The world of digital assets and cryptocurrencies has witnessed exponential growth since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009. With each passing year, the crypto ecosystem expands, introducing innovative solutions, platforms, and tokens that collectively aim to redefine the boundaries of finance, technology, and governance. This compilation provides a comprehensive overview of some of the most prominent cryptocurrencies in the market. It sheds light on their foundational backgrounds, unique value propositions, and underlying mechanisms, offering both newcomers and seasoned enthusiasts a snapshot of the diverse landscape of the crypto realm. The tables below detail various aspects of each cryptocurrency, from founders and creation dates to consensus mechanisms and maximum supply.

Cryptocurrency Symbol Founder(s) Creation Date Maximum Supply Consensus Mechanism Description
0x ZRX Will Warren, Amir Bandeali 2017 No Hard Cap Proof of Stake A protocol that facilitates the decentralized exchange of ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.
Aave AAVE Stani Kulechov 2020 No Hard Cap ??? A decentralized lending and borrowing protocol built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Algorand ALGO Silvio Micali 2019 10 Billion Pure Proof of Stake A blockchain platform that aims to provide a secure and scalable infrastructure for decentralized applications and transactions.
Avalanche AVAX Emin Gün Sirer 2020 720 Million Avalanche A platform that enables the creation of decentralized applications and the issuance of new blockchain assets.
Basic Attention Token BAT Brendan Eich, Brian Bondy 2017 1.5 Billion Ethereum-based A utility token used in the Brave browser to reward users and content creators.
Binance Coin BNB Changpeng Zhao 2017 200 Million Binance Chain The native cryptocurrency of the Binance exchange platform.
Bitcoin BTC Satoshi Nakamoto 2009 21 Million Proof of Work The first and most well-known decentralized cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin Cash BCH Bitcoin Community 2017 21 Million Proof of Work A cryptocurrency that resulted from a hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain, aiming to increase scalability and transaction speed.
Bitcoin Gold BTG ??? 2017 21 Million Proof of Work A cryptocurrency that emerged from a Bitcoin hard fork, aiming to make mining more decentralized.
Bitcoin SV BSV ??? 2018 21 Million Proof of Work A cryptocurrency that emerged from a Bitcoin Cash hard fork, aiming to restore the original Bitcoin protocol.
Cardano ADA Charles Hoskinson 2017 45 Billion Ouroboros A blockchain platform that aims to provide a secure and scalable infrastructure for the development of decentralized applications.
Celsius CEL Alex Mashinsky 2017 ??? Ethereum-based A decentralized lending and borrowing platform that offers interest-earning accounts for cryptocurrencies.
Chainlink LINK Sergey Nazarov, Steve Ellis 2017 1 Billion Ethereum-based A decentralized oracle network that connects smart contracts with real-world data.
Compound COMP Robert Leshner 2018 10 Million Ethereum-based A decentralized lending protocol that allows borrowing and lending of various cryptocurrencies.
Cosmos ATOM Jae Kwon, Ethan Buchman 2017 No Hard Cap Tendermint BFT A decentralized network of interconnected blockchains aiming to enable seamless communication between them.
Dash DASH Evan Duffield 2014 18.9 Million Proof of Work/Proof of Service A cryptocurrency focused on privacy and instant transactions.
Decred DCR Company 0 2016 21 Million Hybrid PoW/PoS A cryptocurrency with a hybrid proof-of-work and proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
DigiByte DGB Jared Tate 2013 21 Billion Multi-algo PoW A cryptocurrency that focuses on security, decentralization, and fast transaction speeds.
Dogecoin DOGE Billy Markus, Jackson Palmer 2013 No Hard Cap Proof of Work A cryptocurrency that started as a meme but has gained a significant following.
EOS EOS Dan Larimer, Brendan Blumer 2018 No Hard Cap Delegated PoS A blockchain platform that aims to provide a user-friendly environment for decentralized applications.
Ethereum ETH Vitalik Buterin, et al. 2015 No Hard Cap Proof of Work (transitioning to Proof of Stake) A blockchain platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications.
Ethereum Classic ETC Ethereum Community 2016 No Hard Cap Proof of Work A continuation of the original Ethereum blockchain after a hard fork to reverse a hacking incident.
FTX Token FTT Sam Bankman-Fried 2019 350 Million ??? The native cryptocurrency of the FTX exchange, which offers derivatives trading and innovative products.
Huobi Token HT Leon Li 2018 500 Million Ethereum-based The native utility token of the Huobi cryptocurrency exchange.
IOTA MIOTA David Sønstebø, et al. 2016 2.78 Billion Tangle A cryptocurrency designed for the Internet of Things (IoT), enabling machine-to-machine transactions.
Kusama KSM Gavin Wood 2019 ??? Nominated PoS A scalable and interoperable blockchain platform that allows for experimentation and innovation in the Polkadot ecosystem.
Litecoin LTC Charlie Lee 2011 84 Million Proof of Work A peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that offers faster transaction confirmation times compared to Bitcoin.
Maker MKR Rune Christensen, et al. 2015 No Hard Cap Ethereum-based A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that provides a stablecoin (DAI) pegged to the US dollar.
Monero XMR Nicolas van Saberhagen 2014 No Hard Cap Proof of Work A privacy-focused cryptocurrency that prioritizes anonymous transactions.
NEM XEM ??? 2015 9 Billion Proof of Importance A blockchain platform that aims to provide customizable smart contracts and enterprise solutions.
Neo NEO Da Hongfei, Erik Zhang 2014 100 Million dBFT A smart contract platform that aims to digitize assets and automate the management of digital identities.
OMG Network OMG Jun Hasegawa, Donnie Harinsut 2017 140 Million Ethereum-based A scaling solution for Ethereum that aims to increase transaction speed and reduce fees.
Ontology ONT Jun Li 2017 1 Billion VBFT A high-performance blockchain platform that focuses on identity and data management.
Polkadot DOT Dr. Gavin Wood 2020 No Hard Cap Nominated PoS A multi-chain platform that enables different blockchains to interoperate and share information.
Qtum QTUM Patrick Dai, et al. 2016 107 Million Proof of Stake A blockchain platform that combines the security of Bitcoin’s UTXO model with the smart contract capabilities of Ethereum.
Ren REN Taiyang Zhang, Loong Wang 2017 1 Billion Sub-zero Knowledge A protocol that enables the interoperability and transfer of cryptocurrencies across different blockchains.
Reserve Rights RSR Nevin Freeman, et al. 2019 ??? Ethereum-based A stablecoin protocol that aims to maintain a stable value while remaining decentralized.
Solana SOL Anatoly Yakovenko 2020 No Hard Cap Proof of History A high-performance blockchain platform designed for decentralized applications and crypto-currencies.
Stellar XLM Jed McCaleb, Joyce Kim 2014 50 Billion Stellar Consensus A platform that facilitates fast, low-cost international money transfers and decentralized applications.
SushiSwap SUSHI ??? 2020 No Hard Cap Ethereum-based A decentralized exchange and automated market maker built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Synthetix SNX Kain Warwick 2017 ??? Ethereum-based A decentralized synthetic asset platform that enables the creation and trading of synthetic assets.
Tezos XTZ Arthur Breitman, Kathleen Breitman 2017 ??? Liquid Proof of Stake A self-amending blockchain platform that allows for the creation and execution of smart contracts.
Terra LUNA Do Kwon, Daniel Shin 2018 ??? Tendermint-based A stablecoin-focused blockchain protocol that aims to provide price stability and scalability.
THETA THETA Mitch Liu, Jieyi Long 2018 1 Billion Multi-Level BFT A decentralized video delivery network that aims to improve video streaming, reduce costs, and enhance user experience.
TRON TRX Justin Sun 2017 100 Billion Delegated PoS A blockchain-based platform that focuses on content sharing and entertainment applications.
VeChain VET Sunny Lu 2015 86.7 Billion Proof of Authority A blockchain platform that aims to improve supply chain management and product authenticity.
Waves WAVES Alexander Ivanov 2016 100 Million Leased PoS A blockchain platform that allows for the creation, transfer, and exchange of digital assets.
XRP XRP Chris Larsen, Jed McCaleb 2012 100 Billion Consensus A digital currency used in the Ripple payment protocol.
yearn.finance YFI Andre Cronje 2020 36,666 Ethereum-based A decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that aims to optimize yield farming strategies.
Zcash ZEC Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn 2016 21 Million Proof of Work A privacy-focused cryptocurrency that uses zero-knowledge proofs to enable shielded transactions.