10 Best Cryptocurrencies Of July 2024 – Forbes Advisor Australia

A cryptocurrency is a digital asset that can circulate without the centralised authority of a bank or government.  According to CoinMarketCap, there are more than two million cryptocurrency projects out there that represent the entire $US1.76 trillion crypto market.

• Market cap: $US1.315 trillion

Created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin (BTC) is the original cryptocurrency. As with most cryptocurrencies, BTC runs on a decentralised blockchain technology, which is a ledger logging transactions distributed across a network of thousands of computers. Because additions to the distributed ledgers must be verified by solving a cryptographic puzzle, a process called proof of work, bitcoin is kept secure and safe from fraudsters.

Bitcoin’s price has skyrocketed as it’s become a household name. In May 2016, you could buy one bitcoin for about $US500. As of July 20, 2024 (three months after the most recent bitcoin halving event occurred) a single bitcoin’s price was around $US66,667. That’s a growth of more than 13,233%.

Related: How To Buy Bitcoin

• Market cap: $US420 billion

Both a cryptocurrency and a blockchain platform, Ethereum is a favourite of program developers because of its potential applications, like so-called smart contracts that automatically execute when conditions are met and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Ethereum has also experienced tremendous growth. From April 2016 to July 2024, its price went from about $US11 to around $US3,500, increasing 31,718%.

Related: How To Buy Ethereum

• Market cap: $US113 billion

Unlike some other forms of cryptocurrency, Tether (USDT) is a stablecoin pegged to the value of US$1. This is achieved by having a 1-1 backing between the token and USD  which hypothetically keeps a value equal to one of those denominations because one token should always be able to be redeemed for one dollar. In theory, this means Tether’s value is supposed to be more consistent than other cryptocurrencies, and it’s favoured by investors who are wary of the extreme volatility of other coins.

• Market cap: $US87 billion

Binance Coin (BNB) is a form of cryptocurrency that you can use to trade and pay fees on Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. Since its launch in 2017, Binance Coin has expanded past merely facilitating trades on Binance’s exchange platform. Now, it can be used for trading, payment processing or even booking travel arrangements. It can also be traded or exchanged for other forms of cryptocurrency, such as Ethereum or Bitcoin.

BNB’s price in 2017 was just $US0.10. By July 20, 2024, its price had risen to around $US590, a gain of approximately 589,900%.

Related: Cryptocurrency Glossary Of Terms

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• Market cap: $US79.5 billion

Solana is a high-performance blockchain platform designed to provide fast and scalable transaction processing. It utilises a unique consensus algorithm called Proof of History, which allows it to process up to 65,000 transactions per second, making it one of the fastest blockchain networks available today. The platform supports smart contracts and decentralised applications (dApps) and is extremely popular for NFT trading.

The native token of the Solana platform is called SOL, and is used for paying transaction fees, staking, and participating in governance decisions on the network. The ICO price for SOL was $US0.22, and as of July 20, 2024, now sits at $US171, an increase of 77,627%.

• Market cap: $US34 billion

Like Tether, USD Coin (USDC) is a stablecoin, meaning it’s backed by US dollars and aims for a 1 USD to 1 USDC ratio. USDC is available on numerous blockchains, such as Ethereum and Solana, and you can use USD Coin to complete global transactions.

• Market cap: $US32.3 billion

Created by some of the same founders as Ripple, a digital technology and payment processing company, XRP can be used on that network to facilitate exchanges of different currency types, including fiat currencies and other major cryptocurrencies.

At the beginning of 2017, the price of XRP was $US0.006. As of July 20 2024, its price reached $US0.58, equal to a rise of 9,566%.

Related: Ethereum 2.0: The Ethereum Merge Explained

• Market cap: $US18.4 billion

Toncoin (TON) is the native token of The Open Network (TON), a decentralised Layer 1 blockchain network originally developed by Telegram but later transferred to the community. TON aims to onboard billions of users and enable quick, inexpensive, and energy-efficient blockchain transactions. The network boasts a flexible architecture, scalability, and support for millions of transactions per second through dynamic sharding and workchains. Toncoin can be used to pay transaction fees, settle payments, or validate transactions using TON’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus model.

TON’s unique features, such as ultra-fast transactions, low fees, apps ecosystem, and Telegram integration, have rocketed the coin into the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation over the past few months. As of July 20, 2024, its price stands at $7.33, representing an increase of 1,366% from the coin’s ICO price of $0.50 in 2019.

• Market cap: $18.1 billion

Dogecoin was famously started as a joke in 2013 but rapidly evolved into a prominent cryptocurrency thanks to a dedicated community and creative memes. Unlike many other cryptos, there is no limit on the number of Dogecoins that can be created, which leaves the currency susceptible to devaluation as supply increases.

Dogecoin’s price in 2017 was $0.0002. By July 20, 2024, its price sat at $0.1252, up 62,550%.

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• Market cap: $US15.5 billion

Somewhat later to the crypto scene, Cardano (ADA) is notable for its early embrace of proof-of-stake validation. This method expedites transaction time and decreases energy usage and environmental impact by removing the competitive, problem-solving aspect of transaction verification in platforms like bitcoin. Cardano also works like Ethereum to enable smart contracts and decentralised applications, which ADA, its native coin, powers.

Cardano’s ADA token has had relatively modest growth compared to other major crypto coins. In 2017, ADA’s price was $0.02. As of July 20, 2024, its price was at $0.4366. This is an increase of 2,083%.

*Market caps and pricing sourced from coinmarketcap.com, current as of July 2024

This article is not an endorsement of any particular cryptocurrency, broker or exchange nor does it constitute a recommendation of cryptocurrency or CFDs as an investment class.  Cryptocurrency is unregulated in Australia and your capital is at risk. Trading in contracts for difference (CFDs) is riskier than conventional share trading, not suitable for the majority of investors, and includes the potential for partial or total loss of capital. You should always consider whether you can afford to lose your money before deciding to trade in CFDs or cryptocurrency, and seek advice from an authorised financial advisor.