Top 100 Crypto Coins: How Rankings Work

What "Top 100" Means

Most sites rank cryptocurrencies by market cap, which is price multiplied by circulating supply. That's a relative score of network value, not a quality badge or investment recommendation.

Market cap formula:

Market Cap = Current Price × Circulating Supply

Example: If Bitcoin costs $50,000 and there are 19.5 million BTC in circulation, market cap = $50,000 × 19,500,000 = $975 billion.

Important: Market cap doesn't tell you:

• If the project is good or bad
• If the price is fair or overvalued
• If it's a good investment
• How liquid the market is
• If there are future token unlocks that could dilute value

Key Terms That Matter

Understanding these terms helps you read rankings more intelligently:

Market Cap

Price multiplied by circulating supply. Useful for comparing relative sizes, but it ignores unlock schedules and treasury control.

Example: A coin with 1 billion tokens at $1 has $1B market cap, same as a coin with 10 million tokens at $100. But the supply dynamics are very different.

Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV)

Market cap if all tokens were in circulation. If FDV is way higher than market cap, future unlocks can be spicy (dilution risk).

Example: Coin has $100M market cap but $1B FDV. That means 90% of tokens aren't circulating yet. When they unlock, supply increases, potentially pushing price down.

Always check FDV relative to market cap before investing.

Circulating Supply

Tokens currently available and tradeable. Excludes:

• Locked tokens (vesting schedules)
• Treasury holdings
• Burned tokens

Different data sources may report different circulating supplies depending on how they count locked tokens.

Total Supply

All tokens that exist (minus burned). Includes locked and circulating tokens.

Max Supply

Maximum tokens that will ever exist. Some coins have caps (like Bitcoin's 21 million), others have unlimited supply.

Liquidity

How much size you can move without moving price significantly. Thin books punish market orders. High market cap doesn't guarantee high liquidity.

Check:

• Order book depth
• 24h trading volume vs market cap
• Spread between bid and ask

See our Market Fundamentals guide for more on liquidity.

Volume

24h trading volume can hint at interest, but wash trading is a thing. Some exchanges inflate volumes artificially. CoinGecko's Trust Score helps filter junk.

Stablecoins

Pegged assets like USDT and USDC show up high in rankings due to utility, not upside potential. They're meant to stay at $1. Don't treat them like investment assets.

How To Use Rankings

Rankings are useful tools, but use them correctly:

What Rankings Are Good For

• Discovery: Finding projects you didn't know about
• Market overview: Understanding what's getting attention
• Size comparison: Relative market positions
• Trends: Seeing what's rising or falling

What Rankings Don't Tell You

• If a project is good or bad
• If it's a good investment
• If the price is fair
• Liquidity and tradability
• Technical quality
• Future potential

Before Investing, Check

Use rankings to find projects, then do your own research. See our DYOR Framework for a complete checklist. Key things to verify:

• Token unlocks: When and how much supply will increase
• Treasury share: How much do founders/team hold
• Emissions: New token creation rate
• Liquidity: Can you actually trade this?
• Slippage: How much price moves with your trade
• Fundamentals: Technology, team, use case, etc.

Top 100 List

As of August 2024. Rankings update constantly as prices change.

Understanding the Rankings

When looking at the Top 100:

Top 10

Usually includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, and major stablecoins. These have the highest market caps and most liquidity. Generally more established and liquid than lower-ranked coins.

Top 11-50

Mix of established altcoins and newer projects. Still often have decent liquidity, but more variation in quality and risk.

Top 51-100

Higher risk, lower liquidity. Can include promising new projects or dying ones. Requires more research. Thin order books mean larger trades move prices significantly.

Common Pitfalls

Avoid these mistakes when using rankings:

Assuming Higher = Better

Rank #10 isn't necessarily better than rank #50. Market cap reflects size, not quality. A high rank can mean:

• Popular/well-marketed (not necessarily good)
• Old (first mover advantage)
• Pumped (temporary price spike)
• Actually good (sometimes)

Ignoring Supply Dynamics

A coin with low circulating supply can rank high even if total supply is huge. When locked tokens unlock, price often drops. Always check unlock schedules.

Not Checking Liquidity

High market cap doesn't guarantee liquidity. Some coins have large market caps but thin order books, making them hard to trade without significant slippage.

FOMO Based on Rankings

Seeing a coin rise in rankings can trigger FOMO. Don't buy just because it's moving up. Research fundamentals first.

Rankings vs Reality

Rankings provide a snapshot, but crypto markets move fast:

• Prices change constantly
• Rankings update in real-time
• Positions shift daily
• New projects enter, old ones fall out

A coin ranked #50 today might be #30 next week or #100 next month. Don't treat rankings as permanent.

Methodology & Attribution

Rankings are calculated from multiple data sources aggregating price and supply data from exchanges. For calculation details on pricing, circulating supply, and market caps, see the providers' methodology pages:

• CoinGecko Methodology
• CoinMarketCap Methodology

Rankings can vary based on supply sources and filters. Different platforms may rank coins slightly differently depending on how they count circulating supply.

Final Word

Top 100 tells you who's commanding attention today. It doesn't tell you what will compound tomorrow. Treat this list like the warm-up, not the whole session.

Use rankings to discover projects, then do your own research. Check fundamentals, understand risks, and never invest more than you can afford to lose. See our Investment Fundamentals guide for more.