There are thousands of active cryptocurrency projects, and thousands more hiding in obscurity. Every other day a fresh team of developers pitches an idea that puts blockchain technology to exciting new uses. And each one of these comes with its own cryptocurrency.
How do you keep track of all these projects? Memorize top 50 cryptocurrency lists? Scrutinize the Periodic Table of Cryptocurrencies? Give up and take a nap?
In our continuing efforts to make sense of the wild world of blockchain, we decided simplification was the way to go.
Taking inspiration from TechCrunch’s list of 100 cryptocurrencies summarized in four words or less, we’ve put together our own overview of cryptocurrencies, described in 10 words or less.
Below is a list of the top 100 cryptocurrencies sorted by decreasing market cap at the time of writing. Each description provides just enough information to get a thumbnail of the project. You’ll also find links for in-depth discussions of many of the cryptocurrencies mentioned below.
Use this list to kickstart your investment research, or to finally put a purpose to that odd cryptocurrency you keep running into.
Top 100 Cryptocurrencies in 10 Words or Less
| # | Coin | Symbol | Description |
| 1 | Bitcoin | BTC | Digital value storage — buy it and hodl forever. |
| 2 | Ethereum | ETH | Smart contracts, decentralized apps, and lots of hype. |
| 3 | Ripple | XRP | Fast transactions built for enterprises. |
| 4 | Bitcoin Cash | BCH | Bitcoin spin-off with larger block size and lower fees. |
| 5 | EOS | EOS | Smart contracts platform with a user-centric fees system. |
| 6 | Litecoin | LTC | Lightweight Bitcoin made for daily spending. |
| 7 | Stellar Lumens | XLM | Super-fast payments with incredibly small fees. |
| 8 | Cardano | ADA | Open and democratic smart contracts platform. |
| 9 | Tether | USDT | One Tether equals one USD — always. |
| 10 | IOTA | MIOTA | Blockchain meets the Internet-of-Things, with no transaction fees. |
| 11 | Tron | TRX | Decentralizing web content: Power to the people! |
| 12 | Monero | XMR | Private and completely anonymous payments. |
| 13 | NEO | NEO | Smart contracts platform often called China’s Ethereum. |
| 14 | Dash | DASH | Scalable and user-friendly digital cash with instant payments. |
| 15 | Binance Coin | BNB | Binance exchange’s token used to pay discounted transaction fees. |
| 16 | Ethereum Classic | ETC | The “other” Ethereum formed after the 2016 hard fork. |
| 17 | VeChain | VEN | Business supply chains on the blockchain. |
| 18 | NEM | XEM | Customizable blockchains for businesses. |
| 19 | Ontology | ONT | A trust-based ecosystem designed for business use. |
| 20 | Qtum | QTUM | Proof-of-Stake value coin and smart contracts platform. |
| 21 | OmiseGO | OMG | Aims to compete with banks by offering fast transactions. |
| 22 | Zcash | ZEC | Similar to Bitcoin, but with anonymous transactions. |
| 23 | ICON | ICX | Making it possible for different blockchains to communicate. |
| 24 | Lisk | LSK | Create smart contracts with JavaScript. |
| 25 | Decred | DCR | Hybrid currency completely driven by community governance. |
| 26 | Zilliqa | ZIL | Blockchain platform built with sharding and scaling in mind. |
| 27 | Bytecoin | BCN | Privacy coin with untraceable payments and instant transactions. |
| 28 | Aeternity | AE | Efficient and scalable payments network. |
| 29 | Bitcoin Gold | BTG | Bitcoin that’s easier to mine. |
| 30 | Bytom | BTM | System that transfers real world assets to digital tokens. |
| 31 | Siacoin | SC | Cost-efficient peer-to-peer cloud storage system. |
| 32 | BitShares | BTS | Decentralized peer-to-peer exchange. |
| 33 | Verge | XVG | Private transactions carried out using Tor and I2P. |
| 34 | Steem | STEEM | Incentivized social media participation with cryptocurrency payments. |
| 35 | 0x | ZRX | Decentralized exchange framework with fast smart contracts. |
| 36 | Augur | REP | Market that uses game theory to make crowdsourced predictions. |
| 37 | Bitcoin Diamond | BCD | Bitcoin, but private — has suspicious origins. |
| 38 | Maker | MKR | Stablecoin that attempts to curb price volatility. |
| 39 | Nano | XRB | Impressively scalable digital currency. |
| 40 | Dogecoin | DOGE | Very spendy. Much Shiba. Such payments. Wow. |
| 41 | Waves | WAVES | Blockchain token creation made easy — well, easier, anyway. |
| 42 | RChain | RHOC | Fast and scalable content delivery. |
| 43 | Golem | GNT | Decentralized supercomputer platform anyone can use. |
| 44 | DigiByte | DGB | Secure payments through a highly decentralized network. |
| 45 | Nebulas | NAS | A continuously improving blockchain ecosystem that never hard forks. |
| 46 | Stratis | STRAT | Smart contracts in C# and .Net, built for enterprise use. |
| 47 | Populous | PPT | Fast, secure, transparent global invoice trading platform. |
| 48 | Wanchain | WAN | Efficient and decentralized cross-chain digital asset transactions. |
| 49 | Basic Attention Token | BAT | Replacing online ads with direct consumer-to-creator payments. |
| 50 | Bitcoin Private | BTCP | Privacy-oriented Bitcoin forked from ZClassic. |
| 51 | HShare | HSR | Aims to be an easy transfer currency between blockchains. |
| 52 | Status | SNT | Messaging and interface platform for interacting with dapps. |
| 53 | Huobi Token | HT | The Huobi exchange token used for trading fee discounts. |
| 54 | KuCoin Shares | KCS | KuCoin exchange’s token used for earning passive income. |
| 55 | IOStoken | IOST | Aims to solve scalability issues for online service providers. |
| 56 | DigixDAO | DGD | Community-powered payments system backed by physical gold. |
| 57 | Loopring | LRC | Decentralized exchange protocol built for highly efficient transactions. |
| 58 | Waltonchain | WTC | Combines RFID and blockchain for a powerful business-oriented IoT network. |
| 59 | Cryptonex | CNX | Contactless payments and an intermediary between fiat and crypto currencies. |
| 60 | Aion | AION | Dapps platform that plays nice with other dapps platforms. |
| 61 | Komodo | KMD | Secure blockchain platform with anonymizing tech and atomic swap DEX. |
| 62 | GXChain | GXS | Data exchange platform built around trust. |
| 63 | Bancor | BNT | Decentralized liquidity network that instantly converts cryptocurrencies. |
| 64 | MaidSafeCoin | MAID | Digital file sharing economy powered by cryptocurrency microtransactions. |
| 65 | aelf | ELF | Blockchain cloud computing network and OS that incentivizes ethical behavior. |
| 66 | Ardor | ARDR | Tackles blockchain bloat and scalability using child chains. |
| 67 | ReddCoin | RDD | A social currency designed around fast, cheap microtransactions between humans. |
| 68 | MOAC | MOAC | Scalable blockchain that supports transactions, data access, sub-blockchain deployment. |
| 69 | Ark | ARK | The ultimate bridge between different blockchains. |
| 70 | MonaCoin | MONA | Payments coin often used by gamers, popular in Japan. |
| 71 | Centrality | CENZZ | Creating a peer-to-peer “marketplace of applications.” |
| 72 | Dentacoin | DCN | Global Dental Industry blockchain used to improve worldwide dental care. |
| 73 | FunFair | FUN | Online gaming and casino experiences via the blockchain. |
| 74 | Cortex | CTXC | Add artificial general intelligence to smart contracts. |
| 75 | Mithril | MITH | Social media platform that rewards users for interactions. |
| 76 | Dropil | DROP | Tools for automating cryptocurrency trading, analysis, and storage. |
| 77 | Kyber Network | KNC | Instant cryptocurrency conversions backed by atomic swaps. |
| 78 | PIVX | PIVX | Privacy-focused, open-source, Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrency. |
| 79 | Enigma | ENG | For building private, scalable decentralized applications. |
| 80 | Theta Token | THETA | Decentralized video streaming network for Esports, education, live music, TV, etc. |
| 81 | Elastos | ELA | Resilient blockchain platform for next-gen dapps. |
| 82 | Kin | KIN | Digital services ecosystem built for daily life. |
| 83 | Emercoin | EMC | Decentralized business services such as secure DNS and SSH bridges. |
| 84 | Gas | GAS | The on-chain token that powers NEO activities. |
| 85 | Monaco | MCO | Mimics the functionality of real-world payment systems (credit cards). |
| 86 | Decentraland | MANA | Virtual Reality platform with user-created, monetized content and applications. |
| 87 | CyberMiles | CMT | Fast, smart, safe, and free e-commerce solutions. |
| 88 | Bibox Token | BIX | Trading token used by the AI-enhanced cryptocurrency exchange. |
| 89 | Nxt | NXT | Applications platform for launching digital currencies. |
| 90 | Syscoin | SYS | Secure decentralized marketplace, like eBay or Amazon on the blockchain. |
| 91 | WaykiChain | WICC | Decentralized betting powered by tokens. |
| 92 | Fusion | FSN | Powerful financial services on the blockchain, built for business. |
| 93 | Veritaseum | VERI | Connecting parties and their assets without a middleman. |
| 94 | Ethos | ETHOS | Securely manage multiple cryptocurrency wallets, keys, and coins. |
| 95 | Loom Network | LOOM | Highly scalable games and social apps built with dapp sidechains. |
| 96 | Scry.info | DDD | Data exchange, storage, and validation platform. |
| 97 | Factom | FCT | Restoring trust to decentralized business interactions. |
| 98 | TrueUSD | TUSD | A stablecoin that strives to remain 1-to-1 with USD. |
| 99 | Nuls | NULS | Reduces barriers and cost for creating blockchains. |
| 100 | QASH | QASH | Maintaining liquidity for all cryptocurrencies. |
Honorable Mentions
Cryptocurrencies never sit still. With a shifting top 100 list and promising projects sitting below the cut-off, we thought it appropriate to throw in a few honorable mentions so you can stay on top of developments.
| Dragonchain | DRGN | Dapps platform and marketplace originally created by Disney. |
| Substratum | SUB | Creating a decentralized, censorship-proof internet. |
| Power Ledger | POWR | Decentralizing the electric grid, like AirBnb for electricity. |
| SONM | SONM | Global supercomputer and resources marketplace. |
| DeepBrain Chain | DBC | Artificial intelligence computing resources on the blockchain. |
| Ubiq | UBQ | Ultra-stable smart contracts platform for long-term business use. |
| Byteball | GBYTE | Tamper-proof data storage and simplified smart payments. |
| Electroneum | ETN | Easy-to-use blockchain exclusively for cryptocurrency payments. |
| Neblio | NEBL | Simplifying platform blockchains for businesses. |
| Raiden Network | RDN | Global payments without scaling issues. |
