Cryptocurrency list – 2018
Here’s a list of the top 10 cryptocurrencies in the world. The cryptocurrencies are ranked by market cap, along with their consensus mechanisms and network centralisation status.
With information sourced from “MyBroadband”
Bitcoin
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency created and aims to create a decentralised digital currency which can remove the need for third parties to facilitate transactions.
It’s the biggest in the world and is the most widely-adopted by exchanges.
Ethereum
Is a decentralised virtual computer which allows developers to build applications on its blockchain. These applications are open source and run autonomously.
Ripple
Is a payment protocol which runs on a permissioned blockchain and aims to support instant, cheap transactions.
The protocol has been adopted by financial institutions and it plans to increase its focus on decentralisation by increasing its number of validator nodes to 55.
Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash is the product of a Bitcoin hard fork, with the new currency featuring bigger block sizes. This resulted in lower transaction fees and increased usability as a transactional currency.
Cardano
Cardano aims to create a decentralised smart contract platform similar to Ethereum, but it plans to support a number of advanced features.
The cryptocurrency is a work-in-progress, and its “Ouroboros” proof-of-stake consensus mechanism has not been finished.
Litecoin
Litecoin is a decentralised cryptocurrency which is similar to Bitcoin in technical framework.
It aims to serve as a transactional cryptocurrency, boasting lower block times and lower fees than Bitcoin.
NEM
NEM is a decentralised blockchain with support for multisignature accounts, encrypted messaging, and a reputation system.
The architecture supports private and public blockchains and uses a unique proof-of-importance consensus mechanism, which weights validation voting power depending on account balance and activity.
Stellar
Stellar is a fork of Ripple which has implemented its own consensus mechanism called the Stellar Consensus Protocol.
Stellar aims to provide a global transaction protocol running on a decentralised network of validator servers, although users are required to trust its “anchors” to comply with verified transactions.
IOTA
IOTA is a cryptocurrency which is built on a directed acyclic graph instead of a traditional blockchain, and aims to deliver unlimited, fee-less transaction for the Internet of Things.
The cryptocurrency’s vision is to implement a trustless consensus protocol built on user validation. It currently relies on a single administrator node called the Coordinator to periodically verify the network.
Dash
Dash began as a fork of Litecoin and aims to provide a decentralised transaction system with enhanced features.
The cryptocurrency allows for standard transactions in addition to instant and private transfers via Masternodes.
