Cryptocurrencies are ranked according to their market capitalization. The list of cryptocurrencies or coin and their market caps can be found on CoinMarketCap , CoinCap and Cryptocompare.
These websites show information such as marketcap, circulating supply, price, change, volume, algorithm etc. All these terms are going to be explained today.
Coin
A Coin is a cryptocurrency that operates independently. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Monero etc are called coins because they were not created based on other coins.
Token
A Token is a cryptocurrency that depends on another cryptocurrency as a platform to operate. Augur, EOS, Golem, TenX are all tokens that are based on ethereum.
Price
Price is the volume weighted average of all prices/value reported at each market.
Market Capitalization
The market cap determines the total size or value of the coins of a particular cryptocurrency. It is calculated by multiplying the price of the coin by the circulating supply of the coin. As price goes up, the market cap of a coin also goes up. Bitcoin is the top most coin with a marketcap of $137 Billion.
Market Cap = Price X Circulating Supply.
Circulating Supply
Circulating Supply is number of coins that are circulating in the market and in the general public's hands.
Total Supply
Total Supply is the total amount of coins in existence right now (minus any coins that have been verifiably burned).
Max Supply
Max Supply is the maximum amount of coins that will ever exist in the lifetime of the cryptocurrency. It cannot be exceeded. It includes the number of coins which are yet to be mined.
Why is the Circulating Supply used in determining the market capitalization instead of Total Supply?
The Circulating Supply is a much better metric for determining the market capitalization because, coins that are locked, reserved, or not able to be sold on the public market are coins that can't affect the price and thus should not be allowed to affect the market capitalization as well.
24h Change
It shows the percentage the price of a coin has increased or decreased over a period of 24 hours.
Example : If the 24hr change of litecoin is %10, it means litecoin has gained a 10% increase over it's previous 24hr price.
24 hr Change = ΔPrice / 24HourAgoPrice * 100
Currency Pairing
A currency pair is the quotation and pricing structure of the currencies traded in the cryptomarket; the value of a currency is a rate and is determined by its comparison to another currency.
Example :
BTC/USD is a currency pair involving Bitcoin and USD. It shows the amount of USD that equals 1 BTC.
LTC/USD is a currency pair involving Litecoin and USD. It shows the amount of USD that equals 1 LTC.
BTC/ETH is a currency pair which involes Bitcoin and Etherum. It shows the amount of Ethereum that equals 1 BTC.
Algorithm
Algorithm is the set of instructions and calculations that are followed in order to mine a coin. The algorithm of a coin determines the profitability and how easy is it to mine a coin. Coin with hmq125 algo are very to mine with CPU but coins with SHA-256 cannot be mined with a CPU. They require machines with very high hashing power.