Link to Google Sheet with the list - http://bit.ly/AltcoinCategory
Many people are aware of the main digital currencies and blockchain solutions such as bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, however on coinmarketcap alone there are over 1400 different coins and tokens.
Most of the coins are attempting to solve a problem but it’s hard to identify what the problem they are trying to solve is. I went through the top 250 (as of End January 2018) and tried to categorise them into different industries and categories to give an overall picture of what they are trying to solve or disrupt.
Going through all the websites was painful, many of the sites reminded me of pharmaceutical adverts where medical terms were thrown in to obfuscate what they were trying to do. Lot’s of techno buzzwords used, but not many use cases or customer journeys for their practical application.
The purpose of this list is to help people to see where the trends of disruption may occur and also to be able to easily compare projects in related areas. The list below currently, does not contain blockchain projects that do not have an associated cryptocurrency or token.
This is a high level, quick effort attempt at categorisation of the main use of some of the altcoins. There will be errors and i will correct the information over time. Some coins/tokens will have multiple purposes, however for simplicity they have been grouped under a main category.
Feedback is welcome in the comments to correct errors, or add new categories.
A brief description of the categories-
Categorisation types:
Currency
Coins who predominant use is as a digital currency
Platform
Projects where the intention is to allow other developers to build applications on top of some of which will also enable the capability for developers to create their tokens on the blockchain
Finance
Projects working with on collaboration witht he finance industry, or providing financial services such as loans, remittances etc.
Asset Management
Storage of assets and management of assorted assets.
IOT
Tracking or interoperability with Internet of things technology
Privacy
Digital currencies focused on anonymity and privacy.
Content
This includes music, articles, documentation, reviews, Virtual Reality and Actual Reality focused applications.
Interoperability
Projects working on connecting blockhains or integration with non blockhain solutions
Supply Chain
Tracking of producer goods and supply chain management
Payments
Projects working on payment requests, payment gateways and transaction processing
Storage
Using blockchain as a method for distributed storage
Exhange/Funding
Exchanges, decentralised exchanges and crowdfunding projects.
Data
Data exchange, and the transfer or trade of data
Governance/ID
KYC projects, identity projects, voting and methods of governing communities and projects including quality control.
Advertising
Digital marketing, marketing attribution or advertising revenue generating alternatives
Cloud
Cloud computing services
Health / Insurance
Health and insurance focused projects
Gaming
Revenue generating, virtual currency replacements and gambling projects.
Energy
Power and energy trading
Telecoms
Mobile and wireless technologies including wireless data, data plans and mobile hardware
Loyalty/Rewards
Loyalty programs, interchange of rewards and loyalty
Marketplace
Platforms that provide a buyer and seller exchange for goods and services
AI/Prediction
Prediction and artifical intelligence focused projects
Adult
Adult related projects
Education
Education, teaching and learning related projects
Image credit : btc keychain