How many Blockchains are there?


Introduction

The number of blockchains since 2019 is uncertain. There are hundreds of cryptocurrencies available to trade with, as most exchanges deal in them, so this also impacts the number of current blockchains. The total amount of blockchains will continue to grow for now, and it is unclear how long this growth will last.

There are a variety of different blockchains out there, which can be split up into different categories based on their general purpose, such as e-commerce (Ethereum), financial exchange (Ripple), transaction settlement (Bitcoin Cash), and so on. Some of the more popular ones include Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. Therefore, they are the top currencies in the market cap and are often referred to as the Top 3.

Business entities deal with these blockchains with traditional currencies like dollars, sterling and euros. Transactions can be carried out instantly, which means they are cheaper and quicker than conventional banking. There is no need for pre-approval from regulators either, which will increase the number of transactions that take place each day.

  • Ethereum is a public blockchain for smart contracts with a market cap of $511 billion. The cryptocurrency was created by Vitalik Buterin in 2015 and was the first to launch after Bitcoin's famous hard fork in August 2011.
  • Ripple is a private blockchain used for enterprise and has a market cap of over $100 billion. Bitcoin influenced its design, but it is used for financial transactions. Ripple Labs created and developed it in 2012.
  • Litecoin is a public blockchain. It is almost identical to Bitcoin's blockchain regarding security, transaction processing, and speed. It has a market cap of $12 billion and is one of the more common cryptocurrencies.

Common Blockchains

Many people are still unaware of a blockchain, which is why they ask the above question. Some people have even come up with definitions for the term used in the media and on blogs in recent years, such as this one: "A blockchain is a linked list of blocks which are secured using cryptography".

So far, it is unclear how many of these blockchain games will affect the future development of space. However, one clear thing is that these games, with their blockchain, will soon start to form their niche within the cryptocurrency industry and will be easier for players to understand.

  • Ethereum was established in 2015, and within a year, it had a market cap of over $1 trillion and was used for cross-border payments.
  • Stellar is an open-source protocol launched in 2014 and was initially funded by IBM. By early 2017, it had a market cap of $70 million.
  • Ripple's native currency is called XRP. By early 2017, the money had a value of $3.2 billion, which increased to $16 billion by the end of 2017.
  • Bitcoin was introduced in 2009 and is the most widely used cryptocurrency in the market today, with its market cap now valued at over $30 billion and a transaction rate of over 10,000 per second.

The above blockchain companies and cryptocurrencies are some of the most well-known and long-standing ones that exist right now. They have a lot of experience and have been used in various industries and sectors, which is why they are valuable.

The decentralized cryptocurrency has a present value for all of these is $500 billion. The first decentralized cryptocurrency on the market was introduced in 2009 by an individual known as Satoshi Nakamoto. It was designed to enable peer-to-peer digital transactions without having a middleman or record keepers break or falsify encryption codes.

With a market cap of over $30 billion, Bitcoin is one of the world's most popular cryptocurrencies and has had a marked influence on other currencies, such as Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin, which are specifically designed to be similar to it.

People have referred to the underlying blockchain technology and cryptocurrency that Bitcoin is built on as a 'world computer. Some people say it is not sustainable, while others say that its decentralized nature has made it much less vulnerable than traditional financial systems.

Dapps are applications developed for the Ethereum blockchain, decentralized in nature and run on the client's personal computers or smartphones.

BodyCoin is one of the market's most popular apps (decentralized applications). It has diverse uses, including medical research and personal data storage. Currently, it has a market cap of $70 million.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin are just three examples, among the wide range of cryptocurrencies, that is often used as a base currency when creating other new coins instead of creating something entirely new from scratch.

So far, the market cap for these currencies has been approximately $500 billion. Although this is a lot smaller than the total value of all cryptocurrencies, many people think that this is just the beginning and that they will continue to grow in popularity and value as time goes on.

Updated on: 12-Dec-2022

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