You cant mention the Top Cryptocurrencies for 2023 without mentioning Coin Desk. CoinDesk recently published its inaugural CoinDesk 20 list, in which it sifted through the many crypto assets currently on the market and crowned a group of assets that they believe will "matter most to the market" in 2023.
So how did CoinDesk decide which Top Cryptocurrencies for 2023 s would be the most consequential ? According to their methodology paper,
- The group of assets they chose represent around 99% of the global crypto asset market;
- Trade volume and price data used in their study were derived from eight of the largest crypto exchanges in the world;
- Aside from trade volume and price data, they also looked at other "data feeds, news coverage and analysis";
- With those variables in mind, they then added up the volume of every asset traded in the previous two quarters (Q1 2023 and Q4 2021) and ranked them accordingly; and
- They intend to update the list every quarter.
And so, the inaugural CoinDesk 20 crypto asset ranking was born:
| Ticker | Asset | 4Q19 + 1Q20 Volume ($) |
| BTC | Bitcoin | 88,031,825,166 |
| ETH | Ethereum | 20,287,260,648 |
| USDT | Tether | 9,441,277,737 |
| XRP | Ripple | 8,781,876,625 |
| BCH | Bitcoin Cash | 5,093,963,830 |
| LTC | Litecoin | 4,654,295,270 |
| USDC | USD Coin | 3,787,367,522 |
| XTZ | Tezos | 2,007,007,169 |
| EOS | Eos | 1,996,541,313 |
| LINK | Chainlink | 1,851,493,388 |
| BSV | Bitcoin SV | 1,367,692,516 |
| ETC | Ethereum Classic | 1,154,494,525 |
| TRX | Tron | 715,300,963 |
| XLM | Stellar | 691,128,577 |
| DASH | Dash | 649,300,429 |
| DAI | Dai | 506,199,900 |
| ZEC | Zcash | 454,189,235 |
| XMR | Monero | 395,358,140 |
| ZRX | 0x | 344,162,357 |
| BAT | Basic Attention Token | 286,120,024 |
Here's a brief introduction to each of the crypto assets listed above.
Top Cryptocurrencies for 2023 Countdown
20.) Basic Attention Token (BAT)

Market Cap: ~$383.40M
Value proposition: Payments
BAT is an Ethereum-based token integrated into the privacy-focused web browser Brave. Launched in 2017, the token aims to help digital advertisers generate revenue while also protecting user privacy.
19.) 0x (ZRX)

Market Cap: ~$397.83M
Value proposition: Decentralized finance
0x was created in 2016 with the aim of providing a standard protocol on the Ethereum blockchain that would allow the peer-to-peer exchange of any Ethereum-based token.
18.) Monero (XMR)

Market Cap: ~$1.63B
Value proposition: Privacy coin
XMR is a privacy-focused currency launched in 2014. The coin differentiates itself by using unique ring signatures and confidential recipient addresses to ensure that a user's transaction history remains virtually untraceable.
17.) Zcash (ZEC)

Market Cap: ~$933.46M
Value proposition: Privacy coin
ZEC was launched in 2016 along with the Zcash network, with the aim of providing a higher level of privacy for its users than Bitcoin by allowing them to choose to keep their transaction information private.
16.) Dai (DAI)

Market Cap: ~$163.52M
Value proposition: Digital fiat
DAI is an Ethereum-enabled decentralized cryptocurrency that is often used as a component in decentralized applications or dApps.
Top Cryptocurrencies for 2023 Next 5
15.) Dash (DASH)

Market Cap: ~$942.76M
Value proposition: Privacy coin
DASH was forked out of Litecoin (see #6 below), which itself was forked out of Bitcoin. The coin, which was created in 2014. Allows users to make transactions privately.
14.) Stellar (XLM)

Market Cap: ~$11.20B
Value proposition: Payments
XLM, also known as Lumen, is the native token for the open source blockchain payment system Stellar. The blockchain aims to connect financial institutions and provide low cost transactions in developing markets.
13.) Tron (TRX)
Market Cap: ~$1.35B
Value proposition: Global computer
TRX was created in 2017 with the goal of "decentralising the internet" and supporting decentralised applications. Originally launched on the Ethereum blockchain, the protocol soon migrated onto its own blockchain in 2018.
12.) Ethereum Classic (ETC)

Market Cap: ~$867.35M
Value proposition: Global computer
ETC was forked out of ETH (see #2 below), and like the original, is a blockchain that supports smart contracts and decentralized applications.
11.) Bitcoin SV (BSV)

Market Cap: ~$4.36B
Value proposition: Internet money
BSV, which is an acronym for Bitcoin Satoshi Vision, was forked out of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain (see #5 below) in late 2018.
Top Cryptocurrencies for 2023 Top 10
10.) Chainlink (LINK)

Market Cap: ~$9.63B
Value proposition: Oracle network
LINK was launched in 2017 as Chainlink's native token. Chainlink is a tokenized oracle network which connects blockchain networks and applications with data collected from on-chain and real-world sources.
9.) Eos (EOS)

Market Cap: ~$3.13B
Value proposition: Global computer
EOS is the native token for the EOS blockchain platform, which is known for its ability to process a million transactions per second at zero transaction fees.
8.) Tezos (XTZ)

Market Cap: ~$2.60B
Value proposition: Governance network
XTZ is known for raising around $232 million during its initial coin offering in 2017 --- more than 10 times its original target of $20 million.
7.) USD Coin (USDC)

Market Cap: ~$1.08B
Value proposition: Digital fiat
USDC is an Ethereum-based token representing the US dollar that was launched in 2018 by a peer-to-peer payment company and a crypto exchange.
6.) Litecoin (LTC)

Market Cap: ~$3.90B
Value proposition: Digital gold
LTC is a cryptocurrency that was forked out of Bitcoin (see #1 below) in 2011 to create a faster and lighter version of Bitcoin. The coin is often referred to as the "digital silver" to Bitcoin's "digital gold".
Top Cryptocurrencies for 2023 Top 5
5.) Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Market Cap: ~$5.59B
Value proposition: Internet money
BCH is a cryptocurrency that was forked out of Bitcoin (see #1 below) in 2017 that aims to provide users with a low-cost option to Bitcoin for smaller transactions. BCH comes in at #5 of our Top Cryptocurrencies for 2023
4.) Ripple (XRP)

Market Cap: ~$30.20B
Value proposition: Payments
XRP is a global currency exchange and remittance network Ripple's native token. Ripple's near-instant transaction processing time has earned it a place in numerous banks and other financial institutions around the world.
3.) Tether (USDT)

Market Cap: ~$6.64B
Value proposition: Digital fiat
USDT, launched in 2014, was one of the first cryptocurrencies to peg its market value to a fiat currency at a 1:1 ratio. It is also the largest stablecoin in the world by market capitalization and is often referred to as the unofficial "digital dollar".
2.) Ethereum (ETH)

Market Cap: ~$44.76B
Value proposition: Global computer
ETH, also known as Ether, is the native token that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. The blockchain is known for its developer-friendly properties, which allows smart contracts and decentralized applications to be built on it.
1.) Bitcoin (BTC)

Market Cap: ~$219.08B
Value proposition: Digital Gold
Our Top Cryptocurrencies for 2023 is BTC was the world's first cryptocurrency and blockchain, created in 2009. It also remains the number one cryptocurrency whether by market capitalization, by trade volume, or by almost any measurement.