FX.co ★ Top 5 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization in 2024

Bitcoin

Bitcoin remains the long-standing leader and flagship of the digital asset market, with a market capitalization exceeding $1.3 trillion. According to experts, this represents over 50% of the entire crypto market's value. Created in 2009, Bitcoin has maintained its place at the top of the rankings. BTC is considered the most valuable cryptocurrency in the sector. Despite price fluctuations, demand for Bitcoin remains consistently strong among both retail and institutional investors. This week, Bitcoin hit a 2.5-month high amid a significant influx of funds into US spot Bitcoin ETFs, totaling $371 million. Positive momentum continues for the third consecutive trading session. With a potential Donald Trump presidential victory, Bitcoin's outlook for 2025 looks even brighter.

Ethereum

Ethereum holds its position as the second most popular cryptocurrency by both demand and market capitalization. Created by Vitalik Buterin in 2013, Ethereum's market cap has grown to $430 billion over the past 11 years. The core functionality of Ethereum lies in the development and execution of smart contracts and decentralized applications. It uses the dynamic programming language Solidity, which shares many similarities with JavaScript. To prevent network abuse, the concept of "gas" was introduced, limiting the number of transactions that can be processed. Ethereum’s efficiency, high functionality, and reliability have made it a favorite among both investors and developers.

Tether

Ranked third in terms of market capitalization ($103 billion), Tether is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. Launched by the company of the same name in 2014, this stablecoin is pegged to the US dollar, protecting its value from sharp price fluctuations. Tether belongs to the group of stablecoins designed to digitalize national currencies. This reduces the extreme volatility of digital assets while maintaining their core benefits such as security, anonymity, and decentralization. Many companies have partially switched from using USD to Tether to take advantage of these features. Tether has become popular as a means of everyday transactions precisely because, unlike other cryptocurrencies, it is not subject to wild price swings.

Binance Coin (BNB)

Binance Coin ranks fourth by market capitalization at $87 billion. Launched by Binance in 2017, BNB was initially developed on the Ethereum network but now operates on its own blockchain. The cryptocurrency was originally created to save on exchange fees, but its functionality has since expanded. BNB can now be used to pay for goods and services, as well as to issue gift cards to customers. It is seen as a promising investment tool, with a steadily rising value. To combat inflation, Binance periodically burns a portion of BNB tokens, reducing the supply in circulation.

Ripple (XRP)

Ripple rounds out the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, which currently stands at over $30 billion. Created in 2012 as a transaction medium for the Ripple payment system, XRP operates on the XRP Ledger network. Today, Ripple is widely used for transactions involving Ripple Labs products. One of its key benefits is the near-instant processing of financial transactions. XRP serves as a low-cost, fast payment system that can be used for currency exchange and cross-border payments. Many experts also point to the security of XRP, which in some respects surpasses the capabilities of Bitcoin's blockchain. Ripple's transactions are fast, and its energy consumption is minimal.