Market cap : US $ 220.2bn

In second place on our list of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation is Ethereum , valued at a lofty US $ 220.2bn . A blockchain and smart functionality platform , Ethereum ’ s native cryptocurrency is Ether . With fully open-source software , Ethereum was first conceived in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin . The crypto platform allows users to deploy permanent decentralised applications onto it , with which other users can interact . In addition , Ethereum users can create and exchange NFTs on the platform . Many crypto platforms utilise the Ethereum blockchain on top of the ERC-20 token standard . In recent times , Ethereum transitioned to a proof of work mechanism from proof of stake in a bid to stay sustainable . Ethereum called this process ‘ The Merge ’ which , following completed , allegedly cut its energy usage by as much as 99 %.

: the World Computer

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