Projects
Last reviewed November 1, 2026
Following crypto news is easier if you know the big networks and protocols. Here they are in brief, with no price calls and no recommendations.
Solana (SOL)
Launched in 2020, Solana is built for speed and low fees and has become one of the busiest chains for trading, memecoins and payments. Critics point to several network outages in its early years and the heavy hardware validators need.
XRP and the XRP Ledger
The XRP Ledger has run since 2012. Ripple uses it for payments between financial institutions and holds a large share of XRP. Ripple and the SEC fought a long court case over whether XRP was a security.
BNB Chain (BNB)
The blockchain of the Binance exchange. BNB pays fees on the network and on the exchange. It is cheap and popular, but widely seen as more centralised than Ethereum.
Cardano (ADA)
Started by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson and launched in 2017. The project stresses peer-reviewed research and runs its own proof-of-stake protocol, Ouroboros.
Tron (TRX)
Founded by Justin Sun. Low fees mean a large share of the world's USDT transfers run on Tron. Investigators note that Tron-based USDT also turns up frequently in fraud cases.
Chainlink (LINK)
The most widely used oracle network, feeding off-chain data such as prices to smart contracts. Many DeFi protocols depend on it.
Uniswap (UNI)
A decentralised exchange launched on Ethereum in 2018 that popularised automated liquidity pools. UNI holders vote on protocol changes.
Aave (AAVE)
One of the largest decentralised lending protocols, running on Ethereum and several other chains.
Lido (LDO)
A liquid staking service: deposit ETH, receive stETH and keep using it. Lido manages a large share of all staked ETH, which has raised concerns about concentration.