There are so many different Cryptocurrencies. There is no doubt that cryptocurrencies are the future. There are now restaurant, pubs, ATMs, stores and much much more merchants, that all accept the digital coins as an alternative payment and this is just the “physical” world.
However though, just like with programming languages, anyone out there can create their own cryptocurrency and try to “push it” to the world. The short and summarized answer to the question “Why so many cryptocurrencies” will probably look like this:
Some tried to improve upon Bitcoin (LTC, ETH, etc), others are just for fun (i.e. Dogecoin), and some others are scams, and others are for a good cause (i.e. Gridcoin). Stuff like that, that’s why out of the hundreds of coins, only a few are actually somewhat relevant.
- Improve Bitcoin (LTC,ETH, etc)
- Some have been created just for fun (Dogecoin)
- Some are pure scam
- Some are for good causes (Gridcoin)
- Most of them are clones – meaning that as the source code for all cryptocurrencies is open, you can literally tweak a few variables, put a new name and have your own cryptocurrency within a few hours.
One very interesting question arises from our last bullet point though – as all currencies are open sourced, and creating even a partially hidden code inside will cause your creation to die as no one will use it, you have to ask yourself whether it is worth it or not? Improving a current cryptocurrency, will give the opportunity to the big guys in the industry to easily implement your improvements into their coins. It is always open source -remember?
So even if you are smart enough to come up with something better, you are more or less domed if you take the path of creating your own. In this case maybe you will be better off, joining the team of some of the big names and get appreciated and paid.
Here are the numbers until mid July 2017 and they are growing as we speak:
“There were more than 900 cryptocurrencies available over the internet as of 11 July 2017and growing. New cryptocurrency can be created any time. By market capitalization, Bitcoin is currently the largest blockchain network, followed by Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin.”
ReleaseStatus
Currency
SymbolFounderHash algorithmTimestamping
(POS, POW, or other)Notes 2014 Active Auroracoin AURBaldur Odinsson
(pseudonym)[2]ScryptPOWCreated as an alternative to fiat currency in Iceland.2009 ActiveBitcoin BTC, XBTSatoshi Nakamoto SHA-256d POWThe first decentralized ledger currency. Cryptocurrency with the most famous, popular, notable and highest market capitalization.2016ActiveBitConnectBCCScryptPoW & PoSThe community driven decentralized cryptocurrency that allow people to store and invest their wealth in a non-government controlled currency, and even earn a substantial interest.2014ActiveBlackCoinBCRat4 (pseudonym)ScryptPOSSecures its network through a process called minting.2014ActiveBurstcoinBURSTBurstcoin CommunitySHA-256dProof of CapacityFirst Proof of Capacity coin, First Smart Contract, First Atomic Cross Chain Transfer.2014InactiveCoinyeKOI, COYEScryptPOWUsed American hip hop artist Kanye West as its mascot, abandoned after trademark lawsuit.2014 ActiveDashDASHEvan Duffield &
Kyle HaganX11POW & Proof of Service A bitcoin-based currency featuring instant transactions, decentralized governance and budgeting, and private transactions.2013ActiveDogecoinDOGE, XDGJackson Palmer
& Billy Markus Scrypt POWBased on an internet meme.2014ActiveDigitalNoteXDNXDN-dev team, dNote CryptoNight POWA private cryptocurrency with an instant untraceable crypto messages and first blockchain banking implementation, use CryptoNote protocol.2013 ActiveEmercoinEMCEvgenijM86 & Yitshak DorfmanSHA-256POW & POSTrusted storage for any small data: acts as an alternative, decentralized DNS, PKI store, SSL infrastructure and other.2015ActiveEthereumETHVitalik ButerinEthash POWSupports Turing-complete smart contracts.2015ActiveEthereum Classic ETCEthash POWAn alternative version of Ethereum whose blockchain does not include the DAO Hard-fork.Supports Turing-complete smart contracts.2013 ActiveGridcoin GRCRob Hälford ScryptDecentralized POSThe first cryptocurrency linked to citizen science through the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing 2015Active IOTA IOT, MIOTA…Curl…The first cryptocurrency using the Tangle, a next generation blockchain, as distributed ledger technology.2011ActiveLitecoinLTCCharles LeeScrypt POW The first cryptocurrency to use Scrypt as a hashing algorithm.2014ActiveMazaCoinMZCBTC Oyate InitiativeSHA-256dPOW The underlying software is derived from that of another cryptocurrency, ZetaCoin.2014 ActiveMoneroXMRMonero Core Team CryptoNigh POWPrivacy-centric coin using the CryptoNote protocol with improvements for scalability and decentralization.2011ActiveNamecoinNMCVincent DurhamSHA-256dPOWAl so acts as an alternative, decentralized DNS.2014ActiveNEMXEMUtopianFuture (pseudonym)SHA3-512POIThe first hybrid public/private blockchain solution built from scratch, and first to use the Proof of Importance algorithm using EigenTrust++ reputation system.2014ActiveNxt NXTBCNext
(pseudonym)SHA-256d POSSpecifically designed as a flexible platform to build applications and financial services around its protocol.2013ActiveOmniMSCJ. R. Willett SHA-256dN/AOmni is both digital currency and communications protocol built on top of the existing bitcoin block chain.2012 ActivePeercoinPPCSunny King
(pseudonym)SHA-256d POW & POSThe first cryptocurrency to use POW and POS functions.2014 ActivePotCoin POTScryptPOWDeveloped to service the legalized cannabis industry2013Active PrimecoinXPMSunny King
(pseudonym)1CC/2CC/TWN POWUses the finding of prime chains composed of Cunningham chains and bi-twin chains for proof-of-work, which can lead to useful byproducts.2013 ActiveRippleXRP Chris Larsen &
Jed McCaleb ECDSA”Consensus”Designed for peer to peer debt transfer. Not based on bitcoin.2015ActiveSixEleven SILfflo (pseudonym)SHA-256dPOWAlso acts as an alternative, decentralized DNS.2014ActiveSynereo AMPAMPDor Konforty & Greg MeredithPOS POSTrying to create a world computer, Synereo’s 2.0 tech stack incorporates all faculties needed to support decentralized computation without central servers. 2014Active Titcoin TITEdward Mansfield & Richard AllenSHA-256dPOWThe first cryptocurrency to be nominated for a major adult industry award. 2017ActiveUbiqUBQJulian YapEthashPOWSupports Turing-complete smart contracts; air-gapped fork of Ethereum 2014ActiveVertcoin VTCBushido Lyra2rev2 POWNext-gen ASIC resistance and first to implement stealth adresses.2016ActiveZcashZECZooko WilcoxEquihash POWThe first open, permissionless financial system employing zero-knowledge security.
Having such a huge range of options to choose from could be overwhelming. There is definitely a difference in the value of all cryptocurrencies and here is a table that will give you an idea where you favorite one is standing according to its Market Capitalization:
| # | Name | Market Cap | Price | Circulating Supply | Volume (24h) | % Change (24h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bitcoin | $45,419,542,453 | $2756.08 | 16,479,762 BTC | $616,541,000 | 3.58% |
| 2 | Ethereum | $18,645,234,528 | $199.02 | 93,683,347 ETH | $475,203,000 | 0.63% |
| 3 | Ripple | $6,322,046,646 | $0.164924 | 38,333,090,674 XRP* | $38,660,100 | -0.27% |
| 4 | Litecoin | $2,105,328,676 | $40.29 | 52,248,407 LTC | $60,992,300 | 0.00% |
| 5 | NEM | $1,469,142,000 | $0.163238 | 8,999,999,999 XEM* | $2,308,820 | -0.73% |
| 6 | Dash | $1,320,986,530 | $177.11 | 7,458,692 DASH | $24,779,300 | -0.51% |
| 7 | Ethereum Classic | $1,288,283,973 | $13.69 | 94,073,780 ETC | $32,629,700 | -1.04% |
| 8 | IOTA | $715,095,315 | $0.257272 | 2,779,530,283 MIOTA* | $2,715,370 | -1.72% |
| 9 | Monero | $600,464,039 | $40.40 | 14,864,406 XMR | $11,891,800 | -3.32% |
| 10 | Stratis | $471,015,260 | $4.78 | 98,484,364 STRAT* | $8,050,220 | -1.13% |
| 11 | EOS | $442,679,605 | $1.75 | 253,299,920 EOS* | $25,330,900 | 1.17% |
| 12 | BitConnect | $411,541,581 | $65.25 | 6,307,286 BCC | $2,428,360 | 4.08% |
| 13 | NEO | $362,577,500 | $7.25 | 50,000,000 ANS* | $9,214,480 | 3.12% |
| 14 | Qtum | $324,192,610 | $5.49 | 59,000,000 QTUM* | $2,759,240 | -0.51% |
| 15 | Zcash | $323,779,046 | $174.35 | 1,857,106 ZEC | $11,724,300 | -3.09% |
| 17 | Tether | $319,314,305 | $0.999415 | 319,501,213 USDT* | $46,505,800 | 0.10% |
| 18 | Veritaseum | $296,026,530 | $147.55 | 2,006,279 VERI* | $502,228 | 3.06% |
| 19 | Steem | $289,585,007 | $1.21 | 238,361,188 STEEM | $674,047 | -0.04% |
| 20 | Waves | $281,116,000 | $2.81 | 100,000,000 WAVES* | $1,707,680 | 0.36% |
| 21 | Iconomi | $274,474,755 | $3.16 | 86,900,350 ICN* | $1,161,890 | 5.61% |
| 22 | Siacoin | $223,169,060 | $0.007913 | 28,202,446,305 SC | $2,805,210 | 0.00% |
| 23 | Bytecoin | $218,586,635 | $0.001193 | 183,190,555,502 BCN | $1,015,700 | 1.63% |
| 24 | Gnosis | $200,730,513 | $181.72 | 1,104,590 GNO* | $595,057 | -5.09% |
| 25 | Lisk | $197,890,744 | $1.79 | 110,297,155 LSK* | $1,344,890 | -1.09% |
| 26 | Golem | $192,924,380 | $0.231593 | 833,032,000 GNT* | $1,499,230 | 0.34% |
| 27 | Dogecoin | $185,998,365 | $0.001684 | 110,450,991,378 DOGE | $2,399,110 | -1.23% |
| 28 | Augur | $182,303,000 | $16.57 | 11,000,000 REP* | $916,426 | -6.07% |
| 29 | Status | $176,120,805 | $0.050748 | 3,470,483,788 SNT* | $6,110,150 | 0.01% |
| 30 | Stellar Lumens | $171,355,919 | $0.015858 | 10,805,985,754 XLM* | $3,698,160 | -2.53% |
| 31 | Byteball | $163,680,856 | $447.33 | 365,903 GBYTE* | $944,936 | 1.72% |
| 32 | Factom | $144,404,480 | $16.50 | 8,753,219 FCT* | $1,860,730 | -2.44% |
| 33 | Decred | $143,911,437 | $26.46 | 5,438,337 DCR | $1,165,200 | -5.12% |
| 34 | DigiByte | $141,558,942 | $0.016192 | 8,742,253,657 DGB | $5,338,100 | -1.54% |
| 35 | MaidSafeCoin | $131,400,856 | $0.290355 | 452,552,412 MAID* | $1,721,390 | -5.14% |
| 36 | DigixDAO | $121,845,400 | $60.92 | 2,000,000 DGD* | $217,512 | -0.91% |
| 37 | GameCredits | $119,971,914 | $1.88 | 63,668,208 GAME | $956,353 | -6.25% |
| 38 | OmiseGo | $119,847,273 | $1.22 | 98,312,024 OMG* | $1,410,470 | 0.55% |
| 39 | MCAP | $114,243,166 | $2.18 | 52,288,791 MCAP* | $463,903 | 8.19% |
| 40 | Populous | $105,290,148 | $2.85 | 37,004,027 PPT* | $734,523 | 3.09% |
| 41 | Ardor | $103,388,456 | $0.103492 | 998,999,495 ARDR* | $754,087 | -3.38% |
| 42 | PIVX | $100,925,586 | $1.87 | 53,957,340 PIVX* | $343,946 | 1.74% |
| 43 | Basic Attenti… | $100,627,000 | $0.100627 | 1,000,000,000 BAT* | $935,620 | -3.15% |
| 44 | Nxt | $99,899,199 | $0.099999 | 998,999,983 NXT* | $2,703,550 | 0.27% |
| 45 | TenX | $92,527,610 | $0.884067 | 104,661,310 PAY* | $702,044 | 1.35% |
| 46 | Komodo | $91,479,850 | $0.906230 | 100,945,510 KMD | $191,783 | -1.74% |
| 47 | MobileGo | $82,485,435 | $0.859906 | 95,923,781 MGO* | $271,800 | 6.12% |
| 48 | Bancor | $73,103,311 | $1.79 | 40,772,871 BNT* | $1,245,940 | 2.25% |
| 49 | Metal | $68,195,623 | $3.53 | 19,300,994 MTL* | $1,403,290 | -6.02% |
| 50 | SingularDTV | $61,278,000 | $0.102130 | 600,000,000 SNGLS* | $399,244 | 6.81% |
Sources:https://coinmarketcap.com/ | Wikipedia
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