The Banking Executive Magazine - October Issue 2022

Virtual Assets Market Growth and Adoption BEST CRYPTO CURRENCIES FOR INVESTMENT Forbes lists the 10 best crypto curren- cies to invest in for year 2022. 1. Bitcoin (BTC) - Market cap over $846 billion: Created in 2009, Bitcoin (BTC) is the original cryp- tocurrency. As with most cryp- tocurrencies, BTC runs on a blockchain, or a ledger distrib- uted across a network of thou- sands of computers. 2. Ethereum (ETH) - Market cap over $361 billion: Both a cryp- tocurrency and a blockchain platform, Ethereum is used by program developers for its smart contracts applications that auto- matically execute when condi- tions are met. 3. Tether (USDT) - Market cap over $79 billion: Unlike some other forms of cryptocurrency, Tether is a stablecoin, meaning it is backed by fiat currencies like United States dollars and the Euro. 4. Binance Coin (BNB) - Market cap over $68 billion: The Bi- nance Coin is a form of cryp- tocurrency that can be used to trade and pay fees on Binance, one of the largest crypto ex- changes in the world. 5. XRP (XRP) - Market cap over $37 billion: Created by some of the same founders as Ripple, a digi- tal technology and payment pro- cessing company, XRP can be used on that network to facilitate exchanges of different currency types, including fiat currencies and other major cryptocurren- cies. 6. Terra (LUNA) - Market cap over $34 billion: Terra is a blockchain payment platform for stablecoins that relies on keeping a balance between two types of cryptocur- rencies. 7. Cardano (ADA) - Market cap over $33 billion: Cardano is no- table for its early embrace of proof-of-stake validation. Car- dano also works like Ethereum to enable smart contracts and de- centralized applications, which are powered by ADA, its native coin. 8. Solana (SOL) - Market cap over $33 billion: Developed to help power decentralized finance (DeFi) uses, decentralized apps (DApps) and smart contracts, Solana runs on a unique hybrid proof-of-stake and proof-of-his- tory mechanisms that help it process transactions quickly and securely. 9. Polkadot (DOT) - Market Cap over $22 billion: Polkadot (DOT), founded in the year 2016, is a unique blockchain in- teroperability protocol designed to connect different chains to- gether. It also allows exchanging data and processing transactions for parachains, or parallel blockchains without compromis- ing their security. Developers the BANKING EXECUTIVE 40 ISSUE 166 OCTOBER 2022