In the world of cryptocurrency, there is a lot of focus on bitcoin and other major currencies. However, there are quite a few altcoins who take the concept of creating a scarce supply to extreme measures. Although scarcity alone does not give a cryptocurrency intrinsic value by any means, it goes to show it can create an illusion of value over time.
#6 BITGOLD
The current cryptocurrency with the absolute lowest supply of coins to be recorded so far is bitGold. It’s supply only has 10.2299 coins right now, all of which are quite valuable. In fact, the market cap of US$14,473 may look small, but it does mean every BTGOLD is worth over US$1,400. Unfortunately, bitGold only had less than US$100 worth of trading volume in the past 24 hours, making this cryptocurrency less than attractive to investors.
#5 42-COIN
Rather than trying to create an altcoin with a fancy name, 42-coin simply illustrates the available coin supply. All 41.9999 coins have been brought into circulation, establishing a market cap of US$32,019. Not necessarily a favorite altcoin either, as its volume is even lower than bitGold right now.
#4 BITBTC
Quite a few altcoins have tried to piggyback on the Bitcoin name, including bitBTC. With a supply of 43,8132 it is almost as scarce as 42-coin and generates slightly higher trading volumes. The market cap of US$46,854 is not bad, considering bitBTC has no real world use yet.
#3 JINN
Not every altcoin with a smaller supply is worth next to nothing. Jinn is one of the few currencies bucking the trend as every one of the available 56,703 coins is worth US$6.56 each. This puts its market cap at well above the US$280,000 mark right now. Don’t be surprised if you have never heard of Jinn, though, as its use cases are virtually non-existent.
#2 BYTEBALL
One of the surprise entrants on the list of low-supply yet valuable alternative cryptocurrencies goes by the name Byteball. Under the GBYTE ticket, a total supply of 100,000 coins has been made available. With every coin surpassing the US$87.24 value, the market cap is on its way to surpass US$9m. Byteball also generated nearly US$120,000 in trading volume over the past 24 hours, making it quite successful in its own right.
#1 ZCASH
When ZCash launched not too long ago, it became clear the supply of this currency would remain somewhat limited for quite some time. With just over half a million coins in circulation right now, the price per ZEC found a new home around the U$38.82 mark. It is intriguing to see this privacy-centric currency reach a market cap of nearly US$23m in such a short amount of time, though. ZCash continues to generate a fair amount of daily trading volume as well, making it quite a popular cryptocurrency.
