Bitcoin
The original cryptocurrency is Bitcoin (BTC), which Satoshi Nakamoto founded in 2009. Like most cryptocurrencies, BTC runs on the blockchain, a ledger that records transactions across a network of thousands of computers. Its market capitalization is currently around $506.5 billion. Combining the market capitalization of Bitcoin and Ethereum (another very popular cryptocurrency), these two stocks currently account for over 75 percent of the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies. Since Bitcoin became a hot topic, its price has skyrocketed. In May 2016, Bitcoin was available for around 500 US dollars. On August 22, 2023, the price of a single Bitcoin was $26,022. That is a growth rate of 5,104%.
Ethereum
Ethereum is an open-source, decentralised blockchain platform founded in 2013 by Canadian-Russian programmer Vitalik Buterin. The platform enables the creation and use of decentralised applications (DApps) and smart contracts, with business terms between buyers and sellers built directly into the code. Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency is Ether (ETH), which is used to pay transaction fees and incentivize miners. Ethereum, both a cryptocurrency and a blockchain platform, is preferred by programmers because of its potential applications. This is due to so-called smart contracts and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are automatically executed when certain conditions are met. Ethereum is also experiencing phenomenal growth. From April 2016 to the end of August 2023, the price increased by 14,997 percent, from about 11 US dollars to about 1,661 US dollars. In total, Ethereum has a market capitalization of about US$199 billion.
Polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) is a next-generation blockchain protocol that aims to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the current blockchain ecosystem. The goal of this currency is to overcome the isolation of different blockchains. This includes scalability, interoperability, and governance. Gavin Wood, one of the co-founders of Ethereum, founded Polkadot to create a platform for creating and connecting different blockchain networks. A key feature of Polkadot is the interoperability between different blockchain networks. This enables seamless transfers between assets and data. This interoperability is achieved through the use of “parachains”. A parallel blockchain that can run different applications and connect to the Polkadot network Polkadot is expected to grow in popularity over the next few years. Its current market capitalization is around US$5.1 billion.
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