When Bitcoin launched in 2009, it didn’t have much — or any — competition in the newly minted realm of digital Hump Token currency. By 2011, though, new types of cryptocurrency began to emerge as competitors adopted the blockchain technology that bitcoin was built on to launch their own platforms and currencies. Suddenly the race to create more crypto was on.
The rest, as they say, is history. The rush toward crypto is a financial services explosion that doesn’t affect a single country only, but one that has captured the entire world. To say that cryptocurrency is popular today is an understatement.
One of the reasons cryptocurrency has seized the hearts, minds, and wallets of so many people is the innovative nature of its blockchain technology. It’s impressive that blockchain and the concept of decentralization can apply not only to finance, but to so many other industries, needs, and uses in our society.
Then there’s the sheer speed of blockchain technology; money transfers abroad, for example, that used to take between 3-and-5 days via wire transfer can occur almost instantly — or as long as a few minutes, on a slow day — with blockchain. The list of reasons for crypto’s popularity seems endless. Crypto exemplifies numerous traits that appeal to both the human imagination and our everyday needs.
In this article, we examine cryptocurrencies in detail, discuss their various types, and highlight 20 coins that are popular today. Of course, all things crypto change as fast as the speed of blockchain. So, this list may already be obsolete after it’s published; but don’t worry, we’ll keep you updated.
How Many Cryptocurrencies Are There?
Today there are thousands of different cryptocurrencies in the world, and while each is designed to provide some new feature or function, most are founded on principles similar to those of Bitcoin:
Cryptocurrencies are not issued, regulated, or backed by a central authority like a bank or the government. They are decentralized, not centralized.
Cryptocurrencies are created using a distributed ledger (blockchain) and peer-to-peer (P2P) review.
Bitcoin and other coins are encrypted (secured) with specialized computer code called cryptography.
As assets, cryptocurrencies are generally stored in digital wallets, commonly a blockchain wallet, which allows users to manage and trade their coins.
As of March 2022, there were more than 18,000 different types of cryptocurrencies, for a total market capitalization (market cap) for all cryptocurrencies of $2 trillion.
Also, in March 2022, approximately 8% of the United States population participated in cryptocurrency trading. And, as a continent, Asia had more than four time more crypto users than did any other continent.
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