The cryptocurrency market has exploded this year.
Digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, are powered by distributed ledger technology and are not controlled by a centralized authority. Cryptocurrencies have been around for almost a decade but the rapid appreciation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies this year has peaked the interest of Wall Street and Main Street alike.
Bitcoin, for instance, recently surpassed $4,800. It’s up over 700% since 2016 and ether, the token powering the ethereum blockchain, is up 3,300% during the same time period.
At the same time, the number of so-called altcoins, or alternative cryptocurrencies, has ballooned. Powered in part by the rise of initial coin offerings, a way for companies to raise money by creating their own cryptocurrency, the number of altcoins now stands well above 1,000 with a combined marketcap of over $170 billion, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com.
We’ve come up with a list of the nine most bizarre altcoins from Coinmarketcap’s list. Here they are:
Sexcoin
SexCoin, according to its website, "is the first industry specific cryptocurrency targeting the Adult Entertainment Industry." People can use it to purchase "adult products."
Price: $.010023
Rank: 380
Volume (last 24 hours): $8,663
Marketcap: $1,245,924 (253 BTC)
Circulation:124,311,414 SXC
Total Supply: No data
PotCoin
Potcoin was created to provide merchants and customers a platform on which they can buy and sell marijuana products.
"PotCoins are digital coins you can send via the internet, which allow cannabis enthusiasts to interact, transact, communicate and grow together," according to the coin's website.
Price: $.118722
Rank: 132
Volume (last 24 hours): $676,796
Marketcap:$25,858,434 (5,353 BTC)
Circulation:217,806,587 POT
Total Supply: No data
PutinCoin
PutinCoin was created with one main purpose in mind, according to its website, to pay "tribute" to the president and people of Russia.
Price: $.039835
Rank: 226
Volume (last 24 hours):$59,045
Marketcap:$7,990,385 (1,654 BTC)
Circulation:200,588,064 PUT
Total Supply: 2,000,000,000 PUT
Putin Classic
And then there is PutinClassic. According to its website, PutinClassic is "the first souvenir in cryptocurrency."
"We have created a beautiful coin, it is nice to keep in your wallet, or trading on the exchange," a description of PutinClassic on Bitcointalk.org says.
Price: $.001797
Rank: 716
Volume (last 24 hours): $19
Marketcap:$61,098 (13 BTC)
Circulation:34,181,854 PUTIC
Total Supply: 84,181,854 PUTIC
UFO Coin
UFO Coin is one of the newest digital coins on this list. It leverages so-called neoscrypt technology, which "creates stronger encryption and thus an extra layer of protection to the network."
UFO Coin's lead developer, Peter Bushnell, is a former bitcoin miner. Sadly, the coin has nothing to do with contacting extraterrestrials.
Price: $.000190
Rank: 415
Volume (last 24 hours): $1,799
Marketcap: $645,987 (136 BTC)
Circulation:3,394,283,762 UFO
Total Supply: No data
F---Token
F--- token says it presents investors with a "unique opportunity" in the jargon-filled crypto currency world.
"They spew enticing buzzwords and confusing rhetoric just to make you invest in their idea," the website says."With F--- tokens, we present a unique opportunity to express how you really feel."
It recently held an initial coin offering on July 13.
Price: $.081893
Rank: 299
Volume (last 24 hours):$23,448
Marketcap:$3,537,239 (732 BTC)
Circulation:43,193,633 F---
Total Supply: 70,856,774 F---
DogeCoin
Dogecoin was created by Jackson Palmer, a group product manager at Adobe, and Billy Markus, a software engineer at IBM, "without much real thought," according to reporting by Motherboard.
As Palmer told Motherboard's Patrick McGuire, "one night after work, I sat down with a beer, I had too much time on my hands, and I bought Dogecoin.com."
Markus stepped in to help make Dogecoin an actual currency.
The name of the coin is an homage to the popular internet meme known as Doge, which became popular in 2013 and features the face of a dog with comic sans texts in the background. Today, the coin is one of the largest alternative cryptocurrencies on the market.
Price: $.002183
Rank: 35
Volume (last 24 hours):$10,408,300
Marketcap:$242,132,855 (50,151 BTC)
Circulation:110,894,618,419 DOGE
Total Supply: No data
Useless Ethereum Token
Useless Ethereum Token claims to be the world's first honest crypto. Here's the pitch:
"You're going to give some random person on the internet money, and they're going to take it and go buy stuff with it. Probably electronics, to be honest. Maybe even a big-screen television. Seriously, don't buy these tokens."
But people have bought tokens. Soon after it launched, it traded at above $40. Now, it's trading at $0.02. UET has a marketcap of $88,725.
Price: $.022373
Rank: 683
Volume (last 24 hours):$23,448
Marketcap:$88,725 (18 BTC)
Circulation:3,965,716 UET
Total Supply: No data