The idea of anonymous cryptographic electronic money had long since been postulated, but it wasn’t until 2009 when decentralized cryptocurrency Bitcoin was first created. Namecoin, Litecoin, and Peercoin followed in the proceeding years and cryptocurrency began to gain momentum. By the end of 2013, there were over 50 different cryptocurrencies. And by the end of 2014, this figure had increased by approximately 10x to over 500.
But how many coins are there in 2022 you may ask? Well, it is estimated that there are over 13,000 coins in circulation today, as the number of cryptocurrencies more than doubled from 2021 to 2022. But this isn't entirely good news and in this article, we’ll find out why that is, along with why has the number of cryptocurrencies been growing so rapidly.
How Many Coins Are There In 2022?
As of July 2022, there seems to be 13,423 coins in existence according to CoinGecko. However, not all cryptocurrencies are active or legitimate, deducting approximately thousands less if we discount “dead” coins. Additionally, chances are as you read this, the circulating supply figure is already an underestimate as a number of Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) happen each week.
The thousands of cryptocurrencies we have today can mostly be broken down into three categories:
Bitcoin - the market leader and original cryptocurrency
Altcoin - alternatives to Bitcoin (not necessarily similar)
Tokens - cryptocurrencies using pre-existing blockchains
Why are there so many different cryptocurrencies?
The biggest reason that there are so many different cryptocurrencies is that there's practically no barrier to entry. Anyone who wants to create a cryptocurrency can do it. Even if someone has zero technical know-how, he could easily hire someone on Fiverr to make a cryptocurrency for less than $20.
It wasn't always this way and in the early days, there was only Bitcoin. Then developers started creating altcoins in which early versions were intended to improve on Bitcoin's performance or serve some other purpose. Most successful cryptocurrencies still have a purpose or goal while developers continue creating cryptocurrencies in hopes of using blockchain technology to solve a real-world problem.
Since it has become extremely easy to make a cryptocurrency, the amount of money in crypto has attracted people trying to make a quick buck. If you look at charts of recently launched cryptocurrencies, you'll see plenty like this, with some in the form of "Elon," "Shib," or "Doge" in their names.
Closing Thoughts
The evolution of cryptocurrency has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. Yet many new cryptocurrencies have little purpose other than making money for their developers, which means investors need to be selective. Only a small portion of cryptocurrencies are worth learning about and potentially buying.
And while there has been a fair amount of fluctuation, the general market is only going one way (up), with Bitcoin still leading the charge. And that wraps up the state of cryptocurrency today – on how many coins are there in 2022 to be specific.
