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In the 10+ years since Bitcoin appeared as the world’s first cryptocurrency, thousands of new types of cryptocurrencies have been launched. While Bitcoin is still the most popular cryptocurrency, there are other valuable cryptocurrencies that can present good investment opportunities.
Since crypto is still a very high-risk investment, investing in one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies on this list is a safer choice than putting your money into newer, less established crypto companies.
In fact, there are many fake cryptocurrencies and many different types of crypto scams out there, so it’s very important to do your research and ensure the crypto product you choose to invest in is legitimate.
What Are the Top 10 Cryptocurrencies?
The cryptocurrency market is still considered the “Wild West” of investing, but there are some well-known cryptocurrency assets that have risen out of the dust and can be treated as legitimate (though volatile) investments.
You can buy any of the most popular cryptocurrency assets via reputable crypto exchanges, though there is always a risk associated with crypto transactions, since they are still unregulated in most countries.
1. Bitcoin (BTC)
As we already mentioned, Bitcoin was the world’s first cryptocurrency, and it is still the most valuable cryptocurrency you can buy.
It’s unclear who exactly created Bitcoin, but it was allegedly a Japanese man named Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin launched in 2009, but it wasn’t until 2017 that the cryptocurrency became a more widely accepted investment.
Due to a surge in Bitcoin’s price in 2017, during which 1 coin of the crypto asset reached a value of about $20,000, the general public became more aware of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a whole. In the years since, Bitcoin and other types of cryptocurrencies have become an increasingly common investment, especially for new, typically younger investors.
- Price: $40,330.90
- Market Cap: $763.848B
2. Ethereum (ETH)
When we talk about the most important cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is a close second to Bitcoin on the list. Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency in the global crypto market and was the first crypto company to launch smart contracts.
Smart contracts are computer programs stored on the blockchain that allow Ethereum to convert traditional contracts into digital parallels. These contracts allow users to conduct secure business transactions using Ethereum, without the need for any intermediaries.
- Price: $3044.74
- Market Cap: $369,506,396,690.32
3. Tether (USDT)
Tether is a type of cryptocurrency that’s known as a “stablecoin.” This means that its price is anchored, in this case at one dollar. In other words, Tether’s value is linked directly to the value of the US dollar.
Tether is essentially just a digital form of the US dollar, which is often used by traders to move money from one crypto asset to another (instead of converting an asset into actual dollars and back into crypto again).
- Price: $1.00
- Market Cap: $82,587,984,162.92
4. Binance Coin (BNB)
Binance coin is a cryptocurrency issued by Binance, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It was originally intended to function as a token that Binance users could use to pay for transaction fees, but it has since evolved into a cryptocurrency that can be used for various payments, including for buying different goods and services.
- Price: $409.87
- Market Cap: $1.99T
5. USD Coin (USDC)
USD Coin is similar to Tether, in that its value is directly tied to the value of the US dollar. The coin is managed by a firm called Centre and is allegedly backed by fully reserved assets (real USD).
- Price: $1.00
- Market Cap: $51B
6. XRP (XRP)
XRP, formerly known as Ripple, is a cryptocurrency that allows users to make cross-border, trust-less digital payments. It can facilitate exchanges for global fiat currencies, other cryptocurrencies, and even commodities, including gold.
XRP is intended to be a digital alternative to the international SWIFT system for banks, allowing global financial institutions to make transactions with each other from any country. Regular users can also use XRP strictly as a crypto investment, as it is another of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world.
- Price: $0.7117
- Market Cap: $33.902B
7. Terra (LUNA)
Terra is a platform that backs stablecoins with real global currencies, such as the USD and the EUR. It helps stabilize these coins and provides support for smart contracts.
Terra issues the LUNA cryptocurrency, which has been another of the best performing cryptocurrencies over the past few years. In 2021, LUNA started off the year trading at just $0.66, and reached an impressive $89 to close out the year. LUNA also plays a vital role in stabilizing the prices of stablecoins in the Terra ecosystem.
- Price: $84.30
- Market Cap: $37B
8. Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is a cryptocurrency platform created by the founders of Ethereum, and ADA is their native cryptocurrency. Like Ethereum, Cardano employs smart contracts to offer users secure crypto transactions.
According to their website, “Cardano is the first blockchain platform to be built through peer-reviewed research, to be secure enough to protect the data of billions, scalable enough to accommodate global systems, and robust enough to support foundational change.”
The ADA crypto asset is a close competitor to Ethereum in terms of technology, and offers investors a much more affordable crypto investment option.
- Price: $0.95
- Market Cap: $32,617,241,619.62
9. Solana (SOL)
Solana is one of the newer cryptocurrencies on this list, as it was just launched in 2020. The company boasts of its rapid transaction speed and web scalability.
Solana’s SOL coin is capped at 480 million coins, and is predicted by some analysts to offer returns of 236% by the end of 2025.
- Price: $108.30
- Market Cap: $35,515,786,652.38
10. Avalanche (AVAX)
Avalanche is another smart contracts-focused blockchain platform, which also aids construction of decentralized apps and custom blockchains. The platform’s native AVAX token allows users to process transactions and can be bought and sold as a crypto investment on crypto exchanges.
- Price: $76.18
- Market Cap: $20.374B
The Most Important Thing To Remember When Investing in Crypto
Regardless of the fact that there are legitimate, valuable cryptocurrencies which can provide you with a good return on your investment, crypto is still a very risky market to invest in.
There are an ever-growing number of crypto scams out there, and you can still fall victim to one of them — even if you only stick to buying the biggest cryptocurrencies from the list above.
If you should find yourself a victim of a crypto scam, such as a crypto wallet scam or a fake cryptocurrency scam, contact Reclaim Expert today to sign up for a free consultation. Our fund recovery specialists have dealt with hundreds of cases just like yours, and we will do everything in their power to get your money back.