Emerging Technologies

Comparing 25 of the biggest cryptocurrencies

Representations of the Ripple, Bitcoin, Etherum and Litecoin virtual currencies are seen on a PC motherboard in this illustration picture, February 13, 2018. Picture is taken February 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Bitcoin is still outperforming the rest of the most notable cryptocurrencies. Image: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Jeff Desjardins
Founder and editor, Visual Capitalist

Since garnering more mainstream attention, the rise of Bitcoin has been debated openly by government officials, financial institutions, and mass media outlets. A segment on Bitcoin was even recently broadcast to millions of viewers on the popular The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

While Bitcoin remains the undisputed bellwether for digital currencies, it’s also fair to say that the entire crypto landscape has been changing dramatically over the last year. New coin and token offerings have raised billions of dollars, innovative ideas are capturing the attention of investors, and there are now 20+ cryptocurrencies that have at least $1B in market capitalization.

Bitcoin may be in the public spotlight, but there’s a lot happening behind the scenes.

Bitcoin is still the most notable cryptocurrency. Image: Visual Capitalist

Most notable cryptocurrencies

Today’s visualization comes to us from Nick Young, and it shows the 25 most notable cryptocurrencies on the market using data from March 5, 2018.

In the graphic, the 25 cryptocurrencies are organized by market capitalization, inception date, 30-day trade volume, and also the type of function that each coin or token has. It’s also worth noting that relative comparisons are done on a log scale for easier viewing.

Here are the top five cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, according to the graphic:

Bitcoin is miles ahead of all the other cryptocurrencies.
Image: Visual Capitalist

And here is the top five cryptocurrencies by 30-day volume, as well:

Tether is the second most traded cryptocurrency by 30-day volume Image: Visual Capitalist

Bitcoin’s journey to $10,000 in late 2017 caught the attention of many people in the media and investing world, catapulting the currency into the mainstream. At the same time, however, it’s also clear that the rest of the cryptocurrency landscape is flourishing as a strong supporting cast, making for a more diverse, interesting, and efficient ecosystem overall.

Exactly a year ago, Bitcoin made up over 80% of the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency space. Today, with many altcoins gaining traction (and the Bitcoin hard forks taking place), the share held by Bitcoin is closer to 42%.

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