How do cryptocurrency rates and prices work? There are several ways to determine the value of a cryptocurrency, including market capitalization, supply, and demand; however, the most common way is to use exchanges such as CoinMarketCap, Coinbase, or Poloniex that list current cryptocurrency rates and prices on their sites. In this article, we’ll discuss these various ways of finding cryptocurrency rates and prices so you can make informed decisions about your investments.
# | Name | Price | Changes 24h | Market CAP | Volume | Supply |
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Bitcoin
As of Jan. 1, 2018, one bitcoin was worth $15,000. That’s a lot! However, as recently as 2017 one bitcoin was worth $1,000—less than half its current value. These fluctuations are far from unusual: at various points in 2017 bitcoin has been priced between $800 and $3,000. This is a strong indication that bitcoin is volatile and shouldn’t be treated like a safe investment vehicle. Still curious? Learn more about buying bitcoins here .
Ethereum
One of the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap, Ethereum is a blockchain platform that enables developers to build decentralized applications (ĐApps) using smart contracts. It supports a modified version of Nakamoto consensus via transaction-based state transitions. Ethereum was proposed in late 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, a cryptocurrency researcher and programmer. Development was funded by an online crowdsale during July–August 2014; at that time, the price of 1 ETH was about 0.0025 BTC. This is approximately equivalent to $350 as of October 2017. Later, an alpha version was released in 2015, with a full release planned for Q1 2018.
Ripple
In case you’re unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies, let’s first go over what they are. Think of them as virtual currencies or money. But unlike cash, they aren’t managed by a central bank; their value is based on trust. They have to be purchased from an exchange service like Coinbase or Gemini, which will keep track of them for you in much the same way a bank would for dollars or euros. One important note about buying cryptocurrency: While these transactions take place online (like any other transaction), there’s always some sort of fee that needs to be paid out in actual currency (in our case, it’s usually US dollars). Cryptocurrencies are not free of charge; bitcoin fees alone can reach $1 per transaction!
Litecoin
What is Litecoin? The crypto currency with an honest price. Litecoin (LTC) is a peer-to-peer crypto currency and open source software project released under MIT/X11 license. Creation and transfer of coins is based on an open source cryptographic protocol, which allows users to generate their own coins via a process called mining. Litecoin was one of several alternative cryptocurrencies launched in 2011 when many people were looking for alternatives to Bitcoin. There are more than 250 crypto currencies at present that we could track on CoinMarketCap. Other popular altcoins include Ethereum, Ripple, Dash or Monero; bitcoin seems to be a leader in terms of market capitalization but alternative currencies are gaining popularity as potential transaction methods thanks to faster confirmation times and lower transaction fees than Bitcoin.
Dash
In addition to offering digital currency trading, Dash (formerly known as Darkcoin) offers a variety of services geared toward enabling users to make use of their coins. These include: direct trades with other Dash users, conversion from Dash to cash using legal tender through an ATM or bank transfer, or products at special vendors that accept Dash. One Dash can be traded for roughly $235 USD. With over 7 million coins in circulation, 1 in 10 people have used Dash as a method of payment at least once since its 2014 launch. Popular online retailer Amazon is one such vendor; with all purchases made on Amazon rewards program, eligible customers can earn 1% back in redeemable rewards points – but you have to purchase with bitcoin first.
Monero
XMR is a privacy-focused digital currency that works similarly to Bitcoin, but with more anonymity and decentralization. Every transaction made on Monero’s network is private, so it can’t be traced back to an individual user. Plus, unlike Bitcoin mining, Monero mining doesn’t require ASICs or GPUs; it can run on most computers. Users who don’t have enough computer power can choose to pool their resources together in order to mine more efficiently. All of these features make Monero a powerful tool for use in underground markets or other situations where you might want privacy.
Neo
A lot of hype has surrounded NEO (formerly known as Antshares) over the past few months. After having been recently introduced to crypto, it still remains a bit of a mystery to me. What is Neo? What does it do? Why would I want to use it? These are all questions that I have and if you have similar questions, then I’m about to answer them for you! Read on for more!
OmiseGO
OMG is a cryptocurrency that runs on a public, decentralized network called Ethereum. The currency aims to be an open-source peer-to-peer digital cash transfer system. One thing that’s unique about OmiseGO is that it isn’t just one type of cryptocurrency. Instead, it is connected to multiple cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple and others. As of September 2017, OMG had a market cap of $1 billion with a price per coin at $16.87 USD; however, as crypto prices continued to climb through September and October 2017, OMG experienced incredible gains in value: reaching nearly $33 USD per coin by late October 2017 before dropping off slightly since then.
Dogecoin
The first widely popular cryptocurrency, Dogecoin is unique for several reasons. Unlike Bitcoin, Dogecoin is lighthearted, using its brand to spread a message of kindness over greed. Its users tend to latch onto and promote these values, contributing greatly to Dogecoin’s popularity on social media sites like Reddit. It was also at one point largely used for tipping other people online (much in the same way that you might tip a waiter), making it fairly unique among cryptocurrencies as far as what its users actually do with it.
Solana
If you’re looking for a good cryptocurrency to invest in, Solana is a great option. Here are some of its main benefits: Instant payments Solana transactions settle in as little as 1-2 seconds with no fees, allowing you to send money faster than nearly any other digital currency out there. Fast transactions Solana blockchain technology allows up to 2,000 transactions per second across the network, making it one of fastest on-chain networks available today. Scalability Solana scales without limit for public or private blockchains. We can deliver performance that can comfortably match existing payment networks with room to spare for future growth, even with millions of users or billions of devices running our software around the world.