As the market continues to fluctuate, a significant number of tokens have dropped by at least 75% in value from January’s peak. As a result, interesting projects are being overlooked even though they are making solid progress towards their goals.

Binance Coin (BNB)

Binance Coin is by far the most popular and most widely discussed token on this list, but it recently hasn’t been seeing too much much talk as its performance in terms of price has been rather unexciting in the last month.

BNB is a token used on the Binance exchange, and the coin enables customers to enjoy reduced fees if they choose to pay them with BNB. On top of this, the token can be used to pay for exchange, withdrawal and listing fees.

In the first year of the exchange’s operations, Binance offered a 50% discount rate on trading fees – as per the BNB whitepaper, the discount has dropped to 25% in the second year, and is planned to halve again in each of the subsequent two years.

BNB has been one of the more reliable coins over 2018, and managed to maintain its value compared to BTC for the first half of the year. In addition, the Binance exchange continues to expand and is solidifying its prominent position not just in the cryptocurrency exchange sector, but the blockchain space as a whole.

The company has opened an office in Malta and recently announced a Liechtenstein-based fiat to crypto exchange in collaboration with LCX. Binance is also the top exchange in terms of volume and processes approximately $1B worth of daily trades. A percentage of BNB tokens are burned each quarter, which results in increased scarcity.

Loom Network (LOOM)

Loom Network is a platform that makes it simple for developers to build highly scalable games and social media dApps on the Ethereum blockchain. This is done via the dAppChain concept, which is a standalone blockchain that is bonded to an Ethereum smart contract via a Relay.

The project started in October 2017 and has already launched numerous tools such as Crypto Zombies and Loom SDK (software development kit) to help software developers learn how to build blockchain solutions.

Furthermore, Loom Network is also a scalability solution for Ethereum, as their developer toolkit allows programmers to build dApps which connect to Ethereum through their dAppChain sidechains. The project is also pioneering Plasma Cash technology and the LOOM token acts as a membership pass that provides access to all the dApps running on the network.

Maker Dao (MKR)

MKR is the native currency of the MakerDAO project that manages the DAI decentralized stablecoin. The DAI coin remains fixed to the price of $1 and automatically reacts to price changes in order to remain stable valuation regardless of the market’s price movements.

As a result, 1 DAI always equals to $1 USD, and the currency is autonomously maintained through the use of responsive smart contracts that allow DAI to provide traders with a viable hedge currency in times of excess market volatility.

The DAI stablecoin has been quietly gaining adoption and the Maker team has partnered with projects such as Digix DAO, Request Network, and STK Token as the team look to solidify their position as the primary stablecoin of the Ethereum network.

In addition, while DAI remains fixed in price, MKR fluctuates and increases in value as more DAI tokens are used, MKR is used to pay stability fees when using DAI, and once paid, the MKR spent is permanently destroyed, reducing the total MKR supply, and further increasing its value. While it’s still early days for MKR, the token is definitely worth considering.

0x (ZRX)

0x is a token trading platform that retains its own ZRX native currency. The 0x platform facilitates the trading of tokens and other digital assets on the Ethereum blockchain, and the platform’s decentralized design acts as the foundation to a number of p2p trading sites.

These include Radar Relay, Paradex, and Ethfinex, and 0x acts as an open and non-rent seeking protocol that powers the trustless exchange of Ethereum assets.

In May, Coinbase acquired Paradex, a decentralized exchange that utilizes the 0x protocol. In addition, Coinbase has mentioned ZRX as one of the five digital assets they are exploring for a potential listing.

Request Network (REQ)

After REQ peaked at just below $1 in early January, the token first crashed to a low of $0.21 on February 5, and then proceeded to bleed value as the year progressed. The poor performance of the token has quelled a lot of the hype Request Network had going for it when it was in its early stages, but the development of the project continues and the team is releasing bi-weekly updates on their progress.

Request Network is quietly building a comprehensive payments platform. The multi layer composition allows Request to facilitate transactions in a wide range of currencies and languages and integrates computerized trade code and numerous payment terms into every transaction.

The network aims to allow anyone from anywhere in the world to request a payment or Request Invoice have it processed simply, and securely. The Request system involves smart contracts that handle currency conversions and payment processing, and an Extension Layer that covers complex activities such as calculating taxes, or setting up escrows and staggered payments. The Application Layer allows synchronization with companies outside the blockchain and connects to a host of accounting, tax, and auditing systems.