New Cryptocurrencies for 2023 – Forbes Advisor Canada

There is another way to launch a new cryptocurrency.

Certain blockchains are designed with the ability to host other cryptocurrencies.

Developers can thus launch new cryptocurrencies on top of these existing blockchains, with the newly created currency referred to as a “token”. A token can act as digital money and not be native to the blockchain it operates on.

While some tokens launch with a high degree of customization, which can take expertise and time, others come online in a few clicks. It requires no technical knowledge to launch a token on top of another blockchain – just a few minutes of your time.

There are even online services that help you launch a new token in minutes.

In August 2022, the number of cryptocurrencies listed on CoinMarketCap crossed $27,292.30 ($20,000 USD). A large part of these will have just been copies of existing tokens.

Ethereum based cryptos

The world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has only been around since 2015.

Despite its youth, Ethereum is the most popular blockchain for launching cryptocurrencies. It has become a playground for developers, and is rapidly expanding to become one of the most popular blockchains for decentralized apps and tokens.

You may have even heard of some of the popular tokens launched on Ethereum such as the meme token Shiba Inu (SHIB), which is an alternative to Dogecoin (DOGE); DAI and the metaverse game The Sandbox (SAND).

Binance based cryptos

Instead of launching on the Ethereum blockchain, another popular alternative is the BNB blockchain instead.

BNB stands for “build and build” and is the blockchain launched by the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, and contained within the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem.

Proponents of the BNB Chain enjoy lower fees and higher speed. The main criticism of Ethereum is its burdensome transaction fees, known as “gas”, which can make it inaccessible to the average user.

But BNB Chain’s lower fees and higher speeds don’t come without a trade-off. Binance is a centralized company, so users of the BNB Chain sacrifice an element of decentralization.

This has led some cryptocurrency “purists” to dismiss it as going against some of the core pillars of cryptocurrency.

The low fees, high speeds and ease with which cryptocurrencies can be launched means that there were some highly speculative assets traded on the BNB Chain especially during the pandemic.

One such example was Safemoon, launched in March 2021. It immediately soared, trading at a market cap of $10.9 billion in May 2021.

But as with many of these copy-paste tokens, the fall has been just as dramatic. Safemoon has lost 99.9% of its value, trading close to zero, with a market cap of $4.4 million ($3.3 million USD), at the time of writing. Safemoon, according to CoinMarketCap, has been migrated to a new version: SafeMoon V2.

The convoluted crypto has also been accused of being a Ponzi scheme, where the founders control large amounts of the token. In addition to allegations of fraud, a class-action lawsuit was filed, naming celebrities such as Jake Paul and Soulja Boy for participating in an alleged pump-and-dump scheme.

It’s a poignant reminder that given the ease with which these new cryptocurrencies can be created, it’s important to be vigilant.

With new cryptocurrencies, the underlying code can be vulnerable on certain new projects, says Chris Zaknun, CEO of blockchain project launch DAO Maker.

“Hackers and malicious actors can exploit flaws in the contract code to deceive investors and steal user funds,” says Zaknun. “It is important for investors to verify whether a trusted third-party company has independently audited the code.”

Solana based cryptos

Solana is another popular blockchain that developers can launch tokens on.

It is another option that offers faster speed and lower fees than Ethereum. Again, however, there are trade-offs, as Solana has been beset with reliability issues, with several major power outages.

Despite the issues, interest in Solana has increased over the past year, with an increasing number of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), apps and tokens launched on the blockchain.