TechFlow news, January 5 — According to an article published by the China Finance 40 Forum's official account, Zhong Yi from the China Finance 40 Research Institute authored an article titled "Cryptocurrencies Have 'Changed Dramatically'", pointing out that cryptocurrencies have evolved into at least three distinct types based on design mechanisms and functions. Privately issued cryptocurrencies can primarily be categorized into three types: Store of Value Cryptocurrencies, Utility Tokens, and Stablecoins.
- Category I: Store of Value Cryptocurrencies, represented by Bitcoin, Litecoin (LTC), etc. Although these cryptocurrencies were initially designed for peer-to-peer electronic payments, they now largely serve as digital stores of value.
- Category II: Utility Tokens, represented by Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), etc. These can further be divided into three subcategories: infrastructure tokens, service tokens, and financial tokens.
- Category III: Stablecoins, represented by USDT, USDC, etc. These can mainly be classified into four types: fiat-collateralized stablecoins, commodity-collateralized stablecoins, crypto-collateralized stablecoins, and algorithmic stablecoins.
As of December 28, 2024, CoinGecko recorded 16,022 cryptocurrencies across 1,200 cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide, with a total market capitalization of approximately $3.43 trillion and a 24-hour trading volume of around $165.3 billion. In relative terms, this market cap equals about 5% of the total U.S. stock market value and 35% of China's stock market value. In early 2014, the global cryptocurrency market cap was merely $10.6 billion—meaning the market has grown more than 300-fold over the past decade.
