5 Biggest Digital Currencies in the World

3. Tether

Market Capitalization as of August 12: $66 billion

Tether is the most popular stable-coin on the market. It is also one of the largest digital currencies in the world, behind only Bitcoin and Ethereum. Stable-coins are digital coins whose value is tied to some real-world asset in order to protect them from the price volatility associated with other coins. The value of Tether is tied to the US dollar. Only about a third of the market cap of the coin is backed by cash, fiduciary deposits, reverse repo notes, and government bonds. The rest is backed by a short-term money market instrument called a commercial paper.

Tether is mostly used by crypto traders to leverage trades without the use of fiat currencies. This is generally one of the most popular uses of stablecoins in the cryptoverse. This usage makes the coin the most liquid currency on the market, ahead of even popular coins like Bitcoin. Tether coins are usually issued by Tether Limited, an entity controlled by a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange named Bitfinex. The price of Tether is also used as a health indicator of the overall crypto marketplace.