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The definition of an altcoin has evolved since the early days of cryptocurrency, when only a handful of crypto assets existed. Back then, anything but Bitcoin (BTC) was considered to be an altcoin.
Today the world of crypto assets is much broader. There is a wide variety of coins and tokens with use cases that go well beyond a medium of exchange, meaning they aren’t necessarily Bitcoin competitors.
Still, for lack of a better designation at the moment, the basic definition of an altcoin is any crypto asset other than Bitcoin.
Here’s a look at the top 10 altcoins by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins. We’ve excluded stablecoins since they are designed to maintain a stable price and are not typically considered to be a speculative investment.
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1. Ethereum (ETH)
Of the $1 trillion that represents the total market capitalization of the more than 20,000 crypto assets available today, around $200 billion is held in Ethereum, the biggest altcoin on the market.
Unlike Bitcoin, which is characterized as a “decentralized currency,” think of Ethereum as a distributed computing network where users can use the blockchain to run decentralized applications (dApps) and host smart contracts.
“BTC is a store of value while ETH is a decentralized playground for builders to determine the future in the technological innovations of blockchain technology,” says Walker Holmes, vice president of metaverse platform MetaTope.
Critics of Ethereum point to high fees for conducting transactions. But with the thousands of apps and other altcoins powered by its blockchain, Ethereum is here to stay.
2. Binance Coin (BNB)
- Market cap: $48.8 billion
Binance Coin is a utility token that can be used to pay trading fees and get discounted trades on the Binance exchange. You can even use BNB outside the Binance crypto exchange for payment processing, such as booking travel arrangements.
Critics say BNB isn’t as decentralized as other altcoins. Another risk is a reported Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into whether Binance should have registered BNB as a security during its initial coin offering.
3. XRP (XRP)
- Market cap: $17.2 billion
XRP can be used to facilitate exchanges of different currency types with digital technology and payment processing company Ripple Labs. Although this altcoin has extremely low transaction fees, critics note it is facing legal challenges.
Ripple and two of its executives are involved in an SEC lawsuit alleging they should have registered XRP as a security, and the company says XRP is instead a currency.
4. Cardano (ADA)
- Market cap: $15.6 billion
Cardano was an early adopter of the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, which speeds up transaction time by removing the competitive and energy-intensive problem solving dimension of platforms like Bitcoin.
“Cardano is a thought leader in the industry that has paved the way for proof of stake consensus mechanisms,” Holmes says. “ADA is a blockchain solution that promises low fees with higher levels of security than many of its counterparts.”
But Daniel Logvin, CEO of blockchain network provider and consultancy LedgerByte, says the altcoin promised too much and has yet to deliver.
5. Solana (SOL)
- Market cap: $12.5 billion
Developed to help power decentralized finance and apps as well as smart contracts, Solana runs on a unique hybrid proof-of-stake and proof-of-history mechanisms to process transactions quickly and securely.
Solana is one of the fastest blockchains out there. Still, it has also faced criticism for being too centralized with very few validating nodes compared with Ethereum, says Whitney Setiawan, research analyst with digital assets exchange Bitrue.
Holmes says Solana is a highly scalable blockchain solution with very low fees but has seen outages and downtime.
6. Dogecoin (DOGE)
Dogecoin is the original meme coin, famously started as a joke in 2013. Nevertheless, it has rapidly evolved into a prominent cryptocurrency thanks to a dedicated community and creative memes.
Richard Gardner, CEO of financial software provider Modulus Global, points out that DOGE has had some big backers but remains riskier than Bitcoin.
“Altcoins like DOGE can fluctuate to extreme lows and highs depending on market volatility since they have yet to prove real-world use cases,” says Garry Krugljakow, CEO at 0VIX Protocol, a decentralized app that enables crypto lending and borrowing.
7. Polkadot (DOT)
This altcoin powers the Polkadot ecosystem, where developers can build specific-purpose blockchains as spokes connecting to the main Polkadot blockchain hub, says Max Thake, co-founder of peaq, a blockchain network built on Polkadot. DOT is the native token for Polkadot.
“(There is) a sustained demand for DOT from projects aiming to build on Polkadot,” he says.
This altcoin has better-shared security and is a leader in developer activity and many projects, says James Wo, CEO at blockchain and cryptocurrency investment firm Digital Finance Group. But project progress has been slow, and it lacks star applications to help boost its ecosystem, he says.
8. Shiba Inu (SHIB)
- Market cap: $ 7.8 billion
Like DOGE, this is another meme coin. Dubbed the “Dogecoin killer,” it’s a joke based on a joke. Although it’s based on the Ethereum blockchain, Shiba Inu is one altcoin not to invest in for a use case, although there are SHIB-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) out there.
That doesn’t mean there’s no investment case. Speculators can make a lot of money but lose it all with this highly volatile crypto asset.
9. Polygon (MATIC)
Polygon is an Ethereum-based scaling platform that allows developers to build dApps with low transaction fees.
“It allows people to process transactions on top of the Ethereum network,” Logvin says. “This solution increases efficiency and saves tons of money on gas (transaction fees).” Gas fees, a transaction fee, are usually cheaper on Polygon than on Ethereum.
10. Avalanche (AVAX)
Avalanche is one altcoin that could emerge as a leader given its strong community of developers, says Latif Peracha, who leads financial technology and crypto investments at M13, a consumer tech venture capital firm.
The crypto delivers two important features: fast transaction speeds and low transaction fees. AVAX also has a healthy total value locked (TVL) or amount of money deposited in decentralized finance. TVL is the total value of crypto assets deposited in a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, such as staking, lending or liquidity pools.
A high TVL indicates the popularity of a protocol and the adaption rate of a particular cryptocurrency. Currently, AVAX’s TVL stands at $2.1 billion.
*Market caps and pricing sourced from coinmarketcap.com, current as of Aug. 25, 2022.
