bitcoin is actively developing with the support of a community of leading developers. Bitcoin’s opportunities and popularity of the coin are increasing every day.

Ethereum

Cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH) is a coin of the eponymous decentralized platform for creating applications on the blockchain. Using smart contracts, Ethereum developers can easily run decentralized applications (DApps) and native cryptocurrencies. The launch of the platform in 2014 was a real breakthrough in the industry, which allowed it to develop so rapidly.

And if Bitcoin is often compared to gold, then Ethereum can be called a digital analog of oil since the coin is necessary for the platform to work. ETH is used by:

• Developers when they want to create their project.
• Investors who are looking to buy coins running on the platform.
• Traders who make money on the difference in the exchange rate.

So far, Ethereum’s trading volume is almost half that of BTC, but the platform’s potential is high and constantly attracts new investors.

Litecoin

Litecoin belongs to the group of altcoins and is actively used as a payment instrument and an exchange for Bitcoin and ordinary money. Unlike Bitcoin, blocks in the Litecoin network are created faster, which means that transactions take much less time.

The founder of the project was Charlie Lee, who is still one of the main developers. Initially, the cryptocurrency was conceived as an analog of Bitcoin, a kind of reserve currency. In 2011, its main code was developed, repeating the MTC code, only with a higher capacity, and in 2013 the project received world recognition, taking 2nd place in terms of capitalization.

Differences between Litecoin and Bitcoin:

• The number of Litecoin coins is 84 million, of which more than 56 million have been mined. (The BTC issue is limited to 21 million coins, of which 17 million have already been mined.)
• The calculation generation speed is four times higher. Generation of 6 blocks is carried out in 15 minutes.
• Litecoin has double-spending protection. The peer-to-peer network eliminates the interference of any third parties.

Litecoin and Bitcoin are very similar. LTC developers had one goal- to increase the speed of transactions. And in part, they succeeded, but they did not succeed in breaking the glory of the military-technical cooperation. There are two reasons for this:

• Bitcoin is familiar to investors and has legislative support in some countries. And while the idea of ​​Litecoin seems promising, crypto traders have opted for an already proven asset.
• Bitcoin does not have a founder. A development team works on it, and the network itself is completely decentralized. On the other hand, Charlie Lee created Litecoin single-handedly and had a significant stake until the end of 2017. This dependence partly frightened off investors, who feared artificial influence on quotations.

Along with Bitcoin, the Litecoin is accepted for payment by many sellers, is represented on all cryptocurrency exchanges and actively used for private transactions.

Ripple (XRP)

Ripple ranks fourth in the ranking in terms of capitalization, while the token price does not exceed $0.5. Unlike many other coins, Ripple is not a Bitcoin altcoin designed to create decentralized money. The Ripple network has a different mission- to provide users with free cryptocurrency trading and asset exchange with instant transactions. The developers strive to create and develop a payment network on the blockchain, which banks and other financial structures could use.

Ripple’s network protocol allows you to:

• Make interbank payments similar to the infamous SWIFT system with instant speed.
• At the same time, reduce transaction costs by 40-70%.

And the functionality of the cryptocurrency is not limited to this. In theory, the web could create a global internet marketplace with instant exchange.

Tether

Tether (USDT) has recently been included in the list of the most popular cryptocurrencies. The coin belongs to the category of stablecoins, the rate of which is backed by more stable assets. The US dollar backs tether at a 1:1 ratio. Thanks to this, the coin is devoid of volatility, which is more convenient for settlements and transactions.

Tether solves one of the main problems of cryptocurrencies related to high volatility, which prevents their widespread use. The cryptocurrency is built based on the Omni Layer protocol, in which users can exchange their USD for USDT and then make a reverse exchange for dollars.

Using Tether is beneficial for both individual traders and exchanges.

• Each token is tied to a specific fiat currency, so its value always remains the same. The stability of the value is ensured by a 1:1 ratio; that is, 1 USDT will always equal 1 USD.
• If you have any doubts about the reliability of your fiat reserve, don’t worry. Tether publishes daily reports, and you can ensure that all USDT in circulation meets the reserve.
• Blockchain technology ensures the security of use. Tether is based on open blockchain and other similar technologies, and thanks to this, it can use the opportunities that make the blockchain safe and transparent.

How can these features of Tether be used at different levels of cryptocurrency trading? Exchanges, individuals, and providers can all enjoy the benefits of Tether.

Dogecoin

Unlike Bitcoin, Dogecoin’s creator is known by his name Jackson Palmer. He came up with his cryptocurrency in 2013. The reason was the first boom of interest around bitcoin and the formation of the first crypto investors. Palmer decided to joke and created his cryptocurrency to show everyone that investing a lot of money in this unstable direction is absurd.

• The name and image of the currency are also a joke. The cryptocurrency is named after the doge meme of the Shiba Inu breed.
• The official announcement of the new cryptocurrency took place on December 8, 2013. As it turned out over time, Dogecoin’s capitalization began to grow to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Despite the initial idea, the new cryptocurrency gained life and began to grow in value. In December 2020, the Dogecoin rate was $0.00025 per coin, and a month later- already $0.0023, an increase of 10 times in just a month. Growth has slowed over time, and cryptocurrencies have become as volatile as others. Nevertheless, the comic project’s capitalization for a long time was about $400 million until the bill went into billions.

The first major jump in the value of cryptocurrency happened along with the entire market; at the beginning of 2018, one Dogecoin was worth $0.0183, dropping another zero. Since its inception, the cryptocurrency has risen in price by more than 7000%, has been traded on all popular exchanges, and is consistently included in the list of the most popular cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin Cash is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency system that aims to become a reliable global alternative to regular money. The cryptocurrency appeared as a result of a hard fork of the Bitcoin network.

The success of VSN is primarily due to the popularity of military-technical cooperation because there have been no cardinal changes in the network, not counting the volume of blocks. It was treated with caution in the early days of the fork, but both exchanges and pools added the Bitcoin Cash cryptocurrency after a while.

Benefits of Bitcoin Cash:

• Finding a new block takes a little less time than searching for a block at the BTC. Considering that while its price is much lower than BTC, it turns out to be more profitable.
• Higher transaction speed and relatively lower fees.
• There is protection against replay and data erasure.
• There is support for many versions of its software.

The increased block size of Bitcoin Cash allows the network to process transactions faster while keeping fees low. Having solved the problems of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash quickly gained popularity among users, and today it is in the TOP-10 coins in terms of capitalization, as it is actively used for payments.

What factors influence the popularity of cryptocurrency?

The total volume of the cryptocurrency market exceeds $500 billion. At the same time, most of the market volume is made up of the main cryptocurrencies included in the TOP-10 coins in terms of popularity. What makes these coins different from others?

• By far, the decisive factor that influences the popularity of cryptocurrency is investor confidence. The thing is that the value of a coin, its relevance, plus the possibility of using it directly depends on the level of its acceptance in society. For many years, Bitcoin has remained the most popular cryptocurrency globally, and all because it is trusted and known, people go to invest in it.
• The second important point is functionality. Many of the most popular cryptocurrencies are behind projects that solve global problems of society and the economy. For example, Bitcoin is the main alternative to paper money. It allows users to make settlements outside the banking system, remain confidential, and be the sole owners of their money. Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and many other popular cryptocurrencies also provide similar useful functions.
• Limited supply also plays a role. For example, the issue of BTC coins is limited to 21 million coins, and most of them are already in circulation; this makes the BTC look like an antique or an exclusive collector’s edition that millions want to get their hands on.
• The popularity of cryptocurrency is also influenced by the level of trust on the part of global regulators. If the project is approved by the authorities and adopted by large banks and companies, it attracts more interest from the media and the crypto community.

Many projects for cryptocurrency trading seek to solve global economic problems, facilitate transactions, and create a more open and transparent financial market. The cryptocurrency industry is still under active development. In the future, the current leaders in terms of trading volume on exchanges may well be ousted by new promising projects.