Top Cryptocurrencies 2021: Most Popular cryptos worthy of investment

Cryptocurrencies are once again a trending, hot topic, attracting hordes of interested investors and users who are attracted by their huge profitability potential and the fact that the recent pandemic has highlighted more than ever the relevance and convenience of digital payment methods. As cryptos are rapidly becoming mainstream and an attractive and viable alternative to fiat currencies their popularity is set to grow even further. Your crypto journey may well be a very successful one if approached with due caution and adequate knowledge, as the course of crypto currencies has always been bumpy from the onset.

Following a hugely successful year in 2017 where cryptocurrencies exploded their total market capitalization from about $18 billion in January 2017 to $800 billion in January 2018, cryptos underwent huge price corrections, leading most of the top cryptocurrencies to crash and reach record low points.

As such upheavals are a regular phenomenon, this handy guide aims to provide an overview of the most popular cryptocurrencies, highlighting both their advantages and disadvantages as well as presenting useful information about their investment history. By the end of the guide you will know all about the top cryptocurrencies in 2021, be able to understand the reasons behind their popularity and knowledgeable enough to make smart and wise choices and decisions when it comes to buying and investing in cryptos.

The Best Cryptocurrencies in 2021

Bitcoin

All You Need to Know at a Glance

Bitcoin was the first-ever cryptocurrency to be launched globally since it was first introduced back in 2008. What is intriguing is that so many years after its creation, nobody is still certain about who actually was Bitcoin’s original creator, since that person is still only known under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.

Things we liked:

 Widespread institutional involvement making it a store of value and fiat hedge
 First mover advantage/name recognition = head start on real world adoption
 Deflationary fully decentralised tokenomics

Things we didn't like:

 High transaction fees
 Scalability issues = slow transaction times
 Huge environmental cost due to proof-of-work concept

Ethereum

All You Need to Know at a Glance

Ethereum is the second most popular and valuable cryptocurrency, ranking just behind Bitcoin. Its creator is Vitalik Buterin, and Ethereum was first launched in 2015, to be much more than simply a digital currency.

Things we liked:

 First mover advantage in the smart contract space
 Most developers, nodes, and dApps of any cryptoasset
 Network is Turing complete = widespread use and potential application

Things we didn't like:

 Inflationary tokenomics (no fixed cap) - debate over capping inflation level
 Scalability of transactions causing high gas fees
 Unpredictability in timescale of upgrades, including proof-of-stake Eth 2.0

Binance Coin

All You Need to Know at a Glance

Binance Coin, denoted by BNB, is the native coin of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange that was launched through an ICO in July 2017. Binance intends to issue a maximum of 200 million BNB tokens and the primary aim of the launch was to finance the operation of its exchange.

Things we liked:

 Enables smooth trading within largest exchange and BSC with low fees
 Fast network due to centralised nodes
 Greater crypto adoption/use of Binance = increased demand = increased value

Things we didn't like:

 Centralised control = contrary to ideals of cryptocurrency
 Exposed to greater risk of price shifts due to centralised control of supply
 Risks being treated as a security by SEC as tied to private company profit

Polkadot

All You Need to Know at a Glance

An interesting and promising option for crypto enthusiasts comes in the shape of Polkadot, which boasts of being a prime example of an innovative, next-generation blockchain protocol, which stands out because it enables the connection of multiple, specialized chains into one universal network.

Things we liked:

  Interoperability
  Relatively More Scalable Than Others
  Successful Partnerships
  Huge Developer Activity on Polkadot’s Network

Things we didn't like:

 Infinite Competition from Smart Contract Blockchains

NEO

All You Need to Know at a Glance

NEO, is the rebranded name of a Chinese cryptocurrency originally called AntShares, which was first created in 2014 by Da Hongfei and rebranded into NEO in June 2017.

Things we liked:

 Its consensus protocol offers tremendous scalability in contrast with PoW o PoS.
 It offers interoperability with public or private digital and blockchain services.
 It allows to quickly deploy private networks with different associated services.

Things we didn't like:

 Its network does not currently have a high level of decentralization.
 Many of the platform options are not yet usable.
 It is a little-known project in the West.

EOS

All You Need to Know at a Glance

The EOS token ICO was launched in June 2017, whilst its full platform emerged in mid-2018, as a technologically improved platform where developers could build decentralized applications and smart contracts. The man behind EOS is Dan Larimer, who is also the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitshares and blockchain-based blogging site Steemit.

Things we liked:

 Much higher transaction speeds than main competitor Ethereum
 Negligible transaction fees
 Capacity to run industrial-scale decentralised apps

Things we didn't like:

 Extremely few existing nodes and inherent difficulty for more
 Essentially hitherto outcompeted by Ethereum and others for dApp takeup
 Community is sour on future and project founder has left recently

Cardano

All You Need to Know at a Glance

Cardano is another new crypto, which was launched in September 2017. Its creator, Charles Hoskinson, was also Ethereum’s co-founder, and similarly to Ethereum, Cardano was developed to be a platform for decentralized apps and smart contracts.

Things we liked:

 Strong development team with evidence-based approach
 Transparent roadmap towards decentralisation, scalability, and security
 Deflationary tokenomics, involving staking support

Things we didn't like:

 Staking addresses link to wallet addresses
 Long rollout with not all planned aspects fully usable
 Censorship can exist due to separation of computational and settlement layers

Bitcoin Cash

All You Need to Know at a Glance

Launched in 2016, Bitcoin Cash is a digital currency, which as revealed by its name, is an offspring of Bitcoin itself. In fact, the emergence of Bitcoin Cash came from members of the Bitcoin developers’ community, since at the time there were disagreements in its ranks as to the changes that had to be made to Bitcoin’s code.

Things we liked:

 Similar computational structure to Bitcoin and therefore easily co-adopted
 Addresses the scalability issue of Bitcoin specifically
 Smaller fees than the majority of its direct competitors

Things we didn't like:

 Perceived negativity surrounding its leadership, marketing, and community
 Direct competitor of Bitcoin which has a large market advantage
 Variably poor throughput of transactions compared to Bitcoin despite larger block size

Stellar

All You Need to Know at a Glance

Stellar and the non-profit organisation backing it, namely the Stellar Development Foundation, were created in 2014 by Jed Mc Caleb, the founder of Ripple. In fact, the birth of Stellar was the result of being hard forked into Stellar. Like its parent crypto Ripple, Stellar is also focused on achieving the increased efficiency of cross-border payments.

Things we liked:

 Fast cross-border payments between individuals
 Negligible fees
 Not-for-profit philosophy = inclusive global payment system compared to XRP

Things we didn't like:

 Competitor of XRP without first mover advantage
 Nodes are privately held for consensus algorithm, with little financial incentive
 Small centralised development team

IOTA

All You Need to Know at a Glance

Since its original launch in 2015, IOTA stands out from the rest as it is to date the only crypto that doesn’t use blockchain technology, but a new protocol called Tangle. IOTA is based on what is known as the Internet-of-Things (IoT), which is a technology enabling the communication between various objects with sensors, via the internet.

Things we liked:

 Market leader in being the first crypto architecture not based on a blockchain (directed acyclic graph)
 Strong developer roadmap aiming for game-changing fast, feeless smart contracts governing IoT
 Comparatively environmentally friendly to other large scale projects

Things we didn't like:

 Slow rollout of roadmap and early target of removing central coordinating node still not complete
 New technological issues - caused a mainnet outage for 11 days as recently as last year
 As a token made for machine-to-machine transactions, future market is somewhat unpredictable

Litecoin

All You Need to Know at a Glance

Litecoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies around, since it was created back in 2011 by a former Google employee, namely Charlie Lee. Litecoin was actually built on the Bitcoin blockchain, aiming towards the emergence of a digital currency that was better than Bitcoin.

Things we liked:

 Faster transaction confirmation that its direct competitor Bitcoin
 Long-standing trusted cryptoasset with historically solid top 10 ranking
 Near ubiquitous listing on exchanges and some mainstream adoption

Things we didn't like:

 Limited developmental input recently in comparison to other projects
 Growing move away from Litecoin as a Bitcoin hedge due to stablecoins
 At risk of being devalued if Bitcoin can be effectively solve scalability

Ripple

All You Need to Know at a Glance

Ripple is a very unique cryptocurrency that differs a lot from other cryptos featuring on the top cryptocurrencies list in a variety of ways. Its first unique feature is the fact that it was founded back in 2012 with the clear aim of tackling the problems of the international payment transfers industry and making international transactions easier, faster and simpler.

Things we liked:

 Enables fast cross-border payments, particularly targeting businesses
 Name recognition and early market leader in payments space
 Negligible fees

Things we didn't like:

 Strong competition + regulation in market space = slow adoption
 Highly centralised nodes, privately held for proof-of-correctness algorithm
 Recent delistings from exchanges and halts to trading due to court cases

Dogecoin

All You Need to Know at a Glance

Currently the 5th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency, that differs greatly from other popular coins such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Dogecoin may have come about originally as a lighthearted joke but its ensuing success has proven that it truly is anything but funny.

Things we liked:

 Fun and engaging story/community encouraging new users of crypoassets
 Low transaction fees
 Relatively quick transaction times leading to some real world adoption

Things we didn't like:

 Celebrity impact = pumps and dumps unusual for high market cap assets
 Potentially infinite supply limiting value possibilities, despite fixed inflation
 Virtually no development for many years

The Best Crypto Trading Platforms in 2021

How to Buy Crypto with Credit or Debit Card on TradeOr

TradeOr

4.7 / 5

Rating breakdown

Security

90%

4.5/5

Ease of Use

100%

5.0/5

Tradable Assets

80%

4.0/5

Deposit and withdrawal

100%

5.0/5

Trading Fees

100%

5.0/5

Support

90%

4.5/5

Things we liked:

 Zero commission policy
 Customers support is available 24/7
 Up to 500:1 leverage
 Low minimum deposit requirement

Things we didn't like:

 No demo account
 TradeOr offers only one payment method – bitcoin

How to Buy Crypto with Credit or Debit Card on Binance

Binance

4.7 / 5

Rating breakdown

Security

80%

4.0/5

Ease of Use

90%

4.5/5

Tradable Assets

100%

5.0/5

Deposit and withdrawal

100%

5.0/5

Trading Fees

100%

5.0/5

Support

88%

4.4/5

Things we liked:

 One of the most trusted brands in crypto
 Very fast, easy to use interface
 Binance offers extremely low transaction fees

Things we didn't like:

 Can be overwhelming for people who are new to crypto or trading

Find out all there is to know about online Cryptos and begin your journey in this booming niche of the financial world today, armed with confidence and solid knowledge.

Need Help With Selecting Cryptos?

Having reached the end of the guide you now know which are the top 10 cryptocurrencies for 2021, as well as knowing about their origin and distinctive advantages and disadvantages. You are also better equipped to take your crypto investment decisions wisely, since the guide also includes a brief snapshot of the past performance of all the most popular crypto's. The cryptocurrencies presented make up more than 75% of the total cryptocurrency market by market capitalization and therefore the guide helps you pick which of the cryptocurrencies is your favorite and which is the most appropriate and suitable for your own goals and endeavours.