TOP LIST CRYPTOCURRENCIES BY MARKETCAP

Being able to analyze and interpret data is a useful skill set for anyone looking to capitalize on the burgeoning cryptocurrency market. Due to the importance of statistics, we designed Stelareum. A website providing an environment conducive to accessing and analyzing cryptocurrency prices, market capitalizations and other cryptocurrency related tools.

What is a cryptocurrency ?

Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency used for direct online peer-to-peer transactions. There are hundreds of them in circulation, each with varying value. The first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was developed in 2009 by a programmer using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. In 2008, in a book called A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, Nakamoto provided the first description of the blockchain. A technology that allows cryptocurrencies to function like government issued currencies, without the intervention of a central bank or third party. Blockchain solves the problem of double spending associated with digital currency.

Furthermore, since digital information is easily copied, digital currency requires a mechanism that can reliably prevent a monetary unit from being duplicated or spent multiple times. Thus, the global financial system, as a collective entity, has historically been responsible for establishing and ensuring the legitimacy of monetary transactions. The validity of cryptocurrencies is established and maintained without any involvement of the world's central banks. Rather, records of cryptocurrency transactions are kept publicly. But, unlike most public registries which are vulnerable to hacking and modification, transactions verified by blockchain technology are immutable. Cryptocurrencies are tokens built and generated on a blockchain or similar structure, that use cryptographic technology to ensure security, scarcity, privacy, and decentralization. Some of the biggest cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin² and the most popular like Doge, Cardano, and Ripple.

Every cryptocurrency is at least slightly different, from supply, to security structures, to the amount of decentralization can vary. Bitcoin and Dogecoin are built on proof-of-work consensus methods, which means transactions are verified by using substantial computing power. Cardano and Ethereum are built on, or intend to move to, proof-of-stake consensus methods, which means transactions are verified by staking large amounts of cryptocurrency. These have their pros and cons. Other coins are almost entirely centralized, such as the ‘JP Morgan Coin’ which has been tested amongst large banks. Nobody outside of these banks can even own JPM coin, however it still has potential to bring the benefits of blockchain to banking by allowing blockchain transfers between banks, despite ite centralization.

How to evaluate the price of a cryptocurrency by its market capitalization ?

Market capitalization is an indicator that measures and tracks the market value of a cryptocurrency. This is the actual value of a cryptocurrency calculated by multiplying the circulating supply by the price of the coin or token. Example: The circulating supply of bitcoin is 20,982,018 BTC and its current price is $110,042.10. Its market capitalization is: 20,982,018 x 110,042.10 = $2,308,905,322,958. The price of a cryptocurrency is calculated by dividing its market capitalization by its circulating supply. Example: Ethereum's market cap is currently $2,931,962,924,300 and its outstanding supply is ETH 799,935,318.00. Its price is: 2,931,962,924,300 / 799,935,318 = $3,665.25.

It is important to note that the cryptocurrency market is very volatile and therefore, market capitalizations and prices change incessantly.

Why use cryptocurrency ?

Cryptocurrencies have many advantages over traditional financial systems. Buying cryptocurrencies has already proven to be very profitable for many early-stage investors. They offer the following advantages:

Personal transaction management

As the owner, you can yourself manage where to send and receive your currencies. No other party is involved in your transactions. This reduces the risk of fraud and embezzlement without your knowledge.

Track your payments at any time

The ability to track transactions down to the second helps determine the exact time of a payment. This increases the security of your transactions.

Private transactions

Cryptocurrencies are associated with different levels of privacy. Some like Monero and Verge allow you to remain anonymous throughout a transaction.

Fast transaction processing

Although the speed of cryptocurrency transactions can vary, it is generally fast. Unlike credit card transactions which can take a few days to process, cryptocurrency transactions are instant. So you can buy items instantly and have quick access to your funds if you sell any. You won't have to wait a day or two for the funds to be transferred to you.

Efficient international transactions

You can send and receive cryptocurrency no matter where you are on the globe. You also won't have to pay foreign transaction fees like you probably would with a traditional currency.

Affordable transaction costs

In the long list of cryptocurrencies, some like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and Litecoin generally have low transaction fees compared to other cryptocurrencies. Because, there is no central authority which governs these currencies.

These are just some of the benefits of cryptocurrencies, however there are many more.

What are the different factors that can influence the price of cryptocurrencies ?

Cryptocurrency prices may be influenced by many factors. Fundamentally, it is a matter of the amount of capital buying, vs the amount of capital selling. If more people are buying, prices go up as demand is greater than supply. If more people are selling, prices go down, as supply is greater than demand. There are an infinite number of factors influencing supply and demand, including governmental policies, the affects of influencers, the utilities of the currency, the state of the larger economy, and even pure faith.

The volatility of the cryptocurrencies price such as bitcoin and ethereum frequently makes headlines. Here are the factors behind this roller coaster:

Regulations

Questions are being asked in different countries and jurisdictions as to whether they should be recognized as currency units, tightly regulated, or even made illegal. And new decisions are made and changed all the time. This greatly affects the prices of cryptocurrencies.

Current affairs

Besides regulation, hot topics that appear to have nothing to do with cryptocurrencies can have an effect on current stocks. Cryptocurrencies are often seen as an alternative to fiat currency, a currency whose value is guaranteed by the government that issued it. So, when investors lose their confidence in a fiat currency due to economic or political events, they may turn to bitcoin and its rivals, thereby driving up prices.

The speculation

Cryptocurrency investors who have experienced Bitcoin's previous meteoric surges during a bull run are witnessing how speculation can raise the price of an asset or even lower it quickly.

Hacking

From the early days of bitcoin to the proliferation of new cryptocurrencies today, hacking has remained a major problem for cryptocurrency investors. Every hack into the cryptocurrency system, exchanges or wallets has caused prices to collapse. Recently, an attack on the binance cryptocurrency exchange caused a drop of 10.8% within minutes.

The new cryptocurrencies

When a currency becomes popular, money flows into it and thus affects its price. At the same time, new crypto currencies are launched every day, which can have a diluting effect on others.

Blockchain and decentralization ?

Blockchain technology works on the basis of cryptography. The study of secure communication techniques aimed at preventing the compromise of recordings or their manipulation by unauthorized users. It is able to monitor transactions to verify that money is not spent more than once and that each coin has only one owner at a time. In addition, it enables stakeholders to reach consensus through a common digital history. In addition, it is a solution without intermediary operating an autonomous electronic public register to record transactions and assets in a commercial network. In other words, blockchain technology does not belong to anyone in the traditional sense of the term and therefore is managed by various networks which collectively chain, store and distribute information fairly so that no network is overloaded. This information is accessible to anyone with the appropriate credentials.

For many, decentralization is a core component of blockchain. It is a foundational idea on which currencies such as Bitcoin were built on, with it being a core focus in Satoshi Nakomoto’s design. Great technical thought has been put in to maintaining the decentralization of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and some would say it is the most important technological breakthrough of the technology. Cryptocurrencies allow people to make payments without any third party besides code that is built into immutable networks of computers. Once a person owns cryptocurrency in a wallet, nobody may tell them that thehy can not move that currency where they please. This is in opposition to banks where a bank may often hold funds for one reason or another, or simply take days when the actual transactions should only take less than an hour.

Cryptocurrencies are not limited to just making payments, other systems have sprung up on top of blockchains that cryptocurrencies may interact with, such as decentralized finance. Here people may do things such as take loans and earn yields on their cryptocurrencies without a middle man. Some cryptocurrencies are more decentralized than others however, and there is a great debate on how much decentralization is enough. The Blockchain Trilemma states that there is a three way trade off between decentralization, scalability, and security. Increasing any one variable will tend to decrease the other two. In the present day, most chains that have a great increase in transaction processing capacity and lower costs tend to have compromised on either decentralization and scalability