Beyond Bitcoin — Stablecoins, altcoins, DApps and other types of cryptocurrencies that want to be more than just digital cash

• Bitcoin focuses on making digital payments faster but it is only one type of cryptocurrency.
• Stablecoins and privacy-focused coins stand poised to extend the reach of crypto.
• Decentralised finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are recent innovations that use tokens built upon existing cryptocurrencies.

There are over 6,000 cryptocurrencies in existence right now, but not all of them are aiming to become the new king of digital cash like Bitcoin. The crypto universe is wide and its applications are vast.

For example, Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency in the market, is used to power the Ethereum blockchain network which enables ‘smart contracts’ — an example of which is non-fungible tokens — and other decentralised finance (DeFi) applications, called DApps.

Tether, on the other hand, is a stablecoin. It’s a token based on the value of the US dollar. Simply put, users can convert their cryptocurrencies into USDT to have it attain the same value as the dollar but still stay on the blockchain.

Just like that, there are tokens based on privacy, exchanges, interoperability, payments, investing, and lending too — each trying to solve for a different set of problems in the existing fiat financial system.

Here’s a quick look at the top ten categories of cryptocurrencies: