How Many Cryptocurrencies Are There?

Between 2021 and 2022, the number of cryptocurrencies has doubled. Right now, there are around 12,000.

But the purpose of many cryptocurrencies is to make money for their developers, which means you need to be selective. Only a small amount of cryptocurrencies are worth learning about and buying.  

You might be wondering, why are there so many different ones?

The answer is simple. There’s no barrier to entering, and anyone can create a cryptocurrency. You can either do it yourself or hire someone and have your cryptocurrency done for less than $20.

At first, there was only Bitcoin. The other cryptocurrencies were called “Altcoins,” and their purpose was to improve the performance of Bitcoin. Right now, cryptocurrencies are created to solve real-world problems using blockchain technology.

If you want to know more about cryptocurrencies or know the ones with more significant impact, keep reading.

Bitcoin

It was launched in 2009, making it the first cryptocurrency. It was created to be a decentralized digital currency.

Ethereum

It was the first cryptocurrency with a programmable blockchain, allowing developers to create their cryptocurrency tokens and decentralized apps. This allowed decentralized finance platforms to offer “traditional” financial services.

Tether

The largest stablecoin. This kind of crypto follows the value of another asset (in this case, the U.S. dollar), so it usually has a value of $1.

Cardano

Created by one of the co-founders of Ethereum, it is a research-based cryptocurrency. It makes financial services and identity records accessible to anyone.

Binance Coin

It gained popularity for its cheaper transaction fees.

XRP

It is a native cryptocurrency for Ripple, and its protocol allows fast and low-cost transactions.

Polkadot

It was designed to allow different blockchains to communicate and work.

Solana

It allows ultra-fast and cheap transaction processing.

Dogecoin

The first coin is based on the Doge meme. It has neither a competitive advantage nor specific use, but it has become one of the most popular.

Monero

It intends to provide total privacy through untraceable transactions as a donation-based cryptocurrency.