List of top virtual currencies in 2017 and what differentiates them

With more than 1,100 cryptocurrencies and a total market cap of approximately $150 billion circulating in the market today, this ‘next-gen gold’ has taken the financial world by storm.

The question of their survival, which enveloped this fintech invention in the beginning, has now been replaced by the question of the extent of its evolution and adoption. Industry skeptics raised concerns regarding the new "currency’s” power to disrupt the financial landscape as we know it and lead world economies to lose financial control to the hands of the common man.

Even when many countries and companies ‘banned’ the use of the digital currency, its rapid growth and mass adoption by technology aficionados and leading global firms (such as Microsoft, Virgin Galactic, Shopify, and Tesla) led to its strengthening in today’s fiscal society.

According to a report by PwC, cryptocurrencies have been called one of the “greatest technological breakthroughs since the Internet.” They have also been called “a black hole” into which a consumer’s money could just disappear.
These two stark contrasting statements are the reason why cryptocurrencies have inspired more debate than actual commerce.

In this article, BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has listed the top cryptocurrencies of 2017, decoding the cashless era’s top players.

   Bitcoin

Having the first-mover advantage, Bitcoin is the world’s first peer-to-peer decentralized digital currency, which is now not only the most recognized and known cryptocurrency, but also the only digital currency that is most widely accepted and used in numerous real-world transactions.

With a market cap of approximately $80 billion and a supply of more than 16.5 million Bitcoins, one Bitcoin (until recently) had a value of more than $4,800, making it the costliest virtual currency on the market. Recently, it broke an all-time record high and hit a historic mark when its value peaked at a whopping $5,856.10 on October 13, 2017.

With Bitcoin ATMs and widespread knowledge and adoption, it is now easier than ever to mine and obtain Bitcoins and make actual transactions.

Coinbase operates one of the most popular wallets and is a simple way to buy Bitcoins, while Xapo is known for its ease of use in Bitcoin transactions and as a bitcoin cold-storage vault.

The main advantages of Bitcoins over other cryptocurrencies, according to Bitcoin developer and Medium writer Jimmy Song, are its network effect and proven security. According to him, other advantages of Bitcoins that make them unique are:

Bitcoin is more accessible with more merchants, more exchanges, and software/hardware support systems available.
It has the largest developer ecosystem with more software and more implementations.
First mover advantage: Large user base, loyalists, and entrepreneurs creating companies (open source projects, startups) around it.
It is far more liquid than other digital currencies
Security has been proven far more than its much younger counterparts with usage by almost every metric exceeding that of altcoins.
It has a large lead as a store of value.
Bitcoin should, however, not be confused with Bitcoin Cash. Bitcoin Cash is a breakaway part from Bitcoin, which is now a separate cryptocurrency itself. Bitcoin Cash has a market cap of nearly $5.5 billion, and one BCH can be bought for $nearly $330 as of this writing.