What’s the Difference Between a Cryptocurrency, a Token, and Traditional Money?

As of this year, over 36 million cryptocurrencies have been created.

Yes, you read that right. Millions!

In 2017, there were fewer than 10,000 tokens. By 2021, that number had grown to approximately 100,000. Today? Over 36 million tokens exist, with thousands of new ones being launched every single day.

If you’re confused, you’re not alone.

The crypto world is drowning in jargon. Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC, Solana, tokens, coins, stablecoins, meme coins — it’s a relentless flood of terms that all sound the same but mean completely different things.

The problem is that if you don’t understand the fundamental difference between a cryptocurrency, a token, and traditional money, you can’t tell what’s legitimate from what’s noise.

Most of those 37 million “cryptocurrencies” aren’t even real projects — they’re abandoned experiments, scams, or meme coins that launched and died within days. More than 50% of cryptocurrencies have already failed.