Top 5Cryptocurrencies in the World

Cryptocurrencies have been a topic of intense discussion in recent times. Due to the meteoric rise in the value of cryptocurrencies, there’s been a huge surge in the number of people who are investing in these digital currencies. While some consider cryptocurrencies a revolutionary idea, others feel that it’s just mumbo-jumbo and a way for the creators of these currencies to book heavy profits. Nonetheless, even with wild fluctuations in value and clear warnings by government agencies, people are still coming in droves to buy these cryptocurrencies. If you have an appetite for high-risk, high-returns investment options, here are the top 5 cryptocurrencies you can consider.

Bitcoin: This is the most popular and the largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization. Bitcoin was launched in 2009 as open-source software by a group of anonymous people. The creators of Bitcoin are collectively referred under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin serves both as a cryptocurrency and a digital payment system. It holds the title of being the first decentralized digital currency since it is not controlled by any single central bank or administrator. Bitcoin’s market capitalization is currently US$243.4 billion and a single Bitcoin is valued at US$14.516 thousand.

Ethereum: This cryptocurrency was launched in 2015, as open-source software. Ethereum also utilizes a blockchain-based distributed computing platform that is governed by smart contract (scripting) system. The foundations for Ethereum were laid by Vitalik Buterin, who provided the basic concepts and methodology for this cryptocurrency. Vitalik Buterin is a cryptocurrency researcher and programmer. Ethereum’s market capitalizationis US$97.46 billion and it is being traded at an exchange rate of US$1,003.65.

Ripple: This was launched in 2012, as a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS), currency exchange and remittance network. The original authors of this system are Arthur Britto, David Schwartz, and Ryan Fugger. The Ripple system utilizes native cryptocurrency called XRP (ripples) and is based on a distributed open source Internet protocol. The market capitalization of Ripple is around US$50 billion and its exchange value is US$1.29.

Bitcoin Cash: This was launched in 2017 and it is a variation of the most popular Bitcoin cryptocurrency. It is based on a hard fork version of Bitcoin, wherein the blockchain splits into two distinct chains, independent of each other. The creation of Bitcoin Cash was based on the bitcoin scalability debate that pointed out that the block size limit of the ledger should be increased. Subsequently, the block size limit was increased to eight megabytes to support an increased number of ledger transactions. The market capitalization of Bitcoin Cash is around US$40 billion and it is being traded at an exchange rate of around US$1700.

Cardano: This was launched in 2017 and it is a 3rd generation cryptocurrency. Cardano was created by Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), which is a blockchain development company. IOHK is headed by Charles Hoskinson, former CEO of Ethereum. Cardano utilizes the Recursive InterNetwork Architecture (RINA) for digital currency transactions on its platform. Cardanocurrently has a market capitalization of around US$17 billion and its exchange value is US$0.66.