It’s been over a decade since Bitcoin was established, the first (and by far the most popular) form of cryptocurrency worldwide. Despite its fame– imitators and innovators have emerged in huge numbers, making up the more than 7,000 cryptocurrencies bought and sold today. With such a broad range of cryptocurrencies, how do investors know which crypto is best? How can we ensure they aren’t a crypto scam, or will rug pull? There is no way to know if a cryptocurrency will eventually pull out all the funds and leave investors with nothing. We must be careful when investing in crypto. It goes up and down so drastically we likely will lose. Be careful; here are the best cryptocurrencies to buy in Q4 2023.
First, a note about my negative position on crypto. I partner with a few teams to create and maintain Financing Sarah, as it’s impossible to do it all myself since I travel full-time and have a business in tech. Since I’m a cynic who loves diversity of thought, many perspectives have been shared in these posts. It takes me a long time to decide on most things, and I’m still skeptical when I do. I’m always happy to entertain diverse ideas. Since I’ve been a bit harsh on crypto lately here on the blog, I’ve asked one of the team members, a crypto evangelist, to write up a top 10 list and a short description of the coins.
What are the top cryptocurrencies right now?
It is easy to find the top cryptocurrency at any given time – it’s consistently Bitcoin. However, the market moves so quickly that it takes a lot more work to keep up with what’s happening with the other coins on the leaderboard.
One approach is to look at market capitalization, which is essentially the total dollar value of a company’s shares of stock. In that regard, it’s hard to see beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, which have sizable leads over their competition. Keep up to date on the leading cryptocurrencies on CoinMarketcap.
#1 – Bitcoin
Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks, instead managing transactions and creating a ledger. The network of connected users carries out the mining and issuing of bitcoins. Bitcoin is open-source; its design is public, nobody owns or controls it, and everyone can participate.
Why Bitcoin?
Bitcoins can be used to buy merchandise anonymously. They can be used for international payments, which are easy and cheap because bitcoins are “borderless currency,” which means they are not tied to any country or subject to regulation. Small businesses may like them because there are no credit card fees. Most people buy bitcoins as an investment, hoping they’ll increase in value. Bitcoin is also used by scammers and criminals, so be aware.
Transfers
People can send bitcoins to each other using mobile apps or their computers. It’s similar to sending cash digitally but without the high bank fees.
Mining
People compete to “mine” bitcoins using computers that solve complex math puzzles. This is how bitcoins are created.
Bitcoin’s Future in Question
It has yet to be determined what will become of Bitcoin. It is mostly unregulated, but some countries like Japan, China, and Australia have begun weighing regulations. Governments are now taxing profits made from crypto and starting to plan controls over the currency.
#2 – Ethereum
Ethereum is the cryptocurrency built on top of an open-source Ethereum blockchain, which runs smart contracts. Cryptocurrency acts as the fuel for smart contracts, unlike Bitcoin, which is meant to be a currency unit on a peer-to-peer payment network. Ether’s supply is not capped like Bitcoin’s; it’s on a supply schedule, often described as the minimum necessary to secure the network, and members of Ethereum’s community determine it.
Ethereum’s network holds an identical copy of its ledger, letting everyone see all past transactions, and is managed by all distributed ledger holders.
Blockchain transactions use cryptography to keep the network secure and verify transactions. For the Ethereum system, these tokens are called Ether (ETH).
#3 – Tether
Tether is a private company issuing digital Tether Tokens (USDT) to anyone who gives them U.S. dollars. Technologically, Tether tokens are secured on either the Bitcoin blockchain via the Omni second-layer protocol or the Ethereum blockchain as ERC-20 tokens.
Currently, Tether is in demand for a less transformative reason – it allows crypto traders to quickly and safely move in and out of speculative positions. Not all crypto exchanges have banking relationships that will enable direct dollar trades. Tether is a faster-moving, digitally-liquid dollar replacement on platforms like Binance and Poloniex or decentralized platforms like ShapeShift.
#4 – Binance coin
Initially, the Binance coin started as a traditional ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. Later, the company introduced its blockchain, and the coins started being issued from the Binance blockchain and secured by the Tendermint byzantine-fault-tolerant (BFT) consensus mechanism.
ERC-20 tokens rely on the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus, which allows them to be highly scalable and also allows the creation of smart contracts. Unlike PoS, the Binance blockchain does not support intelligent contract functionalities.
#5 – XRP
Understanding the difference between XRP, Ripple, and RippleNet is essential. XRP is the currency that runs on a digital payment platform called RippleNet, which is on top of a distributed ledger database called XRP Ledger. RippleNet is run by a company called Ripple; the XRP Ledger is open-source and is not based on blockchain but rather the previously mentioned distributed ledger database.
The RippleNet payment platform is a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system that aims to enable instant monetary transactions globally. While XRP is the cryptocurrency native to the XRP Ledger, you can use any currency to transact on the platform.
While the idea behind the Ripple payment platform was first voiced in 2004 by Ryan Fugger, it wasn’t until Jed McCaleb and Chris Larson took over the project in 2012 that Ripple began to be built (at the time, it was also called OpenCoin).
How Does XRP Work?
Ripple created XRP as a speedy, less costly, and more scalable alternative to other digital assets and monetary payment platforms like SWIFT.
RippleNet’s ledger is maintained by the global XRP Community, with Ripple the company as an active member. As opposed to proof-of-work mining like Bitcoin (BTC), the XRP Ledger processes transactions roughly every 3-5 seconds or whenever independent validator nodes come to a consensus on the order and validity of XRP transactions.
Anyone can be a Ripple validator, and the list is currently made up of Ripple and universities, financial institutions, and others.
#6- U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC) Like Tether, USDC is a Stablecoin.
#7 – Solana Some consider Solana a contender against Ethereum
#8 – Cardano
Cardano is secured through an “environmentally sustainable, verifiably secure” PoS protocol known as Ouroboros. (Ouroboros is the Greek snake who eats his tail, representing infinity and human hubris, and is, therefore, in my opinion, an exciting choice for the name of their security protocol).
The project says that Ouroboros improves the security guarantees delivered by a PoW consensus mechanism while using substantially less power. They also claim that it is four times more energy efficient than Bitcoin.
Described as a blend of unique technology and mathematically verified mechanisms with behavioral psychology and economic philosophy thrown in for good measure, overall, the objective of Ouroboros is to achieve sustainable and ethical growth.
An incentive mechanism means that participants in the network are rewarded for their involvement.
#9 – Dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) is based on the famous “doge” internet meme and features a Shiba Inu dog as its logo. The open-source digital currency was created by Billy Markus from Portland, Oregon, and Jackson Palmer from Sydney, Australia, and was established on Litecoin in December 2013. Dogecoin’s creators envisioned it as a fun, light-hearted cryptocurrency with greater appeal beyond the core Bitcoin audience since it was based on a dog meme. Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted several tweets on social media that Dogecoin is his favorite coin. You can read more about Dogecoin here: What is Dogecoin.
#10 – Tron (TRX) Similar to Solana, TRON is also run on smart contracts with DeFi applications. Proof of stake consensus algorithm is used.
Learning where a cryptocurrency can be traded and how large the cryptocurrency payment market is or may become is essential. If you can buy goods and services with them, the cryptocurrencies will remain valuable. Please do your research and only invest what you’re willing to lose, as it’s such a volatile time for all ten of these currencies. If you would like another step to researching crypto investments, then use the fundamental analysis approach. Subscribe for more investing posts. Have a lovely day.
Disclaimer
I want to make it unequivocally clear that I do not promote any cryptocurrency, nor do I endorse any crypto investments. This website is dedicated to providing information and insights into the world of cryptocurrencies to help you better understand what crypto is. If you ever find yourself in a position where you need to explain your decision not to invest in cryptocurrencies to friends or acquaintances, you can use the content on this site as a guide to discourage people from falling victim to scams or making hasty financial decisions. My ultimate goal is to empower individuals with knowledge and awareness so that fewer people become financial victims. Life is already challenging with its inherent obstacles; we don’t need the added burden of unscrupulous individuals looking to exploit our hard-earned money. Stay vigilant, stay informed, and make financial decisions with caution. Your financial well-being is of paramount importance, and it is my sincere hope that the information here can assist you in making prudent choices.
