How Many Cryptocurrencies Exist?

As of September 2025, it has been estimated that there are now more than 37 million different, unique cryptocurrencies that have been created over the years. Crypto very much started as a niche experiment and has blossomed into a substantial financial endeavor that reaches across the globe and has investment from governments, institutional firms, and individuals alike.

As it stands, these figures show just how large the cryptocurrency industry has become. But whilst there may be a lot of cryptocurrencies that have been invented over the years, there is an argument to be had that many of these are redundant through inactivity, clear experimental assets, or have very limited functional use. Below, let's take a look at this crypto explosion and try to ascertain how much of the growth is reality and how much is more bark than bite. 

How Many Tokens Are Actually Active?

Whilst there are millions of tokens that have existed over the years, there are actually only a percentage of these that can be actively traded or have any meaningful value that would appeal to investors. Several well-established cryptos are flying high in the global financial markets, such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Tether. Other newer cryptos are looking to legitimately break onto the market and carve their own niche in this industry. The likes of bitcoin hyper, which works as a Layer 2 solution to make Bitcoin transactions quicker and cheaper in fees than traditional Bitcoin transactions, is a new token to break onto the scene in the last year or two, alongside Maxi Doge and PepeNode, which are garnering a lot of increased attention. 

But it is suggested that, as of right now, there are actually only 9547 active cryptocurrencies available to investors on the market. Further data suggests that the number of crypto tokens that people are actually trading in is reflected in the offerings of the two biggest cryptocurrency platforms: Binance and Coinbase. Binance lists just over 400 cryptocurrencies for trading, whilst Coinbase offers around 319 assets available to trade. 

These numbers vastly differ from the number of suspected tokens on the blockchain and what is actually available to investors. Indeed, Coingecko has revealed stats that suggest more than 50% of cryptocurrencies that have been listed since 2021 have failed, amounting to around 3.7 million failed digital asset projects. Considering these stats are only pulled from the last 4 years, it can only be assumed this number is a drop in the ocean of failed cryptocurrencies since it really all kicked off with Bitcoin in the early 2010s. 

Why The Total Might Be Inflated?

There are a few factors that may be the reason why the 37 million figure quoted is inaccurate. The rapid increase in token creation has been aided by the following:

These factors contribute to allowing many to create tokens to add to the market, but due to this saturation, there is often low interest or support as well as scams in play, meaning that the 37 million tokens quoted is far from the reality of cryptocurrency and tokens actually available to invest in. In addition to this, it has been suggested that this 37million figure includes many experimental tokens or duplicate tokens, which are a normal process within cryptocurrency start-ups and mislead the overall figures. 

Market Dominance Vs Failed Tokens

Due to the market dominance of the big cryptocurrencies on the scene, which has been discussed above, there is a strong concentration placed towards the top of the crypto tree. The top 5 cryptocurrencies on the market overshadow the rest of the digital assets available to people across the market. Indeed, Bitcoin's empire of $2.3 trillion accounts for 5 times the worth of its nearest competitor, Ethereum. Whilst other cryptocurrencies still hold a place in the market and have value in their meaningful shares, the sheer volume of cryptocurrencies emerging is clearly an indicator of the burst and hype digital tokens that arrive in seasonal swathes rather than having the intention to stay for longevity. 

Whilst there have been many crypto assets created over time, as of 2025, there are really only just under 10,000 crypto tokens which you can actively invest in. Many more may come, but for now, this seems like the most sensible figure to conclude from.