Market Cap: $20.71 billion

7-Day Change: 6.19%

Price News: As of 10:04 a.m. ET, the price of cardano, or 1 ADA, traded at $0.59. Cardano’s highest 52-week intraday price was $1.32 on December 2, 2024.

Cardano:

Cardano is a next-generation blockchain platform that aims to improve the limitations of earlier blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. ADA pioneered proof-of-stake validation to reduce environmental impact and supports smart contracts and DApps like Ethereum.

Cardano’s ADA token has had relatively modest growth compared to other major crypto coins. In 2017, ADA’s price hovered around $0.02. As of July 8, 2025, its price traded at $0.59, an increase of 2,600%.

Pros:

Energy-efficient consensus model.

Focus on real-world use cases.

Cons:

Slow rollout of features compared to rivals.

Smaller DApp ecosystem.

Market Dominance: 0.61%

Market Cap: $93.19 billion

7-Day Change: 1.51%

Price News: BNB, or 1 BNB, traded at $661.44, as of 10:05 a.m. ET. The highest intraday price that BNB reached in the past year was $793.35 on December 4, 2024.

BNB:

Originally launched to pay trading fees on the Binance exchange, BNB has grown into a utility token used for transactions, payments and DApps within the Binance ecosystem.

As an added perk, users can get a discount on trading fees when using BNB on a Binance crypto exchange. But there’s also the utility aspect. The token can be used to pay transaction fees on the BNB Smart Chain, which supports smart contracts and DApps.

From $0.12 in July 2017 to $661.44 on July 8, 2025, BNB has soared by 574,110%.

Pros:

Binance’s growing ecosystem.

Ongoing quarterly coin burns to reduce supply.

Cons:

High reliance on Binance’s success.

Regulatory scrutiny of centralized exchanges.

Market Dominance: 2.77%

Market Cap: $2.17 trillion

7-Day Change: 1.84%

Price News: Bitcoin stood at $108,887.86 per coin as of 10:04 a.m. ET, with its annual high being $111,970.17 on May 22, 2025.

Bitcoin:

Created in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin is the original and most recognized cryptocurrency.

The “OG” of crypto runs on a decentralized blockchain network. The network uses an energy-intensive, proof-of-work consensus system. On the network, miners validate transactions on the chain by solving complex puzzles. For each validated block, miners earn a reward of 3.125 BTC per block, currently worth $340,274.57.

The proof-of-work consensus model is often criticized for its carbon footprint. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that crypto mining, which bitcoin uses, represents up to 2.3% of U.S. electricity consumption. BTC has risen from roughly $0.06 in July 2010 to around $108,887.86 as of July 8, 2025, with a staggering increase of 176,084,645%.

Pros:

Viewed as a “digital gold” and a store of value.

High liquidity and market stability relative to other coins.

Cons:

High energy consumption due to the proof-of-work system.

Slower transaction speed and higher fees compared to newer networks.

Market Dominance: 64.28% 

Market Cap: $5.43 billion

7-Day Change: 1.78%

Price News: Polkadot’s price was $3.41 at 10:05 a.m. ET. Its highest point in the past year came on December 4, 2024, when it hit $11.60.

Polkadot:

Launched by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood in 2020, polkadot is designed to unify previously siloed blockchains.

Polkadot’s network facilitates the transfer of tokens and data between major chains like Ethereum and bitcoin. At the core of polkadot are parachains: customizable, independent blockchains that off-load processing demand while leveraging polkadot’s security infrastructure.

Polkadot’s price when it launched in August 2020 was $2.79. Today it trades at $3.41 for a gain of 22%.

Pros:

Enables confidential computing for sensitive data (such as health records).

A unique network that supports scalability and specialization.

Cons:

Complex architecture.

Still a developing ecosystem compared to ethereum.

Market Dominance: 0.16%

Market Cap: $312.10 billion

7-Day Change: 5.69%

Price News: Ethereum traded at $2,585.37 as of 10:04 a.m. ET. The highest price in the last 12 months was $4,106.96, reached on December 16, 2024.

Ethereum:

Ethereum harnesses a powerful blockchain platform for building decentralized applications, known as DApps. This crypto was the brainchild of Vitalik Buterin, created to apply blockchain technology to programmability.

So, how is Ethereum used in the programming world? Well, developers use Ethereum for smart contracts. These are self-executing agreements coded directly onto the blockchain. There are many use cases for DApps, as they can be applied to finance, supply chain management and more.

Ether is the native coin on the network. Developers use ETH to pay “gas” fees. These fees compensate network validators for their computational work in completing transactions and smart contracts. From $2.83 in August 2015 to about $2,585.37 as of July 8, 2025, ETH has grown by 91,204%.

Pros:

Large developer ecosystem.

A vast array of tokens and services use the ethereum network.

Cons:

Scaling challenges (aka large volumes of traffic can cause bottlenecks).

High gas fees.

Market Dominance: 9.26%

Market Cap: $6.59 billion

7-Day Change: 1.20%

Price News: Litecoin traded at $86.62 as of 10:05 a.m. ET. Its yearly high was $146.61 on December 5, 2024.

Litecoin:  

Launched in 2011 by former Google engineer Charlie Lee, litecoin is often referred to as “digital silver” to bitcoin’s “digital gold.” Built on bitcoin’s source code, litecoin offers faster block times at 2.5 minutes per block compared to bitcoin’s 10 minutes. Like bitcoin, litecoin uses a proof-of-work consensus and undergoes halving events. It’s worth mentioning that LTC has a capped supply of 84 million coins. Currently, there are 76.1 million LTC in circulation.

LTC is up 1,915% since April 27, 2013. That’s the earliest recorded price on CoinMarketCap, even though the crypto was originally launched in October 2011.

Pros:

Faster transactions than bitcoin.

Long-standing credibility and network stability.

Cons:

Limited innovation compared to newer blockchains.

Faces stiff competition from faster networks.

Market Dominance: 0.20%

Market Cap: $81.30 billion

7-Day Change: 2.24%

Price News: At 10:04 a.m. ET, 1 SOL was priced at $151.81. The highest price that solana hit was $294.33 on January 19, 2025.

Solana:

Solana is designed for speed and scalability, using a hybrid proof-of-stake and proof-of-history system to process thousands of transactions per second.

SOL is recovering developer and user activity despite its well-known network outages of the past. Fans of solana will believe it’s a good alternative to Ethereum, rivaling its competitor in terms of speed and cost factors.

Since its launch in 2020, Solana has risen to $151.81 as of July 8, 2025, for a gain of 68,903%.

Pros:

Active DeFi and non-fungible token ecosystems.

Innovative consensus model.

Cons:

Periodic network outages and stability issues.

Centralization concerns due to validator control.

Market Dominance: 2.41%

Market Cap: $27.17 billion

7-Day Change: 2.82%

Price News: As of 10:04 a.m. E.T., 1 TRX was worth $0.29. Its highest value in the past year occurred on December 3, 2024, hitting $0.44.

TRON:

Tron originally launched in 2017 on the Ethereum token network until it moved to its own chain. Its proof-of-stake consensus makes it energy efficient, while TRX, its native token, fuels transactions and smart contracts.

One of the original premises of the crypto was to help original content creators receive income for their work. The platform supports smart contracts and DApps.

TRX has grown from $0.0019 in 2017 to about $0.29 as of July 8, 2025.

Pros:

Low-cost transactions.

Strong presence in the entertainment and gaming sectors.

Cons:

Leadership under Justin Sun. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Sun in 2023 with manipulating the supply of TRX.

Fewer institutional use cases than competitors.

Market dominance: 0.81%

Market Cap: $135.52 billion

7-Day Change: 4.40%

Price News: XRP’s market price stood at $2.29 as of 10:04 a.m. ET, with a 12-month high of $3.39 set on January 16, 2025.

XRP:

XRP was created by Ripple Labs to facilitate fast and low-cost, cross-border payments. It acts as a bridge between currencies, enabling instant transfers with minimal fees.

Unlike bitcoin and other mined cryptos, XRP tokens enter circulation whenever Ripple chooses to sell coins. For that reason, there are concerns over the centralized nature that controls XRP’s supply. XRP hit $2.29 on July 8, 2025, up 38,956% since August 2013.

Pros:

Strong use case in global finance.

Backed by institutional partnerships.

Cons:

Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, worth $7.6 billion, owns a sizable portion of XRP.

Centralization concerns due to Ripple’s control over XRP’s supply.

Market dominance: 4.02%

Market Cap: $23.59 billion

7-Day Change: 5.78%

Price News: Lido Staked ETH was priced at $2,585.76 at 10:05 a.m. ET, with its highest intraday level over the past year being $4,092 on December 16, 2024.

Lido Staked ETH:  

It’s true to its name of being a token with a staked ETH value. StETH allows Ethereum holders to earn staking rewards while keeping their assets liquid. One of the drawbacks of “normal” Ethereum staking is that you need 32 ETH ($82,732) to stake, and it has varying lockup periods. According to Coinbase Exchange, lock-up periods range from a few hours to a few days.

The perk of stETH is accruing staking rewards and liquidity on DeFi platforms. But stETH’s large share of staked ETH has raised concerns about decentralization. That said, stETH remains a popular option for crypto investors seeking passive income. StETH has grown from $594 in December 2020 to about $2,585.76 as of July 8, 2025. The token attempts to mirror ETH’s price.

Pros:

Earns staking rewards while staying liquid.

Can be used across major DeFi protocols.

Cons:

Centralization concerns due to Lido’s dominance.

Subject to ethereum performance.

Market dominance: <0.01%