When you first get involved in cryptocurrency, you can feel overwhelmed by all of the choices. There are a number of coins that you might have heard of in the news, such as bitcoin, Ethereum, or dogecoin. However, there are literally thousands of them to choose from. When you go to a Canada crypto exchange, you can choose from all of these options. Take a look at the eight most popular crypto coins that are here to stay.

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency, and it is still the most popular. It was created by someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto back in 2009, but nobody knows who he is. It runs on a blockchain, which is a public ledger that keeps track of transactions using an entire network of computers. It is secure because each transaction has to be verified using proof of work, which is where miners solve cryptographic puzzles. Back in early 2016, you could buy Bitcoin for around $500 for a coin. This year, it rose above $60,000 before dropping back to just under $40,000 in late January.

2. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is also on the blockchain, and it has amazing applications including smart contracts and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). It is a crypto that is used to pay for these contracts, and you can use it to buy NFTs. NFTs are digital assets where ownership is issued as a token that is verified on the blockchain Between April of 2017 and today, its price has increased from $11 to more than $3700. It has recently corrected back to $2500, but it is definitely here to stay.

3. Binance Coin (BNB)

Binance coin is the cryptocurrency that is used on Binance. When you are looking for a Canada crypto exchange, Binance is one of the largest. This coin was created so that users were able to make payments and receive discounts on trades. It is used for transactions on the exchange, and you can pay your fees with it. It can also be traded for other forms of crypto.

In 2017, it was valued at $0.10 per coin, but today it is around $520. Because Binance is a solid crypto exchange used across the world, Binance coin is here for good.

4. Solana (SOL)

Solana is a company that helps to power decentralized finance, decentralized apps, and smart contracts. It uses proof-of-stake and proof-of-history mechanisms to process transactions, and it is fast and secure. The platform uses its own native token, which is SOL. It has gained 22,000% since it started in 2020. This is a worthy crypto that has established itself as one that is here to stay.

5. Cardano (ADA)

Cardano uses proof-of-stake validation, and it makes the process faster. It also uses less energy, which makes it environmentally friendly. It doesn’t use the competitive processes that bitcoin uses, and it is a simpler process. It works similar to Ethereum, and it powers smart contracts and decentralized applications. It has seen gains of around 6600% since 2017.

6. Terra (LUNA)

LUNA is the native token of the blockchain Terra. It is the ninth largest crypto by market cap, and it has risen around 12,000% in the last year. Terra is an open-source blockchain platform for algorithmic stablecoins, and they are pegged against traditional fiat. Users can easily trade stablecoins.

Luna is used for governance and mining, and people use it to pay network fees and participate in governance votes. It is rising because Terra has proposed a burn of 90 million tokens, and when this happens, it increases the value because it decreases supply. It creates scarcity, which boosts its price.

7. Polkadot (DOT)

There are many different blockchains, and Polkadot has the goal of integrating them through a cryptocurrency network that allows those connected to work together. This could change the way cryptos are managed, and it has led to incredible growth of Polkadot since it was launched in 2020. It has increased in value by around 925% since September of 2020.

8. Avalanche (AVAX)

Avalanche is a relatively new crypto, and it is a layer-one blockchain, which is designed to make the system more scalable. It was founded as a competitor to Ethereum, but it functions differently. On Ethereum, the nodes need to validate each transaction. However, Avalanche has three blockchains that can validate each transaction independently.

It is more scalable, and it can handle large volumes faster at up to 6500 per second. It is becoming quite popular, and it is a coin that will be here for a long time. It first traded back in 2020, and it has made gains from $6.49 to just under $135 in the last year. It is riskier because it is new, but it has proven itself to be worthwhile.