Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether…10 most valuable cryptocurrencies in the world

Imagine having money stored securely in a digital format. Money that cannot be torn, mutilated, or physically damaged. That’s a cryptocurrency. Some regard it as the currency of the future.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that can be used to buy goods and services, but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to secure online transactions.

The value of a crypto is subject to major changes within a short period of time, depending on supply and demand. Just like a company’s stocks in an exchange, it is governed by the buyers who want to acquire it and the sellers who have it.

According to data obtained from coinmarketcap.com as of the time of filing this report, these are the 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies (based on market capitalisation) in the world:

Bitcoin 

Bitcoin, better known as BTC, is regarded as the first digital coin and is at the top of the cryptocurrency market. A single bitcoin is currently worth over $51,000. It was created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. It is interesting to note that the identity of the founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency is unknown. Nakamoto might be a he or a she or even a group of people.

Ethereum

Ethereum is an open source platform that uses blockchain technology to create and run decentralised applications (dApps) which users employ to buy and sell goods and services directly. One ether (ETH) is currently worth over $1,900. It was co-founded by eight individuals in 2015. 

Tether

Tether, better known as USDT, is quite different from all other digital currencies. It is a stablecoin (stable-value cryptocurrency) that mirrors the price of the U.S. dollar. One USDT is always worth $1. USDT is a safe coin that is protected from the volatility of the crypto market. It was launched in 2014 by Brock Pierce, Reeve Collins and Craig Sellars.

Binance Coin

Binance Coin, commonly referred to as BNB, is a digital coin created and issued by the Binance cryptocurrency exchange in 2017. Although it is popularly used to pay trading fees on the exchange, it also has real world uses. One BNB is currently worth over $190.

Cardano

Cardano is an open source, blockchain platform that is used to send and receive funds. It was launched in 2017 by Charles Hoskinson, who was also one of the co-founders of Ethereum. Its digital currency, which trades as ADA in the market, is presently worth $0.9.

Polkadot

Polkadot is a platform which enables users to build their own blockchain and an ability to connect different blockchains with each other. The virtual currency, known as DOT, is valued at above $31 per coin. It was created by Gavin Wood, who was also a co-founder of Ethereum, Robert Habermeier and Peter Czaban in 2016.

XRP

XRP is an open source currency that is used on RippleNet, a network of institutional payment providers that enables instant monetary transactions across the globe. It is independent and can be used by anyone. It sells at about $0.5 per coin.

Litecoin

The price of a single litecoin (LTC) is a little above $226. Litecoin, according to its website, is a cryptocurrency that enables instant payment to anyone in the world and that can be efficiently mined with consumer- grade hardware. The virtual currency was created by Charlie Lee, a computer scientist, in 2011. In 2017, Lee sold off all of his holdings in the cryptocurrency he founded.

Chainlink

Chainlink (LINK) is a decentralized oracle network that provides real world data to smart contracts on the blockchain. The current price of one LINK coin is above $32. It was developed by Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis in 2017.

Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) originated from a fork of the Bitcoin blockchain in 2017. The aim of the fork is to increase the block size, thereby allowing more transactions to be processed per block. Presently, the value of one BCH is above $697.