Learning the friendly way

The crypto industry can feel like it has a language of its own sometimes, so we're here to clear the air on the business of tickers. Tickers were first introduced to the trading world in the 19th century to make trading stock more efficient, listing merely an abbreviation of the company and not the full name. This concept was later adopted by the crypto industry too. In this article, we provide a guide to avoiding crypto ticker confusion.

What is a crypto ticker?

Crypto tickers are abbreviated forms of a cryptocurrency used to represent the coin on centralized and decentralized exchanges. For example, BTC is used for Bitcoin and ETH for Ethereum.

Can two cryptocurrencies have the same ticker?

As both cryptocurrencies will likely be searched for and traded on the same exchange, each will need its own ticker in order to differentiate from the other. It has however been witnessed that smaller coins have adopted a more prominent cryptocurrency's ticker in order to drive interest. This is often related to scam coins and should be considered a red flag. 

To simplify this guide we've broken it down into sections, covering tickers across payment focused cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, meme coins, development-focused platforms and a gaming platform.  ‍

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Payment-focused cryptocurrencies

Since Bitcoin was launched in 2009, many coins have followed in its footsteps, attempting to recreate a more efficient digital money. While this isn't a bad thing, there have been a number of digital assets adopting the word "Bitcoin" into their name which has caused a considerable amount of confusion. 

Here we take a look at the three most prominent payment-focused cryptocurrencies:

BTC - Bitcoin 

The first and biggest cryptocurrency in existence, Bitcoin is the most widely adopted coin to this day. 

LTC - Litecoin 

One of the most successful forks off of the Bitcoin blockchain, Litecoin provides fast and cheap transactions.

XRP - Ripple

XRP offers one of the fastest value transactions, challenging the SWIFT payment method with its blockchain functionalities. 

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Stablecoins

Stablecoins were created to combat the volatility that crypto markets have become known for. These coins are pegged to fiat currencies, ensuring that their value remains the equivalent to one unit at all times. Stablecoins have gained popularity since the launch of the DeFi movement, and both these coins are in the top 5 biggest cryptocurrencies based on market cap. 

USDC - USD Coin

USD Coin is pegged to the US dollar and was launched in 2018 by payment services company Circle and Coinbase.

USDT - Tether

Also pegged to the US dollar, Tether was launched by a Hong Kong-based company Tether in 2014. Tether is the first stablecoin to come into existence. 

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Meme Coins

Since the rise of Dogecoin, many cryptocurrencies have attempted to leverage the brand and incorporate the star Shiba Inu logo. Most of these coins have a minute market cap, so we'll focus on the two biggest ones, which are both currently positioned in the top 15 biggest cryptocurrencies based on market cap. 

DOGE - Dogecoin

The original meme token, Dogecoin was created in 2013 from a hard fork off of the Litecoin blockchain. Dogecoin remains the biggest meme token to date. 

SHIB - Shiba Inu

Leveraging the success of Dogecoin, Shiba Inu was launched in 2020 and provides a crypto ecosystem compared to Dogecoin's simple payment functionality. 

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Development-Focused Cryptocurrencies

Since the rise of Ethereum and the incredible innovation, it has provided a platform for, many other projects have launched a similar concept where developers can also create dapps. While they all share this common denominator, each project brings something unique to the table. 

ETH - Ethereum

The original development-focused platform, Ethereum was launched in 2015 and is the most widely used by developers. Often susceptible to high transaction fees, many other projects have attempted to rectify this problem. 

ADA - Cardano

Cardano was created by a co-founder of the Ethereum network and through rigorous academic research aims to provide a more streamlined platform on which developers can create blockchain-based applications.

DOT - Polkadot

Polkadot focuses on providing interconnectivity and interoperability between blockchains, allowing inoperable blockchains to exchange data and value.

LINK - Chainlink

Chainlink is an oracle network that allows smart contracts to connect with outside data, providing a "bridge" between blockchains and off-chain environments.

SOL - Solana

Solana is a high-performance blockchain that provides dapp and smart contract creation. Solana provides a faster and more cost-effective alternative to Ethereum.

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Gaming Platform

Last but not least, we'll also cover this metaverse-focused coin which functions to assist the inner workings of the virtual reality game of the same name. 

MANA - Decentraland

Launched in 2020, MANA operates as the in-house currency for players using the Decentraland platform. The coin can also be traded in the outside world on many popular exchanges. 

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An Informative Guide To Avoiding Crypto Ticker Confusion

We hope the guide above helps to dispel any crypto ticker confusion, particularly as you embark on your crypto investment journey. While the world waits for cryptocurrencies to become regulated, if you're looking to get in before this takes place, Tap provides a convenient, simple and secure solution to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies.

All coins are displayed with their real-time price, allowing anyone, anywhere to obtain one of the digital currencies on offer using simply a bank transfer.

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The Curve protocol and Curve DAO token form another innovative project to come from the DeFi movement and one that provides a particularly unique and well-designed concept. Improving on functionalities that DeFi platforms like Uniswap and Sushiswap have otherwise neglected, Curve focuses on providing a viable alternative solution to traditional financial platforms in the blockchain industry.  

The Curve Finance platform, launched in January 2020, later released a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) alongside the Curve DAO token eight months later. CRV functions as the in-house token of the platform.  

What Is Curve DAO (CRV)?

The Curve platform, formally known as Curve Finance, provides traders with a decentralised exchange on which to swap digital assets. Curve aims to provide minimum price slippage between two tradable crypto assets by focusing on stablecoins or assets of similar value. Through an automated market maker (AMM) and focused smart contracts, the decentralised exchange is able to manage liquidity.  

While the platform can be compared to Uniswap, in reality, it has some key differences and a much higher amount of locked liquidity. The platform and its liquidity providers are more focused on stablecoins and other coins of that nature. CRV tokens fuel the network and are a tradable asset for crypto users.

The Curve DAO provides more decentralised governance to Curve's trading platform. The Curve protocol has grown into a well-respected financial asset within the DeFi ecosystem with its strong DeFi protocol.

Who created the Curve protocol?

The Curve platform was created by a Russian scientist with ample experience in the crypto industry. Michael Egorov both founded the platform and acts as its CEO. He previously co-founded a crypto business focused on building privacy-oriented protocols and infrastructure, NuCypher, in 2015, as well as LoanCoin, a decentralised bank and loans network.

As of August 2020, Egorov holds 71% of the governance tokens after locking up a large amount of CRV tokens in response to yearn.finance’s increasing voting power in the Curve network. In a statement made later, Egorov admitted to “overreacting”.  

How does Curve work?

Launched prior to Uniswap V2, Curve Finance operates similarly to the DeFi platform but has implemented some key differences. The decentralised exchange differentiates itself from the original AMM platform by innovating the liquidity pool trading structure and relevant smart contracts.

The Curve DAO trading platform is managed by a mathematical function called a bonding curve, which is designed to let cryptocurrencies trade for the best possible price amongst each other. Bonding curves are also used by other DeFi trading platforms, like Uniswap.

Due to the Curve DAO platform being primarily focused on stablecoins, its bonding curve is specifically focused on these pegged digital currencies and is able to trade a larger amount of stablecoins with less change in their relative prices in a liquidity pool.

Lending pools

In order for the Curve DAO platform to operate, it requires a group of users who are willing to lock up their cryptocurrencies in order for them to be traded by others. The platform provides a return on their coins plus a portion of the fees from trades when incentivizing liquidity providers.

The platform manages the coins in the liquidity pools by making them more expensive or cheaper, based on their fluctuating amounts, thereby making them more attractive to buyers and sellers using the platform.

On Uniswap, liquidity pools are based strictly on predetermined trading pairs while on Curve DAO the liquidity pools comprise multiple assets. On Curve DAO, entire liquidity pools can also be used as an asset inside another liquidity pool.

How does a trader use the liquidity pools?

Once a trader adds liquidity to a specific pool, through stablecoins or other digital assets, the user will receive a token specific to that pool. 3pool is an example of one of the most popular liquidity pools on the Curve platform.  

While the platform is known to provide trading for stablecoins, it also supports mirrored assets such as renBTC and wBTC. These assets are both built on the Ethereum blockchain and track the price of Bitcoin in a typical derivatives fashion. Since the prices are close in value they can function in the same pool and be traded using the Curve DEX.

What is the Curve DAO token (CRV)?

The CRV token is the utility token and governance token of the Curve DAO platform, providing users with governance rights, an incentive structure for fee payments, as well as providing long-term rewards to liquidity providers. CRV tokens are awarded to users based on their liquidity commitment and length of ownership.  

The Curve DAO token was launched alongside the Curve DAO in August 2020. The maximum supply is 3.03 billion CRV tokens, with 62% of that being distributed to liquidity providers. The rest is allocated between employees (3%), and shareholders (30%), and a small percentage is kept for community reserves (5%). Employee and shareholder allocations work off of a two-year vesting schedule.  

At the time of writing, over 531 million CRV tokens are in circulation, roughly 16% of the total supply.  The market cap at the time was around $365 million, positioning the Curve DAO token network in the top 20 biggest platforms in the DeFi ecosystem.

How can I buy Curve DAO tokens?

If you’d like to buy Curve DAO tokens to include in your crypto portfolio, you can do so easily through the Tap mobile app. Providing a highly secure and equally simple crypto trading platform, users can buy CRV with British Pounds or Euros, or exchange tokens for other cryptocurrencies supported on the platform such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.  

Simply download the app, create an account and follow the steps to get verified through the KYC process. You will then have access to several wallets, and a much simpler crypto trading experience.  

We are delighted to announce the listing and support of 1Inch (1INCH) on Tap!

1INCH is now available for trading on the Tap mobile app. You can now Buy, Sell, Trade or hold 1INCH for any of the other asset supported on the platform without any pair boundaries. Tap is pair agnostic, meaning you can trade any asset for any other asset without having to worries if a "trading pair" is available.

We believe supporting 1INCH will provide value to our users. We are looking forward to continue supporting new crypto projects with the aim of providing access to financial power and freedom for all.

1inch is a cryptocurrency trading tool for traders, allowing them to quickly find and access competitive prices on decentralised exchanges (DEXs) using its innovative 1INCH token, which provides both utility and governance functionalities to token holders.

By utilising 1inch, traders have the convenience of trading from a single platform while being exposed to the lowest trading fees and best prices across several DEXs.

The 1INCH token is an ERC-20 token that serves as a utility and governance token for the platform.  On top of functions like spending, sending, holding, and staking, the 1inch token also provides voting rights to token holders on any proposed updates to the protocol.

Get to know more about 1Inch (1INCH) in our dedicated article here.

We are delighted to announce the listing and support of Lido (LDO) on Tap!

LDO is now available for trading on the Tap mobile app. You can now Buy, Sell, Trade or hold LDO for any of the other asset supported on the platform without any pair boundaries. Tap is pair agnostic, meaning you can trade any asset for any other asset without having to worries if a "trading pair" is available.

We believe supporting LDO will provide value to our users. We are looking forward to continue supporting new crypto projects with the aim of providing access to financial power and freedom for all.

Lido's liquid staking service allows users to tap into the benefits of staking rewards without compromising their tokens' liquidity. Lido aims to empower users to put their staked assets to use, supporting a number of PoS cryptocurrencies. The platform offers a liquid staking solution that provides users with a system that allows them to earn rewards on staked coins while also receiving a tokenized version of the staked coins which can generate returns in other DeFi protocols.

The Lido DAO token (LDO) is an ERC-20 token, the native utility token to the Lido protocol used to reward users. The token has a total supply of 1 billion tokens and serves three primary functions.

The LDO token grants holders with governance rights in the operations of the Lido DAO, as well as the removal or addition of Lido node operators and helping with the management of fee parameters and distribution.

Get to know more about Lido (LDO) in our dedicated article here.

We are delighted to announce the listing and support of Convex (CVX) on Tap!

CVX is now available for trading on the Tap mobile app. You can now Buy, Sell, Trade or hold CVX for any of the other asset supported on the platform without any pair boundaries. Tap is pair agnostic, meaning you can trade any asset for any other asset without having to worries if a "trading pair" is available.

We believe supporting CVX will provide value to our users. We are looking forward to continue supporting new crypto projects with the aim of providing access to financial power and freedom for all.

Convex Finance has been dubbed a "DeFi 2.0 protocol," and is part of the ever-growing subset of second-generation decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols that offer yield farming services to users. Deeply ingrained in the DeFi space, Convex empowers Curve Finance users to further benefit from earning and optimizing yields. 

The Convex Finance protocol provides users access to liquidity and earning trading fees through Curve's established stablecoin pools. In order to do so, users need to deposit Curve tokens into Curve's liquidity pools and then stake them on Convex. Acting as an intermediary, Convex then auto-harvests these tokens and reimburses liquidity providers with the gained rewards. 

Convex Finance CVX tokens are ERC-20-based tokens with both utility and governance functionality. The token is used to receive a share of Convex platform fees and reward CRV stakers.

Get to know more about Convex (CVX) in our dedicated article here.

We are delighted to announce the listing and support of GensoKishi Metaverse (MV) on Tap!

MV is now available for trading on the Tap mobile app. You can now Buy, Sell, Trade or hold MV for any of the other asset supported on the platform without any pair boundaries. Tap is pair agnostic, meaning you can trade any asset for any other asset without having to worries if a "trading pair" is available.

We believe supporting MV will provide value to our users. We are looking forward to continue supporting new crypto projects with the aim of providing access to financial power and freedom for all.

Since the Metaverse x GameFi project launched in early 2022, GensoKishi Metaverse has taken the cryptosphere by storm, already listed on several top exchanges. The MV token pairs with another token to power GensoKishi Online, the blockchain-based play-to-earn (P2E) game that allows users to create, buy and sell unique characters, weapons and maps. The blockchain-based innovation has leveraged the already existing MMORPG world of Elemental Knights.

While ROND acts as the GensoKishi Metaverse in-game currency, the MV token acts as the governance token primarily used outside of the game. The governance token provides users with voting rights on future developments to the platform, while also providing discounts on in-game items such as land, cosplay equipment, monsters, and non-player characters (NCPs).

Get to know more about GensoKishi Metaverse (MV) in our dedicated article here.