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Capitalisation boursière du Bitcoin: 755 milliards USD
Valeur Bitcoin: 40 150 USD
L’histoire Bitcoin: Bitcoin existe depuis 2008 et est le ch bleu crypto-monnaie IP. Il a, de loin, la plus grande capitalisation boursière, la valeur de pièces la plus élevée et le plus grand réseau d’utilisateurs.
Bitcoin a été créé par une personne ou un groupe inconnu qui s’appelle Satoshi Nakamoto. C’était censé être l’argent du futur, et bien que vous puissiez l’utiliser aujourd’hui pour acheter de nombreux biens et services, vous ne l’utiliseriez pas pour acheter une tasse de café car le coût de la transaction serait trop élevé.
Pensez plutôt au Bitcoin comme à l’or du futur: pas vraiment utile pour les transactions quotidiennes, mais vous voulez en avoir pour sa valeur stockée. C’est aussi comme l’or en ce sens qu’il a une offre limitée, ce qui est l’une des choses qui rend Bitcoin si attrayant pour les investisseurs: un total de 21 millions de Bitcoins sera jamais publié, ce qui rend Bitcoin résistant à l’inflation.
Historique des performances Bitcoin: Comme tous les cryptos, Bitcoin ne valait pratiquement rien. En 2017, il est passé de moins de 1000 $ à plus de 20000 $, mais en un an, il a baissé d’environ 4000 $. À la fin de 2020, il a recommencé à monter en flèche, cette fois d’environ 10000 dollars à plus de 60000 dollars, avant de baisser au cours des dernières semaines, principalement en raison de divers tweets d’Elon Musk. De nouvelles chutes la semaine dernière ont abouti à une baisse importante mercredi (19 mai); il vaut actuellement environ 40 150 $.
Comment acheter Bitcoin: Bitcoin peut être acheté sur des échanges cryptographiques tels que Coinbase, Binance et Kraken; aux guichets automatiques Bitcoin; sur PayPal; et sur Robinhood . Ne soyez pas rebutés par le prix élevé d’une pièce: vous pouvez investir aussi peu que 25 $ en Bitcoin sur Coinbase.
2. Ethereum (ETH)
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Capitalisation boursière Ethereum: 333 milliards de dollars
Valeur de l’éther: 2 845 $
L’histoire d’Ethereum: S’il y a un autre candidat pour le titre principal de la crypto-monnaie, c’est Ethereum . Mais il n’est pas en concurrence avec Bitcoin. Il est important de noter que de nombreuses soi-disant crypto-monnaies ne sont pas des monnaies simples comme Bitcoin. Certains, comme Ethereum, sont des technologies uniques qui ont également un composant de pièce de monnaie. Dans le cas d’Ethereum, sa devise s’appelle Ether et peut être utilisée dans des applications exécutées sur la plate-forme Ethereum.
Ethereum est le leader de ce que l’on appelle ces plates-formes de «contrats intelligents». Alors que Bitcoin a été créé pour un cas d’utilisation-en tant que monnaie-Ethereum a été fondé par Vitalik Buterin en 2015 avec des ambitions de plus en plus grandes. La blockchain sur laquelle elle s’exécute est programmable, ce qui signifie qu’elle peut exécuter des programmes ou des applications de manière décentralisée, c’est-à-dire sur des millions d’ordinateurs à la fois. Cela ouvre de nombreux cas d’utilisation possibles, de la technologie et de la finance aux jeux et objets de collection, faisant d’Ethereum un investissement attrayant.
Il convient également de noter qu’une nouvelle version d’Ethereum est bientôt disponible. Entre autres choses, Ethereum 2.0 serait censé être d’ici 99,95 % plus respectueux de l’environnement que le modèle actuel.
Historique des performances d’Ethereum: Au cours de l’année écoulée, le prix d’Ethereum est passé d’environ 200 USD à bien plus de 3000 USD. En fait, il a récemment dépassé les 4 000 $ pour la première fois au début du mois de mai et a atteint un sommet historique de plus de 4 350 $ récemment, mais il a fortement chuté récemment et se situe actuellement à environ 2 845 $.
Comment pour acheter Ethereum: Vous pouvez acheter des ETH sur les principaux échanges cryptographiques, Robinhood et PayPal.
3. Tether (USDT)
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Capitalisation boursière de Tether: 60,8 USD milliards
Valeur de Tether: 1 $
L’histoire de Tether: Tether est unique parmi les options de notre top liste des crypto-monnaies: c’est le leader dans la catégorie des crypto-monnaies connues sous le nom de «pièces stables». Pourquoi stable? Parce qu’ils sont rattachés à une monnaie traditionnelle, en l’occurrence le dollar américain.
Pour les investisseurs, ces jetons offrent les avantages conjoints de la technologie blockchain ouverte et de la monnaie traditionnelle. Tether a été lancé en 2015 et fonctionne sur la plate-forme Ethereum. USD Coin est une autre pièce stable, et de nombreux crypto-monnaies pensent que c’est un pari plus sûr que Tether, citant une plus grande transparence.
Historique des performances du Tether: Un jeton Tether=un USD.
Comment acheter Tether: Achetez, vendez et utilisez des jetons Tether sur Coinbase, Binance, Kraken et d’autres grands échanges cryptographiques.
4. BinanceCoin (BNB)
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Capitalisation boursière de Binance Coin: 58,8 milliards de dollars
Valeur de Binance Coin: 376 USD
L’histoire de Binance Coin: Binance Coin a été lancé en 2017 par Binance échange de crypto-monnaie, le plus grand échange de crytpo au monde en volume. Au cours de son offre initiale de pièces (ICO), il a vendu 100 millions de pièces au public à 0,15 $ la pièce. Binance Coin peut être utilisé pour payer des frais de transaction sur la bourse Binance, pour échanger contre d’autres crypto-monnaies et pour payer certains biens et services. Chaque trimestre, Binance utilise 20% de ses bénéfices pour racheter et détruire des pièces Binance. Cela se poursuivra jusqu’à ce que Binance rachète et détruit 50% de l’offre totale, rendant sa pièce plus rare et donc plus précieuse.
Historique des performances de Binance Coin: Depuis son lancement en 2017, Binance Coin a fait une longue et lente montée à environ 60 $ la pièce, avant de grimper en février 2021 et d’atteindre plus de 600 $ à un moment donné. Comme pour pratiquement toutes les principales crypto-monnaies, il a subi une chute importante la semaine dernière, bien qu’il ait grimpé régulièrement lundi et mardi (24/25 mai) et se négocie actuellement dans la fourchette de 375 $.
Comment acheter des Binance Coin: Le meilleur endroit pour acheter, vendre, échanger et détenir des Binance Coin est… Binance!
5. Cardano (ADA)
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Capitalisation boursière de Cardano: 56,6 milliards de dollars
Valeur Cardano: 1,74 $
L’histoire de Cardano: Cardano , fondé en 2017, est ano Un autre candidat de type Ethereum pour la couronne de crypto-monnaie supérieure: une plate-forme de blockchain qui prend en charge les applications, les systèmes et les cas d’utilisation commerciale réels. C’est une technologie prometteuse mais, comme toutes les autres, elle a beaucoup à rattraper avec Ethereum en termes de taille de son réseau.
Ce qui rend Cardano unique, c’est qu’il s’agit de la première plateforme de blockchain à évoluer à partir d’une philosophie scientifique et d’une approche axée sur la recherche. L’équipe de développement se compose d’un grand collectif mondial d’ingénieurs et de chercheurs experts, et la plate-forme a été construite grâce à des recherches évaluées par des pairs.
Historique des performances de Cardano: Cardano naviguait à environ 0,10 USD depuis sa création en 2017 jusqu’au début de 2021, date à laquelle il a bondi à bien au-dessus d’un dollar et se négociait récemment à environ 2 USD. Cardano avait mieux résisté que la plupart aux problèmes récents du marché de la cryptographie, car il était l’un des plus options de crypto-monnaie respectueuses de l’environnement , mais a subi une forte baisse la semaine dernière et est maintenant de retour à environ 1,74 $.
Comment acheter Cardano: Cardano peut être acheté sur Coinbase, Binance, Kraken et de nombreux autres échanges cryptographiques.
6. XRP/Ripple (XRP)
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Capitalisation boursière XRP/Ripple: 48 milliards USD
Valeur XRP: 1,02 USD
L’histoire XRP/Ripple: XRP est réputé pour Il s’agit de l’actif numérique le plus rapide, permettant des paiements mondiaux en temps quasi réel partout dans le monde. En tant que tel, certains fournisseurs de paiement utilisent XRP pour étendre leur portée, réduire les coûts de change et régler les paiements plus rapidement.
XRP a été lancé en 2012 par un trio de développeurs, qui a ensuite créé une société privée appelée OpenCoin, maintenant appelée Ripple Labs, et lui a offert 80 milliards de XRP. C’est ce qui rend XRP unique: il s’agit essentiellement d’une plate-forme à but lucratif, contrairement à presque tous les autres projets de cryptographie dans le monde.
Acheteur, attention: à la fin de 2020, la Securities and Exchange Commission des États-Unis a intenté une action contre Ripple et ses deux cofondateurs, affirmant avoir levé plus de 1,3 milliard de dollars grâce à une offre de titres d’actifs numériques non enregistrée et continue (alias XRP). Le procès n’est toujours pas réglé.
Historique des performances XRP: Hormis un pic en décembre 2017-janvier 2018, XRP n’a pas franchi le seuil de 0,60 USD avant 2020. Cependant il a été cultivé en avril et en mai et à partir d’aujourd’hui (26 mai) il se négociait à 1,02 $.
Comment acheter du XRP: La façon la plus simple d’acheter du XRP consiste à grands échanges cryptographiques tels que Coinbase, Binance ou Kraken.
7. Dogecoin (DOGE)
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Dogecoin market cap: $46.9 billion
Dogecoin value: $0.35
The Dogecoin story: Dogecoin bills itself as “the fun and friendly internet currency.” Launched in 2013 by software developers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer as a satire of Bitcoin and the exploding popularity of crypto, it’s basically a Bitcoin clone with a cute dog meme for a mascot.
Dogecoin has no real use (though some people use it to give small tips on social media), but it’s developed a growing fanbase that’s boosted the price of a Dogecoin from less than a penny a few months ago to about $0.40 today, making it one of the top cryptocurrency performers by market cap if nothing else. Dogecoin also started what is now known as the “memecoin” space. If you’re looking for the next big memecoin, it could be SafeMoon, which launched in March 2021 and already has over a million users. SafeMoon encourages investors to buy and hold by imposing a 10% fee on anyone who sells their tokens.
Dogecoin performance history: In early 2021, Dogecoin crossed the $0.05 threshold for the first time, then went to the moon in April, recently trading at an all-time high of $0.70. It dropped to below $0.45 following Elon Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, then rallied slightly, then plunged again, then jumped back. It’s been quite the ride. It currently stands at around $0.35, but who knows where it will be tomorrow.
How to buy Dogecoin: You can buy Dogecoin on Robinhood and many of the major crypto exchange like Binance and Kraken, but it’s not available on Coinbase.
8. Polkadot (DOT)
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Polkadot market cap: $22.8 billion
Polkadot value: $23.6
The Polkadot story: Lots of the top cryptocurrency projects have lofty goals, but Polkadot ’s is one of the loftiest: to “enable a completely decentralized web where users are in control.” Launched in 2020, Polkadot is the flagship project of the Swiss Web3 foundation. If Web 1.0 was commerce, and Web 2.0 was social, think of Web3 as decentralization. Polkadot’s technology stitches together different blockchains, enabling them to exchange information and transactions and operate together seamlessly.
Polkadot performance history: This crypto was trading at about a nickel until late 2020, when it took off (stop us if you’ve heard this one before) and was recently trading at around $41. However a big fall recently has seen it drop back to around $23.
How to buy Polkadot: Buy Polkadot on major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.
9. USD Coin (USDC)
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USD Coin market cap: $20.9 billion
USD Coin value: $1
The USD Coin story: Like Tether, USD Coin is a so-called stable coin that’s linked to the U.S. dollar. That makes it far less subject to price fluctuations than many other cryptocurrencies — and indeed, USD Coin has been relatively unaffected by the recent turmoil in the market. USD is also big on transparency, assuring investors that they will be able to withdraw 1 USDC and receive $1 in return.
USD Coin performance history: USDC is worth $1
How to buy USD Coin: Buy USD Coin on major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance.
10. Internet Computer (ICP)
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Internet Computer market cap: $18.1 billion
Internet Computer value: $141
The Internet Computer story: Internet Computer only officially launched on May 10, 2021 , but it immediately jumped into the Top 10 list of the biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap. And that’s no surprise, because Internet Computer, or ICP, is a big deal. According to CoinMarketCap , it’s”the world’s first blockchain that runs at web speed with unbounded capacity”and also”the third major blockchain innovation, alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum.”
Bold claims, indeed, but ICP — which was created by tech startup Dfinity — is an ambitious project that seeks nothing less than the reinvention of the internet . Around 469 million ICP tokens were issued on its launch, of which approximately 26% are expected to be in circulation.
Internet Computer performance history: ICP enjoyed a stellar launch on the open market, jumping from $0 to $488 in a day. It then fell back sharply, and is currently at around $140.
How to buy Internet Computer: ICP is already available on Coinbase and is expected to come to Binance and other crypto exchanges soon.
11. Uniswap (UNI)
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Uniswap market cap: $15.5 billion
Uniswap value: $26.8
The Uniswap story: Most cryptocurrency trading takes place on centralized exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken. Uniswap , launched in 2018, is a decentralized crytpo exchange that runs on the Ethereum platform — transaction fees must be paid for in ETH.
The Uniswap app can swap all different types of tokens but does not connect to the traditional financial network, meaning you can’t convert to USD or Euro or other fiat currencies. (Though you can convert to some stablecoins — see Tether above.) Uniswap also has its own “governance token”: if you own this token, you have a right to vote on the direction of the project’s development. Uniswap recently passed Coinbase in trading volume, and many crypto followers think it could be the future of all exchanges.
Uniswap performance history: Launched in 2018, Uniswap hit a high of $42 in late April 2021. It is currently trading at around $26.
How to buy Uniswap: Buy Uniswap on major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.
12. Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
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Bitcoin Cash market cap: $14.6 billion
Bitcoin Cash value: $764
The Bitcoin Cash story: Don’t be confused by the name, because Bitcoin Cash is a completely different cryptocurrency to Bitcoin. That said, it does owe its existence to the market leader, in that it was created by a group of developers intent on bringing down the cost of Bitcoin transactions. A further split then resulted in the creation of Bitcoin SV .
Bitcoin Cash performance history: Bitcoin Cash has a lot of catching up to do to Bitcoin in terms of the size of its network. After reaching a high of nearly $4,000 back in 2018, it then dropped considerably and settled to around $300-400 for the next couple of years. A big jump in recent weeks saw it climb back to more than $1,500, but it’s been steadily falling since then and and is currently valued at around $760.
How to buy Bitcoin Cash: You can buy Bitcoin Cash on major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.
13. Polygon (MATIC)
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Polygon market cap: $13.9 billion
Polygon value: $2.17
The Polygon story: Polygon is another cryptocurrency that is far more than just a currency. In fact, Polygon isn’t a currency at all — it’s a network which provides a framework for building and connecting blockchains, supported by Ethereum technology. However, it does also have a token, in this case MATIC,
Polygon performance history: As recently as January 2021, MATIC was valued at just $0.19, but it’s shot up over the past few months to a high of $2.63, before falling back to its current value of $2.17.
How to buy Polygon: Buy Polygon on major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance.
14. Chainlink (LINK)
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Chainlink market cap: $13.6 billion
Chainlink value: $31.2
The Chainlink story: Like Ethereum, Chainlink is less a single cryptocurrency but rather a technology that helps underpin the entire crypto structure. Essentially — and this is necessarily a very stripped-back explanation — it’s a network that enables blockchains to interact with each other and with non-blockchain technologies. You can read more about how it works here . Chainlink also has its own currency, called LINK tokens, of which 1 billion were issued. A total of 35% of these were issued to Node Operators, another 35% were sold to the public and the company retains the remaining 30%.
Chainlink performance history: LINK grew steadily from being worth less than a dollar initially to around $12 at the end of 2020. Its soared in 2021 but since came back down, and is currently worth around $31 as of May 26.
How to buy Chainlink: Buy Chainlink on major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance.
15. Litecoin (LTC)
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Litecoin market cap: $13.4 billion
Litecoin value: $198
The Litecoin story: Litecoin , created in 201 1 by Charlie Lee, is one of the earliest Bitcoin clones, aka “altcoins,” and is a well-established crypto. It was developed with a focus on speed, efficiency, and wider initial coin distribution than Bitcoin. For example, Litecoin transactions are confirmed every two and a half minutes, which is four times more frequently than Bitcoin transactions. Another difference: Litecoin has a supply cap of 84 million coins, exactly four times Bitcoin’s — this is what makes many investors think of Litecoin as the silver to Bitcoin’s gold.
Litecoin performance history: Litecoin spiked briefly over $300 in late 2017 before dipping as low as $25 in 2019. In late 2020, it began another ascent and recently passed the $400 mark for the first time, although it’s since dropped back to around $200.
How to buy Litecoin: Litecoin can be purchased on any major crypto exchange, as well as on Robinhood and PayPal.
16. Stellar (XLM)
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Stellar market cap: $10.7 billion
Stellar value: $0.44
The Stellar story: Stellar Lumens (XLM) has been around for a while, but although it launched as far back as 2014, it’s enjoyed major gains in 2021. Its main purpose is to connect financia l firms to each other through blockchain technology, and like Ripple it also aims to make it less expensive to trade assets across borders. It’s also impressively energy-efficient, making it one of the more environmentally-friendly cryptocurrencies .
Stellar performance history: Stellar started off worth less than $0.01 but shot up in late 2017 and reached a high of $0.93 in January 2018. It spent most of the next few years with a value of around 10 cents — give or take a few peaks here and there — but has climbed impressively in recent months, reaching $0.77 as recently as last week. It’s currently worth around $0.44.
How to buy Stellar: Buy Stellar on major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance.
17. Ethereum Classic (ETC)
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Ethereum Classic market cap: $9.4 billion
Ethereum Classic value: $79.7
The Ethereum Classic story: As you might expect from its name, Ethereum Classic is a spin off from the original Ethereum. In fact, it was formed in 2016, after a hack on the Ethereum network that resulted in the theft of 3.6 million Ether coins. The Ethereum community was split on how to deal with the hack, with most wanting to upgrade the blockchain with new features — and that’s the Ethereum that sits at number 2 in this list. However, the original version was kept running and renamed Ethereum Classic.
Ethereum Classic performance history: After steady growth over the past few years, Ethereum Classic has soared in recent months, jumping from $13 at the start of April to more than $130 at one stage. However it’s almost halved in value since then and is currently worth around $80.
How to buy Ethereum Classic: Buy Ethereum Classic on major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.
18. Solana (SOL)
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Solana market cap: $9.3 billion
Solana value: $33.6
The Solana story: A relatively new cryptocurrency, Solana was founded in 2017 by former Qualcomm colleagues Anat oly Yakovenko and Greg Fitzgerald, but only launched last year. Like so many of the top cryptocurrencies, there’s far more to it than just a token, in this case called SOL. In fact, far from it: Solana is a decentralized computing platform with the lofty goal of massively scaling up — and speeding up — blockchain tech. In fact, its founders are so confident of its speed that they even invite users to try and break the platform by stress-testing it.
Solana performance history: Solana ticked along steadily at around $2 for most of last year, then shot up this year. It reached a high of $58.16 last week but now has a current value of around $33. However, the news that it was available on Coinbase (as of Thursday, May 20) could see interest grow quickly.
How to buy Solana: Buy Solana on major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance.
Jonathan Lesser is a writer and editor covering cryptocurrency and personal finance. He has been published in Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Vibe, Travel + Leisure Golf and other publications. View all articles by Jonathan here .