There were only a few crypto assets during the initial days of cryptocurrency. At that time, Bitcoin or BTC did not have the status of an altcoin. Expectedly, the definition of altcoin has undergone Himalayan changes over years.
Today, the world of crypto assets has expanded. These days, a wider variety of tokens and coins are available with use cases. Their use is not restricted to only being a medium of exchange, implying they are not Bitcoin competitors.
Unfortunately, a better definition is still not found and due to this shortcoming, an altcoin is defined as any crypto asset except for Bitcoin.
In this blog post on altcoin market analysis, we will take a quick look at the top 6 altcoins based on market capitalizations. Stablecoins are excluded from our list because these are not considered a speculative investment; rather are designed to maintain stability in price.
Ethereum (ETH)
Market Capital: $389.2 billion
There are 26, 000+ crypto assets, forming nearly $2.5 trillion in total market capitalization. Ethereum (ETH) has a market share of more than $389 billion.
Whereas Bitcoin is considered as a “decentralised currency”, Ethereum is characterised by a distributed computing network, on which users can run decentralised applications (dApps) and store smart contracts by using the blockchain.
Some experts criticise Ethereum for its high transaction fees. However, the big plus of Ethereum is its blockchain supports other altcoins and thousands of apps. Hence, Ethereum is not going anywhere; rather it will rule the market.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Market Capital: $82.5 Billion
Binance Coin, as a utility token, can be used to get discounted trades and pay trading fees on the Binance exchange. You can use BNB outside the Binance crypto exchange for booking travel arrangements and other kinds of payment processing.
According to critics, BNB is not as decentralised as other altcoins. A big risk comes in the form of a reported Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into whether Binance should have registered BNB as a security during its primary days of coin offering.
Solana (SOL)
Market Capital: $79.3 Billion
Solana has been developed to power apps, smart contracts and obviously decentralised finance. Powered by a unique hybrid proof-of-history and proof-of-stake mechanism, Solana processes quick and secure transactions. Solana is considered one of the fastest block chains.
XRP (XRP)
Market Capital: $32.0 Billion
Altcoin market performance shows XRP has gained momentum as a facilitator of different currencies with digital payment processing company Ripple Labs. Though XRP has insanely low transaction fees, critics say this altcoin encounters legal challenges.
Ripple along with two of its executives are engaged in an SEC lawsuit alleging that they should have registered XRP as a security and the company replies XRP is a currency.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Market Capital: $26.3 Billion
In 2013, Dogecoin started as a joke. This is now working as an original meme coin. Fortunately, creative memes and a committed community have contributed to its transformation into a prominent cryptocurrency.
Dogecoin has a wider network from Bitcoin’s proof-of-work protocol. It features a block time of one minute, with total supply not capped. This implies the number of Dogecoin can be mined for unlimited times.
Cardano (ADA)
Market Capital: $20.7 Billion
Cardano adopted a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism in its earlier days. This mechanism accelerates transaction time by eliminating platforms like Bitcoin’s energy-intensive, competitive, problem-solving dynamic character.
The Cardano ‘Alonzo’ hard fork officially came into being on September 12, 2012. Along with it, they also brought smart contract functionality to the blockchain space. An important point is: they deployed more than 100 smart contracts the next day after the launch.
