Today's rundown of digital currencies: Key cryptocurrencies listed as of 19 August
In the ever-evolving world of digital finance, cryptocurrencies continue to captivate investors and enthusiasts alike. As of today, here's a snapshot of the current market landscape.
Ethereum (ETH), one of the leading cryptocurrencies, is currently priced at US$4,155.26, marking a 4.63% increase in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) stands at US$179.44.
Cryptocurrencies, by definition, are digital currencies that exist only electronically, operating without a central issuing or regulating authority. They rely on a decentralized system—usually a blockchain—to record transactions and manage the issuance of new units, securing and verifying these transactions through cryptography to prevent counterfeiting or fraud [3][5].
The history of cryptocurrencies can be traced back several decades of research in cryptography, decentralized economics, and digital payment technologies. Early concepts appeared in the 1980s, with American computer scientist David Chaum introducing the idea of anonymous digital money and founding DigiCash, an electronic payment system based on cryptography [2]. Although DigiCash failed commercially due to opposition from banks and lack of public trust, Chaum's work laid the theoretical foundation for cryptocurrencies.
The modern era of cryptocurrencies began with the creation of Bitcoin in 2008 by an anonymous person or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin was designed as a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency to bypass traditional banking systems by eliminating intermediaries. It launched in 2009, with its first real-world transaction occurring in 2010 when 10,000 bitcoins were used to buy two pizzas—a landmark now celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day [1][2].
Bitcoin pioneered the use of a blockchain, an immutable ledger maintained by a network of computers (nodes). Transactions are validated through cryptography and consensus algorithms like proof-of-work mining, which requires significant computational power [1]. Since Bitcoin, thousands of other cryptocurrencies ("altcoins") have been developed, all based on the core concepts of decentralization, cryptography, and blockchain technology [5][4].
In the current market, the volume traded in the last 24 hours amounts to US$143,590,985,964. This represents a 2.62% increase from its value 24 hours ago. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies stands at US$3,789,175,683,012.
Bitcoin, the pioneer of the cryptocurrency market, holds a significant portion of this capitalization, with a current market capitalization of US$2,261,726,107,369. Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at US$113,742.23.
Other notable players in the market include BNB, the cryptocurrency of the Binance platform, which is trading at US$839.1, Cardano (ADA) at US$0.86, and Avalanche (AVAX) at US$22.75.
As the cryptocurrency market continues to evolve, these numbers provide a glimpse into its current state, offering insights into the performance of key players and the overall health of the market.
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