Top 10 Cryptocurrencies in the World

1. Bitcoin

Bitcoin is deservedly known as one of the best digital currencies with the highest market capitalization — 196,218,023,343 USD. Some of the reasons why it grew to such a massive extent are: 

• By far, the most accepted crypto — There are over 5,000 businesses and retailers that accept Bitcoin, including Microsoft, Expedia, Mozilla, and Shopify. 
• A strong following of investors – Since it's been around longer than other cryptocurrencies, it receives robust support from investors.
• The original innovator – Many altcoins aim to improve BTC, but the truly unique aspects, like the network effect and decentralization, were first introduced by Bitcoin.

2. Ethereum

Ethereum can also be considered one of the most popular cryptocurrencies (with the market cap being 38,314,928,834 USD). Why so? Below are just three reasons why Ether is growing at such speed:

• Multiple applications – Ethereum's blockchain can be deemed the best network to support any business or program. 
• Backed by Fortune 500 companies – Companies like Intel, Microsoft, JPMorgan, BP, and Thomson Reuters have an ongoing collaboration with the ETH network.  
• Incorporated by financial institutions – Ethereum is the only technology being incorporated by major financial institutions to such a degree.

3. Tether

Tether is an interesting addition to the crypto scene. Currently, it has a 15,618,353679 USD market cap and continues creating some buzz in the industry at least for two reasons: 

• Tied to the USD – The coin’s value is guaranteed to never drop below $1. When you make a payment to the Tether company, it creates a new USDT address for you valued at $1.
• Offers the best of both worlds – Coming from a collaboration of science and academia, USDT is designed to combine the benefits of fiat, cryptocurrencies and withstand market movements. 

Other Popular Cryptocurrencies Included in the Top 10

Next on our top 10 cryptocurrencies, we’ll be looking at seven coins that aren’t as massive as Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Tether, but are still worth your attention. 

4. XRP

Currently, Ripple’s (XRP) market cap is at 11,040,396,212 USD. Why are such cryptocurrencies popular? Here are three reasons: since the field of cryptocurrencies has expanded dramatically over the last decade, we have seen more and more tokens coming out each year. According to CoinMarketCap, there are over 7,000 cryptocurrencies, and the number is only going to get higher.

Obviously, it’s getting increasingly harder to keep track of all forms of crypto. We’ve prepared a list of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to help you navigate this massive market. If you're curious to learn more, keep reading.

Top 3 World Leaders by Market Cap

Let’s get into the top 10 cryptos with a bang – three coins that are dominating the market today. Also, we’ll analyze why they have gained such popularity.

1. Bitcoin

• It’s providing a service – Ripple offers a frictionless experience for instant money transfer anywhere in the world using blockchain technology. 
• A great relationship with banks – XRP is accepted by Axis Bank, Akbank, SBI Remit, and Yes Bank, among others.
• Has major institutional investors – The $200M fundraising initiative, backed by SBI and Route 66 Ventures, is projected to help Ripple climb up.

5. Bitcoin Cash

The next coin that proudly positions itself as one of the top cryptocurrencies is Bitcoin Cash (with a market cap of 4,053,145,711 USD). Here is what makes it a good asset to invest in:

• Increased block size and efficiency – Bitcoin Cash has a maximum block size of 8 MB compared to BTC’s 1 MB, making it better at handling transactions. 
• Lower transaction fee – With an affordable transaction fee, the usage is expected to have an even wider adoption. 
• Replay and wipeout protection – In case this hard fork splits, there is a good, non-disruptive plan in place for the two chains.

6. Chainlink

Already at a 3,047,798,721 USD market cap, Chainlink aims to revolutionize on-chain and off-chain systems. The growing potential of the company is ensured by the following:

• Solves smart contract connectivity issues – Chainlink facilitates data output into the off-chain systems, i.e. the development of externally-aware tamperproof contracts.
• Creates an efficient and reliable market for oracles – The company increases the permeability and compatibility between the different cryptocurrencies. 

7. Crypto.com Coin

Having an impressive market cap at 3,016,907,892 USD, Crypto.com Coin has quickly become a top ten cryptocurrency. Here is what the company behind it offers: 

• Reduced trading fees – Staking CRO on the Crypto.com Exchange comes with some of the best terms.
• VISA-backed payment cards – These operate as legitimate as other prepaid cards, but only with a more crypto-friendly approach.
• Reward system – Cardholders receive MCO tokens with every purchase they make.

8. Litecoin

Litecoin has experienced fluctuating public interest over the years. Currently, it shows a 2,989,277,358 USD market cap and offers some interesting benefits:  

• Interoperability – Litecoin can be traded without an exchange due to the Atomic swap technology. 
• Faster block generation – Every 2.5 minutes, a block is mined, and 12.5 coins are generated, which is a great reward for mining efforts.
• More accessible for users – A comparatively new algorithm known as Scrypt doesn’t require custom hardware solutions. 

9. Bitcoin SV

Standing at 2,930,724 306 USD, Bitcoin SV is another BTC fork. Only this time, it was aimed to scale the Bitcoin blockchain even further by increasing the block size to an eventual 32 MB. Other things to note include:

• It facilitates larger transactions – Due to the block size, it raises the limit and contributes to a substantial peer-to-peer electronic cash system.
• Variety of use cases beyond money – The blockchain is already used to record large amounts of weather and climate data. 

10. Cardano

Cardano (with a 2,881,346,935 USD market cap) is different from other popular cryptocurrencies in a way that it follows a set of principles and philosophies. This makes it quite a unique investment: 

• Cardano deploys interdisciplinary teams, including the early use of InfoSec experts.
• The team develops a decentralized funding mechanism for future work.
• It holds long-term plans to improve the design of cryptocurrencies so they can work on mobile devices.

This concludes our list of coins that you should definitely check out. But at the same time, keep your eyes peeled on new releases as there might be something exciting coming up.