If you’ve been following the cryptocurrency markets lately, you’ve probably noticed that new coins are popping up all over the place. New cryptocurrencies are being released faster than ever before.
Today, there are over 20,000 different cryptocurrencies listed on CoinMarketCap, and that number is growing every day! Why? Some say it’s because cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have gained mainstream exposure and investors want their piece of the pie.
Some of the known cryptocurrencies are BTC, ETH, XLM, XRP, SOL, LTC, DASH, TRX, XCP, LINK, ADA, BTS, LUNA and many more.
Whatever the reason may be, there are more coins than ever before. But how many exactly? It can be hard to keep track of all these different cryptocurrencies – after all, there’s so much drama in the crypto space! We’ve decided to take a closer look and share what we found with our readers.
What Makes Cryptocurrency Different?
Cryptocurrency isn’t tied to any country or central bank, but instead operates on a peer-to-peer network. While transactions are recorded in a public ledger called the blockchain, personal information about the users involved in transactions remain anonymous—the blockchain only shows their cryptocurrency addresses.
Cryptocurrency is also decentralized, so there’s no third party like a bank that can block or freeze payments if the system doesn’t work. It’s also pretty fast; while credit cards can take days to process payments and charge high fees, Bitcoin can be used internationally with most purchases confirmed in less than 10 minutes and fees as low as 0%!
The Growth Of Cryptocurrency Over Time
Cryptocurrencies have been growing quickly since their inception in 2008. There are a lot of different ones, and it can be hard to keep up with how they’ve been changing over time. The two most popular, Bitcoin and Ethereum, have had some dramatic swings in recent years.
The first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin in 2009, which was created by a developer named Satoshi Nakamoto (note: the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is still unknown). Since then, there have been over 900 cryptocurrencies, with more being created every year.
In 2009, one Bitcoin was worth less than a penny. In February 2011, it broke the $1 barrier. In November 2013, it hit $1000. Then in December 2017, it hit $19000 and left everyone wondering what will happen next.
Bitcoin’s value increased nearly 10-fold from the beginning of 2015 to the end of 2017, peaking at around $20,000 per coin (it has since fallen back to about $8,500). Ethereum has seen an even more meteoric rise: it began 2017 at just $8 per coin and saw a huge spike in May, hitting a peak of $400 before returning to around $150 in early October.
Both cryptocurrencies have had their share of falls as well—Bitcoin fell nearly 30% due to the “hard fork” that split it into two coins (Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash) in August 2017; Ethereum dropped by 80% after its own hard fork on July 20th of this year.
XLM is an alt coin that has recently been gaining a lot of attention. The XLM price may also be rising because of all of the other alt coins in the red, and XLM is one of the few in the green right now.
What Contributes To The Fast Growth Of Crypto?
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are growing in popularity. Millions of people use them to buy things, send money, and more. But what are the reasons behind their rapid growth?
Cryptocurrency was created as a way to separate the control of money from governments, banks, and other financial institutions. It uses a decentralized network of computers to track transactions, instead of using a central authority like American Express or PayPal.
This means that there is no one person or group who can control or manipulate the currency—anyone with access to the internet can use it, buy things with it, or sell things for it.
Some experts say that this free-for-all attitude towards cryptocurrency is the reason for its recent growth in popularity. The digital nature of cryptocurrencies means that they are less vulnerable to government regulation than regular currencies.
According to its supporters, this makes them an ideal choice for people who want to avoid taxation, controls on how they spend money, and crackdowns on businesses who accept cryptocurrencies.
But while some people use cryptocurrency because they don’t trust big financial institutions, others have come to rely on crypto for another reason: security.
More people want to own them and use them, which drives up demand and raises their value. It’s supply and demand at its finest. The supply also matters because cryptocurrencies have a set limit of coins that will be made (just like with any other currency) and since that number is finite, as demand for it increases, so does the price.
As long as people keep buying into it because they believe that the price will go up in the future (and all the signs say that this will be true), the demand for it won’t diminish.
The Importance of Crypto
Crypto is important because it will make the world more equal. Some people in this world have a lot of money, while others have very little money. Crypto is a way to change that by allowing everyone to participate in the financial system and earn some money.
Crypto is also good for the environment because you don’t need banks or other intermediaries to send money. It’s all done peer-to-peer so you can save on all that time and money wasted on those middlemen.
And, as an added bonus, when everyone uses crypto, the governments can’t just print more money whenever they need more. That keeps inflation down and makes sure your money has value.
