A brief rundown of the top 50 coins by category

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Currency

The primary function of these coins is to be used as a decentralised token of value which can be exchanged between peers without the need for banks or other intermediaries.

(1) Bitcoin (BTC)

(7) Ripple (XRP)

(13) Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

(14) Litecoin (LTC)

(21) Stellar (XLM)

(31) Bitcoin SV

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Stablecoins

These coins use various methods to peg their value to that of the U.S. Dollar, thus allowing them to be used as both a store of value and a medium of exchange without the risk of volatility,

(3) Tether (USDT)

(8) USD Coin (CSDC)

(10) Binance USD (BUSD)

(23) Dai (DAI)

(48) Terra USD (UST)

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Distributed computing / smart contracts

These are coins tied to a network which provides a distributed, decentralised blockchain network, which apps can then be built upon. Some of their features include smart contracts, non-fungible tokens, digital identity and decentralised finance. Having a coin tied to the blockchain enables users to be paid for securing the network and to pay for using the services provided by the network.

(2) Ethereum (ETH)

(4) Cardano (ADA)

(5) Binance Coin (BNB)

(13) Solana (SOL)

(18) Ethereum Classic (ETC)

(25) Tron (TRX)

(27) Eos (EOS)

(32) Algorand (ALGO)

(36) Neo (NEO)

(38) Klaytn (KLAY)

(39) Tezos (XTZ)

(43) Iota (MIOTA)

(46) Avalance (AVAX)

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Exchange tokens

These coins are associated with an exchange and holding them allows people using that exchange certain benefits, such as reduced fees or staking rewards.

(5) Binance coin (BNB) – also listed above

(10) Uniswap (UNI)

(30) Crypto.com coin (CRO)

(33) FTX token (FTT)

(37) PancakeSwap (CAKE)

(44) Unis Sed Leo (LEO)

(50) Huobi token (HT)

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Privacy coins

Coins attached to blockchains which aim to provide anonymity to users and conceal their activities.

(26) Monero (XMR)

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Decentralised finance

These coins provide various functions/benefits in the DeFi ecosystem, such as lending, earning interest or collatorising assets.

(29) Aave (AAVE) – decentralised finance protocol

(34) Maker (MKR) – stablecoin pegging mechanism for DAI

(41) Terra (LUNA) – stablecoin pegging mechanism for UST

(42) Amp (AMP) – collatoralising asset transfers

(45) Compound (COMP) – DeFi lending protocol

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Specialised coins

These are coins/blockchains that perform a specialised function not covered in the above categories.

(9) Polkadot (DOT) – network of blockchains

(15) Chainlink (LINK) – Oracle network providing data to blockchains

(16) Polygon (MATIC) – Layer 2 ethereum solution

(19) Internet computer (ICP) – Decentralised cloud computing

(20) Theta (THETA) / (47) Theta Fuel (TFUEL) – improves video streaming services

(22) VeChain (VET) – business supply chain management

(24) Filecoin (FIL) – decentralised storage solution

(35) Cosmos (ATOM) – network of blockchains

(49) Decred (DCR) – decentralised voting platform

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Wrapped bitcoins

These are representations of bitcoin on other blockchains. Their prices are pegged to the price bitcoin.

(17) Wrapped bitcoin (WBTC)

(40) Bitcoin BEP2 (BTCB)

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Memecoins

Coins that were created as a meme or for fun.

(6) Dogecoin (DOGE)

(28) Shiba Inu (SHIB)