The largest cryptocurrencies, explained

A plain guide to each of the biggest coins: what it is, how it works, where new coins come from and what can go wrong. Every fact is tied to a source and checked again each month.

BTC · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINBitcoinBitcoin is the first cryptocurrency: digital money with no issuer and a supply capped at 21 million. A plain guide to where it came from, how it works and the risks.Read the guide ETH · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINEthereumEthereum is a blockchain that runs programs called smart contracts. Its coin, ether, pays fees and secures the network. A plain guide to how it works and the risks.Read the guide USDT · STABLECOIN ISSUED BY A COMPANYTetherTether (USDT) is the largest stablecoin: a token meant to be worth one US dollar, backed by reserves its issuer holds. A plain guide to how it works and the risks.Read the guide BNB · COIN TIED TO AN EXCHANGE AND ITS BLOCKCHAINBNBBNB is the coin created by the exchange Binance. It pays fees on BNB Chain and its supply is cut by regular burns. A plain guide to how it works and the risks.Read the guide XRP · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINXRPXRP is the coin of the XRP Ledger, a payments blockchain that uses trusted validators instead of mining. A plain guide to how it works, who holds it and the risks.Read the guide USDC · STABLECOIN ISSUED BY A COMPANYUSDCUSDC is a dollar stablecoin issued by Circle and backed by cash and short-term US government debt. A plain guide to how it works, what backs it and the risks.Read the guide SOL · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINSolanaSolana is a fast, low-fee blockchain for smart contracts, secured by staking. Its coin is SOL. A plain guide to how it works, its supply and the risks.Read the guide TRX · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINTRONTRON is a low-fee smart contract blockchain run by 27 elected block producers. Its coin is TRX, and its main use is moving the USDT stablecoin. A plain guide.Read the guide ZEC · PRIVACY COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINZcashZcash is a mined coin with Bitcoin's 21 million cap and an option to hide who paid whom and how much. A plain guide to shielded transactions and the risks.Read the guide HYPE · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINHyperliquidHyperliquid is a blockchain built around a trading exchange for leveraged contracts. Its coin is HYPE. A plain guide to how it works, who controls it and the risks.Read the guide DOGE · MEMECOIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINDogecoinDogecoin is the original memecoin, launched as a joke in 2013. It is mined like Bitcoin but has no supply cap. A plain guide to how it works and the risks.Read the guide XMR · PRIVACY COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINMoneroMonero is a mined coin that hides the sender, receiver and amount of every payment by default. A plain guide to how it works, its supply and the risks.Read the guide LINK · TOKEN ON ETHEREUM AND OTHER BLOCKCHAINSChainlinkChainlink connects smart contracts to prices and data from outside the blockchain. A plain guide to oracles, what the LINK token is for, its supply and the risks.Read the guide ADA · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINCardanoCardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain where holders vote on changes and stake without locking their coins. A plain guide to how it works, its supply and the risks.Read the guide NEAR · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINNEAR ProtocolNEAR is a proof-of-stake blockchain that splits work across shards and uses readable account names. A plain guide to how it works, its supply and the risks.Read the guide XLM · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINStellarStellar is a payments blockchain run by a non-profit foundation, with fees of a fraction of a cent. A plain guide to lumens, how the network works and the risks.Read the guide BCH · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINBitcoin CashBitcoin Cash split from Bitcoin in 2017 over how big blocks should be. A plain guide to why it exists, how it works, its 21 million cap and the risks.Read the guide USDE · SYNTHETIC DOLLAR (STABLECOIN-LIKE TOKEN)Ethena USDeUSDe is a synthetic dollar backed by crypto and offsetting futures, not by cash. A plain guide to how it holds its value, where its yield comes from and the risks.Read the guide LTC · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINLitecoinLitecoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies, a copy of Bitcoin with faster blocks and an 84 million cap. A plain guide to how it works, its supply and the risks.Read the guide DAI · STABLECOIN RUN BY SMART CONTRACTSDaiDai is a dollar stablecoin created by smart contracts against crypto collateral, not by a company. A plain guide to how it works, the move to USDS and the risks.Read the guide AVAX · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINAvalancheAvalanche is a proof-of-stake network that lets projects launch their own connected blockchains. A plain guide to how it works, AVAX's 720 million cap and the risks.Read the guide UNI · TOKEN ON ETHEREUMUniswapUniswap is the largest decentralised exchange, and UNI is its governance token. A plain guide to how Uniswap works, the 2025 fee switch, UNI's supply and the risks.Read the guide SUI · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINSuiSui is a proof-of-stake blockchain built by former Meta engineers using the Move language. A plain guide to how it works, its 10 billion supply and the risks.Read the guide GRAM · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINGram (formerly Toncoin)Gram, called Toncoin until June 2026, is the coin of The Open Network, a blockchain first designed by Telegram. A plain guide to its history and risks.Read the guide HBAR · COIN ON ITS OWN NETWORKHederaHedera is a public network run by a council of large companies, using hashgraph instead of a blockchain. A plain guide to HBAR, its supply and the risks.Read the guide XAUT · TOKEN BACKED BY PHYSICAL GOLDTether GoldTether Gold is a token where each unit stands for one troy ounce of gold in a Swiss vault. A plain guide to how it is backed, how redemption works and the risks.Read the guide TAO · COIN ON ITS OWN BLOCKCHAINBittensorBittensor is a network that pays TAO to people who supply useful AI work, with a 21 million cap like Bitcoin's. A plain guide to subnets, the supply and the risks.Read the guide SHIB · MEMECOIN TOKEN ON ETHEREUMShiba InuShiba Inu is a dog-themed memecoin launched in 2020 with a supply of one quadrillion tokens. A plain guide to its history, supply, Shibarium and the risks.Read the guide PYUSD · STABLECOIN ISSUED BY A COMPANYPayPal USDPayPal USD is a dollar stablecoin from PayPal, issued by Paxos and backed by deposits and short-term US government debt. A plain guide to how it works and the risks.Read the guide AAVE · TOKEN ON ETHEREUMAaveAave is one of the largest crypto lending apps, and AAVE is its governance and insurance token. A plain guide to how Aave lending works, AAVE's supply and the risks.Read the guide

These guides explain how each coin works. They are not recommendations, and we do not tell you what to buy. The order follows market value when the guides were last checked, on 13 October 2026. It changes often.