Cryptocurrency Categories
Understand what different crypto networks are built to do.
Map purpose before comparing assets
A cryptocurrency category describes the job a network or protocol is trying to perform. The category map keeps unlike systems from being judged by one generic metric.
Payment and settlement networks
Smart-contract execution platforms
Networks emphasizing transaction confidentiality
Interoperability, data and scaling systems
Browse by network purpose
Each category below links directly to representative asset dossiers. Categories are research groupings, not rankings.
PAYMENT & SETTLEMENT
Networks primarily used to move value.
SMART-CONTRACT NETWORKS
Programmable networks used for applications and on-chain execution.
PRIVACY-FOCUSED
Assets designed with stronger transaction-privacy characteristics.
INFRASTRUCTURE & INTEROPERABILITY
Networks and tokens supporting data, connectivity, storage or cross-network infrastructure.
DEFI PROTOCOLS
Assets tied to decentralized financial protocols and on-chain liquidity.
SCALING NETWORKS
Systems designed to increase blockchain capacity or execution throughput.
