Top 100 Cryptocurrencies Described in 10 Words or Less

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.

Related: Top 10 Coins In 2020 Prediction (Opinion)