Summary of the top 50 coins

Here I'll summarize and go over the main use cases and how these coins/tokens operate. I did the effort of digging through info to summarize them so you don't have to. But do DYOR if you plan on investing any of these coins/tokens.

I know the list isn't in the correct order, I updated it twice whilst writing it then gave up, crypto moves too much man.

1. Bitcoin

• Summary: World's first bitcoin used to transfer funds without the need for a central body
• Function: Transfer of funds , digital gold
• Network: Bitcoin
• Protocol: Proof-of-work (SHA-256)
• Uniqueness: Ranked number one with the highest marketcap and the oldest
• Pros: Survived the test of time, oldest and safest, dominates the crypto marketcap at 40%
• Cons: Older, expensive, slow

2. Ethereum

• Summary: The first blockchain to host smart contracts which allows other coins to be built upon the same network
• Function: Pay for gas fees and host smart contracts for Dapps
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: Proof-of-work (Ethash), migrating to Proof-of-stake
• Uniqueness: Second biggest crypto and the first host of smart contracts
• Pros: Has been around for a long time, has promising upgrades coming in the future
• Cons: High transfer costs, "slow" transfers

3. Cardano

• Summary: A staking coin with big plans to enable the next generation Dapps
• Function: Allow transfer of fees and staking, in near future also host smart contracts
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: Proof-of-stake (Ouroboros)
• Uniqueness: One of the first PoS coins 
• Pros: Has big updates coming in the near future, low transfer fee
• Cons: Has strong competitors, taken time before any real use

4. Binance coin

• Summary: BINANCE exchange's native coin that hosts a colorful smart contract network
• Function: Pay gas fees and host smart contracts on its network
• Network: BSC-20 (Binance coin)
• Protocol: Proof-of-stake (Tendermint)
• Uniqueness: A better version of Ethereum that has an active network of tokens
• Pros: Good use cases, cheap transfer cost, inflationary
• Cons: Fairly centralized, hosts alot of scam tokens

5. Tether

• Summary: The world's largest stablecoin that is controlled by a central body called Tether
• Function: Trading, transactions and storage of value
• Network: ERC-20 (& several others)
• Protocol: none/no consensus 
• Uniqueness: The largest stablecoin
• Pros: Has had a steady value pegged to the dollar, well adopted
• Cons: Centralized, no protocol, no peg verification, can manipulate marketprice

6. Ripple

• Summary: XRP exists to provide a gateway for banks into crypto
• Function: Transactions, settlement between banks
• Network: XRP (Ripple) 
• Protocol: Ripple consensus protocol algorithm (RCPA, this is nodes ran by banks)
• Uniqueness: Has a strong and active use for allowing bank settlements at much greater speeds.
• Pros: Clear and strong use case
• Cons: Fairly centralised, the protocol is hosted by banks

7. Dogecoin

• Summary: Oldest memecoin, was made for supporting altcoins and for the laughs
• Function: Payment & memes
• Network: DOGE & BEP-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-work (Scrypt)
• Uniqueness: The first and highest valued by marketcap memecoin
• Pros: Has strong support
• Cons: Memecoin, no real use case

8. Solana

• Summary: A strong smart contract coin which tackles the issue of networks growing too large
• Function: Smart contracts, staking and paying for transaction fees
• Network: SOL (Solana)
• Protocol: Proof-of-stake & Proof-of-history
• Uniqueness: Is a solid network that scales really well with more nodes thanks to its protocols
• Pros: Scales much better than most networks, unique PoH protocol
• Cons: Has transperency issues

9. Polkadot

• Summary: Allows different blockchains to operate together and perform actions on each blockchain
• Function: Interopperability, pay for fees, replace coins on native chains
• Network: Several
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (BABE & GRANDPA)
• Uniqueness: Allows several networks to work together through the Pokadot parachain
• Pros: High TPS, wide use case, high security
• Cons: Wrapped coins solve this, the staking can be done on each native chain, high inflation

10. USD-coin

• Summary: A dollar backed coin created by Coinbase
• Function: Trades and transfers
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: None
• Uniqueness: A strong stablecoin that doesn't have the issues dragging Tether down
• Pros: Backed and pegged by Coinbase, verified peg backing, well adopted
• Cons: Centralized, 

11. Uniswap

• Summary: The largest platform for swapping ERC-20 based tokens
• Function: Liquidity mining, swapping, governance, 
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: UNI protocol
• Uniqueness: The largest swap token
• Pros: No KYC, you own your keys, no lockups
• Cons: Only useble with ERC-20 tokens, V3 is a bit lacking, is banned in few countries

12. Chainlink

• Summary: A collection of different data providers that help verify accurate data on the web
• Function: Data oracle, rewards for data providers
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: Chainlink
• Uniqueness: Has a reputation system and rewards data providers to have a vast network of relible data
• Pros: Decentralized, strong partnership with SWIFT, relible data, migrating to be on several networks
• Cons: Has had weird practices in the past, its central protocols is not automated with smart contracts

13. Terra

• Summary: A protocol that runs on several blockchains which mints stablecoins in exchange for Terra
• Function: Interopperability, issue stablecoins, 
• Network: Several
• Protocol: Delegated-Proof-of-Stake (Tendermint)
• Uniqueness: Is one of the largest stablecoin issuer and works on several blockchains
• Pros: Very lucrative at generating transaction fees, hosts the highest non-usd pegged stablecoin
• Cons: Uses DPoS

14. Bitcoin cash

• Summary: A fork of Bitcoin meant to fix its brother's issues
• Function: Transfer of funds, digital gold
• Network: Bitcoin
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work 
• Uniqueness: An improvement on bitcoin which can host tokens with SLP
• Pros: Planning on smart contract upgrade
• Cons: Difficult to build ontop off

15. Binance USD

• Summary: A coin pegged to the USD backed by Binance and Paxos
• Function: Trades and transactions
• Network: ERC-20 (ETH) + BEP-20 (Binance coin)
• Protocol: None
• Uniqueness: A stablecoin backed by binance and exists on two blockchains
• Pros: Backed by Binance, is avaible on two networks.
• Cons: Centralized

16. Litecoin

• Summary: A fork of bitcoin, aiming to perform faster transactions
• Function: Transactions, storage of value
• Network: LTC (Litecoin)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work (SHA-256)
• Uniqueness: It's a quicker version of Bitcoin allowing easier use
• Pros: Can be cross-mined with DOGE, 
• Cons: Small use case, being outperformed by coins with more use cases, same scaling issues as Bitcoin

17. Internet Computer

• Summary: It's a smart contract provider aiming at performing contracts at near web speeds
• Function: Governance, store of value, rewards
• Network: ICP (Internet computer)
• Protocol: Queries and calls
• Uniqueness: Aims to solve the speed issue that other blockchains are having trouble with
• Pros: High speeds
• Cons: Very new, centralized, 

18. Wrapped Bitcoin

• Summary: A coin that is peged to Bitcoin's value, or "wrapped" around the coin
• Function: Store of value, transfer of funds, usage on the Ethereum network
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work
• Uniqueness: 
• Pros: Bitcoin on a smart contract blockchain
• Cons: Centralized

19. Polygon

• Summary: Built on ERC-20 to promote network growth and smart contracts with wider use cases
• Function: Smart contracts, staking
• Network: ERC-20 (ETH) & MATIC
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake 
• Uniqueness: Layer 2 solution that helps developers familiar with ERC-20 make Dapps cheaper
• Pros: Low transaction cost
• Cons: Its competition, ETH2.0 could remove its use

20. Vechain

• Summary: A smart contract coin aimed to improve supply chains in several industries
• Function: Supply chain tracking and security
• Network: VIP-180 (Vechain)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Aims to fix issues that have remained unchanged in the supply chain industry
• Pros: Unique use case, duo token allowing investors/users to invest accordingly
• Cons: Relies on humans to input data, can be replaced with a cheaper real world equivalent

21. Avalanche

• Summary: A smart contract solution currently in its test-net
• Function: Smart contracts, fees, 
• Network: AVAX
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (Avalanche)
• Uniqueness: Smart contracts hosted works more similarily to a virtual machine, possible big upgrade if the chain works.
• Pros: Easy interopperability, huge TPS, possible infinite scaling
• Cons: Experimental, no self funding, not released yet

22. Ethereum classic

• Summary: A fork of Ethereum which didn't reverse the effect of a DAO hack and aims to stay true to the original idea 
• Function: Pay for fees, rewards, transfer funds, smart contracts
• Network: ETC
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work (ETHash)
• Uniqueness: Stays true to Ethereums orginal idea and doesn't plan to turn into for-profit
• Pros: Staying a PoW, less adopted and easier use 
• Cons: Staying a PoW, 51% hackble, 

23. Stellar

• Summary: A coin built to be used for cheap and easy transfers
• Function: Transactions, 
• Network: XLM
• Protocol: Locally managed nodes
• Uniqueness: One of the largest coins with cheap fees solely meant for transfers
• Pros: Widely used, cheap fees, 
• Cons: Centralized, permissioned, fork of ripple

24. Filecoin

• Summary: A ecosystem that aims to bring fully trustless decntralized storage to the world
• Function: Decentralized storage, 
• Network: InterPlanetary File System
• Protocol: Proof-of-Space & Proof-of-Replication 
• Uniqueness: First decentralized storage systems
• Pros: Trustless storage
• Cons: Large set of mining power was located in China, large amount of token competitors

25. Tron

• Summary: A network built to allow content creators to reach consumers without a middleman
• Function: Staking, smart contracts
• Network: TRC-10 (TRON) [intitially ERC-20]
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: One of the first ecosystems aiming to fix issues in the content creator industry
• Pros: Has a headstart in its market, no fees, high TPS, rapid transactions
• Cons: Initial whitepaper, questionble dev team, possibly centralized

26. THETA

• Summary: Is powering a decentralized video streaming service
• Function: Video streaming, smart contracts
• Network: Theta
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (BFT)
• Uniqueness: Targets video streaming services
• Pros: Many partnerships, powered by users
• Cons: Bad incentive, reliant on miners & rewards, 

27. Dai

• Summary: Part in the MakerDAO ecosystem, a fully crypto backed stablecoin
• Function: Stablecoin, trading
• Network: ERC-20
• Protocol: Maker
• Uniqueness: The first and largest fully decentralized stablecoin with verified 1:1 backing
• Pros: Decentralized, verified, 
• Cons: Price can be affected with a significant market crash

28. FTX token

• Summary: The native token to a crypto derivates exchange, built by traders
• Function: Trading, liquidity in derivaties trading, fees
• Network: SOL
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: A coin made by experienced traders to tackle the issues within derivative trading
• Pros: Experienced team, low fees, good for high volume traders
• Cons: Centralized, new

29. Monero

• Summary: A coin that allows the use of fully untraceable anonymous transactions
• Function: Anonymous, transactions
• Network: XMR
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work (RandomX)
• Uniqueness: Fully anonymous cash, making it completly untraceable
• Pros: Decentralized, anonymous
• Cons: Had issues with ASIC mining, unable to migrate to PoS, high amount of illegal activity

30. Cosmos

• Summary: Is a network meant to bridge several different blockchains to allow them to work together
• Function: Smart contracts, staking, rewards
• Network: Cosmos
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (Tendermint)
• Uniqueness: Has strong competition but unlike its competitors this blockchain is already live
• Pros: No need for external interopbility layer, 
• Cons: Susceptible to attacks

31. Aave

• Summary: Decentralized lending system where users can borrow on about 20 cryptos
• Function: Staking, liquidity mining
• Network: ERC-20 & Polygon
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Largest decentralized lending service and offer many options
• Pros: Varible/fixed selectble interest rate, moving over to Polygon
• Cons: Over-colleteralized, strong competition, low interest rates

32. Pancakeswap

• Summary: A swap and DEX on the Binance smart chain
• Function: Trading, used on Pancakeswap DEX, 
• Network: BSC-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Higher user interaction and functions that most other swaps
• Pros: Deflationary, high rewards, more daily transactions than Uniswap
• Cons: Rewards decrease with adoption

33. Eos

• Summary: Provides a higher scaleble smart contract ecosystem with focus on user friendliness
• Function: Smart contracts, 
• Network: EOS
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: More akin to a computer OS, this blockchain can be used by many, both in power & skill
• Pros: Easy to use, parrallel proccesing, low fees
• Cons: Partly centralized, parent company's history

34. Tezos

• Summary: Aims to upgrade and bring a better version of earlier smart contract blockchains
• Function: Smart contracts, staking, rewards
• Network: XTZ (Tezos)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: The chain provides advanced smart contract solutions and a unforkable blockchain
• Pros: Popular investors & partners, hard to fork, incetivced voting
• Cons: New, partly decentralized, potentially high network fees

35. Axie infinity

• Summary: A game inspired by Pokemon where users can battle with their NFT animals
• Function: Stake, minting NFTs, governance
• Network: ERC-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: The largest crypto game on the market
• Pros: Clear use case, fun reward system
• Cons: Requires users to be active to claim rewards, 

36. IOTA

• Summary: A blockchainless blockchain that is meant to revolutionize the web
• Function: Transactions, scalabilty, higher speeds
• Network: TANGLE (Iota)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (however there is no lock and all coins are actively staked without rewards)
• Uniqueness: The chain requires two other nodes to verify transactions and more users means more nodes
• Pros: No fees, insanely good scalabilty, every coin holder improves network
• Cons: Requires users to provide power, easier to attack

37. The Graph

• Summary: A blockchain used for querying and indexing data for other blockchains
• Function: Gather data, API for Dapps
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Has a vast network of indexers alllowing several Dapps to gather data
• Pros: Vast amount of data, widely used, interoperable, 
• Cons: No control over coin distribution

38. Algorand

• Summary: A smart contract system built to be faster and cheaper than its older brothers
• Function: Staking, smart contracts, fast settlement, fees
• Network: ALGO
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: A smart contract blockchains that is non-forkable, meaning transactions are final
• Pros: Transparent, accurate, secure, cheap
• Cons: Has strong competition

39. CRYPTO.COM coin

• Summary: The native coin to the Crypto.com exchange ecosystem
• Function: Fees, rewards, staking
• Network: CRO & ERC-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Can be used for several good earn programs and trading fees
• Pros: Many use cases, flexible
• Cons: Bad history, lack of focus, 

40. Klaytn

• Summary: Creates a hybrid between public and private blockchains, creating the best of both worlds
• Function: Smart contracts, 
• Network: Klaytn
• Protocol: Proof-of-stake
• Uniqueness: Has easier barrier to entry and works as a hybrid blockchain
• Pros: Easy to use, decentralized, 
• Cons: Bad communcation, founder charges fees on transactions

41. Neo

• Summary: A blockchain aiming to be the next internet of things 
• Function: Governance, rewards, smart contracts
• Network: Neo
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (bDFT)
• Uniqueness: A contiously growing blockchain that has high support for its devs
• Pros: Continously being developed, large developer support
• Cons: Based/started in China, large number of competitors, 

42. Bitcoin BEP2

• Summary: A bitcoin on the Binance smart chain which is pegged 1:1 to bitcoins price
• Function: Store of value, digital gold
• Network: BEP-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-work
• Uniqueness: A bitcoin that is 100% backed and availble on the Binance smart chain
• Pros: Bitcoin on Binance smartchain
• Cons: Doesn't serve much function

43. Kusama

• Summary: This is Polkadot's test-net where developers can try their tools, connected to Polkadot's parachain
• Function: Interoperability, development , governance 
• Network: Canary network/Polkadot
• Protocol: Nominated-Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: A development testing blockchain to allow developers to deploy their projects cross-chain
• Pros: Clear use case, faster protocol than Polkadot
• Cons: Meant as a test-net

44. Maker

• Summary: The governance token to the MakerDAO ecosystem
• Function: Governance, reward, staking
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake 
• Uniqueness: First fully decentralized stablecoin system
• Pros: Decentralized, verified 1:1 peg
• Cons: Centralized governance, potential smart contract loopholes, 

45. BitTorrent

• Summary: A former P2P file sharing site now is a becmong more decentralized after TRON acquired it
• Function: File sharing, 
• Network: TRC-10 (TRON)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: One of the largest and oldest file sharing sites that now offers a decntralized solution
• Pros: Decentralized, fast speed, doesn't require good connection
• Cons: Can be used in a harmful manner

46. Elrond

• Summary: Aims to become "a new internet" and provides many tools and high scalability
• Function: Rewards, fees, staking, smart contract
• Network: Elrond
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Works in different shards that allow for high TPS & offers good developer tools
• Pros: Good for developers, good scalability,
• Cons: Alot of competitors

47. Bitcoin SV

• Summary: A hard fork of BitcoinCash, 
• Function: Transactions, 
• Network: BSV
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work
• Uniqueness: Aims to improve Bitcoin's idea and providing more scalability staying close to Satoshi's vision
• Pros: Higher blocksize, higher TPS
• Cons: High fees

48. Waves

• Summary: Aims to improve the earlier blockchains, making them quicker and easier to use
• Function: Smart contracts, 
• Network: Waves & ERC-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Helps to improve other blockchains by making them quicker to use and easier to develop for.
• Pros: Built in DEX, 
• Cons: Many competitors

49. UNUS SED LEO

• Summary: A coin with a unique idea to deplete itself fully, used on Bitfinex
• Function: Fees, rewards
• Network: ERC-20 & EOS
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Used on the Bitfinex exchange and is uniquely designed to not exist forever
• Pros: Highly deflationary,
• Cons: All coins will be lost

50. SHIB

• Summary: A meme coin aimed at being the Dogecoin killer
• Function: Meme, DEX
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work/none
• Uniqueness: It is the second largest memecoin and have had a infamouse bullrun in may
• Pros: A bit more famous than most meme coins
• Cons: No real use case, shitcoin