Top-24 Coins According to CoinStats Users in 2021

CoinStats users can invest in, track, and overall manage more than 26,000 different cryptocurrencies so when a big percent of them makes a certain choice, it’s a choice to be reckoned with. If you love examining data and drawing your conclusions or if you’re a beginner and want to acquaint yourself with  the most popular projects and coins of 2021, you will most definitely enjoy this overview. 

So, which coins did CoinStats users hodl between December of 2020 and December of 2021 and why? Let’s find out together!

1. Ethereum (ETH)

Okay, no surprises here: Ethereum (ETH) was the leading coin for CoinStats users throughout the year. But as more and more people started investing in crypto, the percent of users holding ETH fell somewhat, so if in December of 2020 around 67% of users had ETH, by December of 2021 that number had dropped to around 39%. Well, it’s always interesting to see diversification increasing in portfolios, so this development is not in any way a sign that Vitalik Buterin’s ambitious project is on decline. Ethereum, with its smart contracts’ functionality, remains the single DeFi project consistently predicted to overtake the “gold of crypto” Bitcoin one day. CoinStats users believe in ETH, and it’s easy to understand why. 

Also see: How to buy Ethereum

2. Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin was #2 most popular coin from December of 2020 (when ~62% of CoinStats users had it) till November of 2021 (when ~29% of users had it), and then it was pushed to #3 by Tether. If there is one coin that needs no introductions, it’s Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency introduced by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto thirteen years ago. At the time of writing, Bitcoin has a market cap of around $834 billion and one BTC costs $44,000: Impressive stats that explain it was a favorite of CoinStats users as well. 

Also see: How to buy Bitcoin

3. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple was built as an alternative, better and faster way to process international transactions. In the winter and March of 2021, around 40% of CoinStats users had invested in Ripple (XRP), which made it the third most popular cryptocurrency. Then in April of 2021, Ripple was pushed to #5, a spot where it has been lingering since. As of December, 2021, 15% of all CoinStats users were hodling XRP.

4. Tether (USDT)

Tether is an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency the value of which is pegged to the US dollar. This stability is something that CoinStats users seem to appreciate; The percentage of Tether hodlers has been increasing throughout the past year. If in December of 2020 around 31% of all users had Tether and it made it the fifth most popular coin, a year later about 33% of users had it, and it was the second most popular coin. Despite the many controversies that USDT has faced, this goes to show that CoinStats users are reasonable investors who are moderately risk-averse and appreciate a good stablecoin when they see one. 

Also see: How to buy USDT

5. Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin is an early Bitcoin fork that is…Well, lighter: The transactions and fast and the fees are relatively low. Often described as the silver to the Bitcoin gold, Litecoin is the common coin for Darknet transactions. With 32% of CoinStats users holding it back in December of 2020, it was #4 most popular coin on our list. Since then, however, it has been gradually moving down our rating, and with about 11% of our users investing in LTC, it ended up the 15th most held cryptocurrency in December of 2021. Litecoin is a convenient currency for transactions, so as crypto starts gaining wider acceptance, it will likely become a common means of exchange.

Also see: How to buy Litecoin

6. Stellar (XLM)

Next up on our list is Stellar (XLM), a platform where users can create, send, and swap cryptocurrencies. The transaction fees in this network are often paid in Stellars or, as the coins are now called, Lumens, the intermediary coin of this built-in protocol. With 31% of hodlers, Stellar was #6 on our list in December, 2020, but has since moved down to #14 with around 12% of CoinStats users holding it. Maybe a contributing factor of this shift is that half of Lumens have been destroyed and there are no announced plans to create more, but the coin has rarity going for it. 

Also see: How to buy Stellar (XLM)

7.  Binance Coin (BNB)

The utility coin Binance Coin (BNB) has been doing quite well with CoinStats users: The seventh most popular coin in December of 2020 which was held by 28.5% of users then grew to become the fourth most common coin in December, 2021, that 25% of users had invested in. BNB was created as the cryptocurrency for paying Binance’s trading fees, and as Binance is an extremely large exchange, it makes sense for users to purchase it.

Also see: How to buy Binance Coin

8. Tron (TRX)

Starting off at 27% and in the 7th place in our rating in December 2020, Tron (TRX) was entirely pushed out of the top-15 coins CoinStats users hold by November 2021. Tron was a project launched in 2017 with the idea of taking the middleman, be it Netflix or YouTube, out of the entertainment business. Using the Tron blockchain is a great way to support content creators directly, and it is only a matter of time before more people jump on this bandwagon.

Also see: How to buy Tron

9. Cardano (ADA)

The dApp development blockchain platform Cardano (ADA) is a big hit with CoinStats users: In December of 2020, ADA was the ninth most popular coin with about a quarter of all users holding it. Since then it has been steadily climbing to the top, reaching #5 in December, 2021 with about 20% of users hodling. The Cardano project has an amazing team behind it and has a proof-of-stake verification system, so it likely has a bright future, despite the risks and volatility typical of the crypto market overall.

Also see: How to buy Cardano

10. Chainlink (LINK)

The decentralized oracle network Chainlink (LINK) has a wide range of advanced features, which explains the fact that it was in the top-15 of most popular coins for CoinStats users in every month from Dec 2020 to Dec 2021. Toward the end of 2020, around 23% of users were hodling LINK, making Chainlink #10 most popular coin. Near the beginning of 2022, LINK was again #10 most popular cryptocurrency with about 13% of users hodling it. 

Also see: How to buy Chainlink

11. EOSIO (EOS)

The dApp blockchain EOSIO was the 11th most popular coin among CoinStats users from December of 2020 to March 2021, but it was pushed out of the top-15 list after that. While EOS still has plenty of support and many merits, including flexibility, scalability, and sustainability provided by the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, it doesn’t seem likely that it will ever surpass Ethereum to become the go-to dApp provider. 

12.  Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Similar to EOS, Bitcoin Cash was #12 most commonly held coin (~20%) among the CoinStats user base from December of 2020 to March 2021, but was then driven out of the top-15 list. This particular fork of Bitcoin was created to solve its scalability issues, and at the time of writing has experienced a 4.62% yearly growth. While, of course, BCH is second to Bitcoin, it is the first successful hard fork in the industry.

Also see: How to buy Bitcoin Cash

13. Basic Attention Token (BAT)

Basic Attention Token (BAT) is an Ethereum-based coin created with the idea of decentralized and transparent advertising in mind. On CoinStats, this cryptocurrency has had a similar journey to the previous two coins on our list: It was #12 up until March of 2021 with one in five CoinStats users hodling it, but it was then pushed out by new hyped up coins. BAT is essentially a digital currency linked to the value of attention: If you believe attention is money, this is the coin you need to look into.

Also see: How to buy Basic Attention Token

14. Neo (NEO)

NEO is a software network where users can trade, create dApps, run smart contracts, and offer various decentralized services. On our list, NEO was #14 most popular coin from December of 2020 till February, 2021, but the emergence of new trends on the market pushed it out of the top-15. Neo is especially attractive for developers, who appreciate that it’s a project in continuous development. 

15. 0x (ZRX)

The utility token for the 0x decentralized exchange, ZRX, was the 15th most owned coin for two months starting from the last month of 2020. Afterwards though ZRX stopped making it to the top-15 list, although the Ethereum-based exchange continues to be relevant and secure. 

16. VeChain (VET)

Launched in 2018, this supply management cryptocurrency first emerged in the CoinStats top-15 in February of 2021, when it was held by about 16% of our users. Then it made it to its personal record, #11 in the ranking in June of 2021 and then started falling until it reached #15 in November of 2021. Nevertheless, VET has numerous merits, the most important being its efficient reputation-based consensus algorithm Proof of Authority (PoA).

17. Polkadot (DOT)

The bright pink logo of the programmable blockchain Polkadot made it to the CoinStats top-15 for the first time in March of 2021, when around 16% of our users had DOT. Launched in August 2020, DOT ascended to #8 on our list in December 2021, with ~13% of CoinStats user base hodling it. Polkadot has a growing number of developers working on its blockchain, and even though it competes with Cardano, Neo, and other equivalents, the future looks reasonably bright. 

18. Uniswap (UNI)

The Ethereum-based decentralized exchange protocol Uniswap (UNI), created to solve Ethereum’s liquidity problem, made a brief cameo in our top-15 in April-May of 2021.

Also see: How to buy Uniswap

19. Dogecoin (DOGE)

And then, of course, the iconic memecoin DOGE, pumped by Elon Musk’s famous Tweets, entered the CoinStats users’ top-15 as #14 in April, 2021. As of December of 2021, Dogecoin was at #9, with about 13% of our user base hodling it. Despite the coin’s founder Jackson Palmer’s announcement that he’s exiting the crypto world, the memecoin is doing quite well. DOGE is often used for crowdfunding and tipping creators of all sorts of online content.

Also see: How to buy Dogecoin

20. USD Coin (USDC)

USD Coin (USDC), similar to Tether, is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Around 12% of CoinStats users had USDC in April, 2021, which briefly made the coin the 15th most hodled one.

Also see: How to buy USDC

21. Polygon (Matic Network, previously) (MATIC)

In June of 2021, the 13th most held coin among the CoinStats community was Polygon AKA Matic Network in the past. The Ethereum scaling solution has since climbed to #7, with about 15% of users holding it in December of 2021. The scaling mechanisms of Polygon are nothing short of impressive, so it looks like a worthy investment as of now.

Also see: How to buy Polygon

22. Binance USD (BUSD)

Yet another stablecoin pegged to the dollar, Binance USD (BUSD), has been in the top-15 list of CoinStats community since the boom of May, 2021. In December of 2021, the stablecoin was held by around 13% of users, which made it #10 in our list of favorite coins. 

23. Solana (SOL)

The blockchain network Solana (SOL) prioritizes user experience and speed of transactions, so the fact that it emerged as #14-13 most held coin in November-December of 2021 comes as no surprise. Toward the end of 2021, about 12% of all CoinStats users had SOL in their portfolios.

Also see: How to buy Solana

24. Shiba Inu (SHIB)

And finally, the second most famous memecoin SHIB took the CoinStats community’s top-15 by storm in December of 2021: At #12, the coin was held by around 12% of all users. Launched in August of 2020, Shiba Inu had the aim to “kill Dogecoin” and combined all the significant traits of Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Dogecoin. SHIB is not backed by any real-life assets, it’s just fun!

Hope you enjoyed this dispatch of data from the CoinStats community. Maybe you even got acquainted with some projects or coins you would like to learn more about and invest in. Stay tuned for more data-based content! And don’t forget to leave a comment sharing your top-3 coins throughout 2021. 

Also see: How to buy Shiba Inu

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