Here I'll summarize and go over the main use cases and how these coins/tokens operate. I did the effort of digging through info to summarize them so you don't have to. But do DYOR if you plan on investing any of these coins/tokens.

Top 51-100 coins here

Updated 2022-02-09

1. Bitcoin

• Summary: World's first bitcoin used to transfer funds without the need for a central body
• Function: Transfer of funds , digital gold
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-work (SHA-256)
• Uniqueness: Ranked number one with the highest marketcap and the oldest
• Pros: Survived the test of time, oldest and safest, dominates the crypto marketcap at 40%
• Cons: Older, expensive, slow

2. Ethereum

• Summary: The first blockchain to host smart contracts which allows other coins to be built upon the same network
• Function: Pay for gas fees and host smart contracts for Dapps
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-work (Ethash), migrating to Proof-of-stake
• Uniqueness: Second biggest crypto and the first host of smart contracts
• Pros: Has been around for a long time, has promising upgrades coming in the future
• Cons: High transfer costs, "slow" transfers

3. Tether

• Summary: The world's largest stablecoin that is controlled by a central body called Bitfinex
• Function: Trading, transactions and storage of value
• Network: ERC-20 (& several others)
• Protocol: none/no consensus 
• Uniqueness: The largest stablecoin
• Pros: Has had a steady value pegged to the dollar, well adopted
• Cons: Centralized, no protocol, no peg verification, can manipulate marketprice

4. Binance coin

• Summary: Binance exchange's native coin that hosts a colorful smart contract network
• Function: Pay gas fees and host smart contracts on its network
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-stake (Tendermint)
• Uniqueness: A better version of Ethereum that has an active network of tokens
• Pros: Good use cases, cheap transfer cost, inflationary
• Cons: Fairly centralized, hosts a lot of scam tokens

5. USD-coin

• Summary: A dollar backed coin created by Coinbase
• Function: Trades and transfers
• Network: ERC-20 (& several others)
• Protocol: None
• Uniqueness: A strong stablecoin that doesn't have the issues dragging Tether down
• Pros: Backed and pegged by Coinbase, verified peg backing, well adopted
• Cons: Centralized

6. Ripple

• Summary: XRP exists to provide a gateway for banks into crypto
• Function: Transactions, settlement between banks
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Ripple consensus protocol algorithm (RCPA, this is nodes ran by banks)
• Uniqueness: Has a strong and active use for allowing bank settlements at much greater speeds.
• Pros: Clear and strong use case
• Cons: Fairly centralized, the protocol is hosted by banks

7. Cardano

• Summary: A staking coin with big plans to enable the next generation Dapps
• Function: Allow transfer of fees and staking, in near future also host smart contracts
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-stake (Ouroboros)
• Uniqueness: One of the first PoS coins 
• Pros: Has big updates coming in the near future, low transfer fee
• Cons: Has strong competitors, taken time before any real use

8. Solana

• Summary: A strong smart contract coin which tackles the issue of networks growing too large
• Function: Smart contracts, staking and paying for transaction fees
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-stake & Proof-of-history
• Uniqueness: Is a solid network that scales really well with more nodes thanks to its protocols
• Pros: Scales much better than most networks, unique PoH protocol
• Cons: Has transparency issues, partly centralized

9. Terra

• Summary: A protocol that runs on several blockchains which mints stablecoins in exchange for Terra
• Function: Interoperability, issue stablecoins, 
• Network: Native/Several
• Protocol: Delegated-Proof-of-Stake (Tendermint)
• Uniqueness: Is one of the largest stablecoin issuer and works on several blockchains
• Pros: Very lucrative at generating transaction fees, hosts the highest non-usd pegged stablecoin
• Cons: Uses DPoS

10. Avalanche

• Summary: A smart contract solution currently is testing its mainnet
• Function: Smart contracts, fees, 
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (Avalanche)
• Uniqueness: Smart contracts hosted works more similarily to a virtual machine, possible big upgrade if the chain works.
• Pros: Easy interoperability, huge TPS, possible infinite scaling
• Cons: Experimental, no self funding

11. Polkadot

• Summary: Allows different blockchains to operate together and perform actions on each blockchain
• Function: Interoperability, pay for fees, replace coins on native chains
• Network: Native/Several
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (BABE & GRANDPA)
• Uniqueness: Allows several networks to work together through the Pokadot parachain
• Pros: High TPS, wide use case, high security
• Cons: Wrapped coins solve this, the staking can be done on each native chain, high inflation

12. Dogecoin

• Summary: Oldest memecoin, was made for supporting altcoins and for the laughs
• Function: Payment & memes
• Network: Native & BEP-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-work (Scrypt)
• Uniqueness: The first and highest valued by marketcap memecoin
• Pros: Has strong support
• Cons: Memecoin, no real use case

13. SHIB

• Summary: A meme coin aimed at being the Dogecoin killer
• Function: Meme, DEX
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: It is the second largest memecoin and have had a infamouse bullrun in may
• Pros: A bit more famous than most meme coins, team is actively developing it
• Cons: No real use case, memecoin, sibling tokens stealing the thunder

14. Binance USD

• Summary: A coin pegged to the USD backed by Binance and Paxos
• Function: Trades and transactions
• Network: ERC-20 (ETH) + BEP-20 (Binance coin)
• Protocol: None
• Uniqueness: A stablecoin backed by Binance and exists on two blockchains
• Pros: Backed by Binance, is available on two networks.
• Cons: Centralized

15. Polygon

• Summary: Built on ERC-20 to promote network growth and smart contracts with wider use cases
• Function: Smart contracts, staking
• Network: Native & ERC-20 (ETH)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake 
• Uniqueness: Layer 2 solution that helps developers familiar with ERC-20 make Dapps cheaper
• Pros: Low transaction cost
• Cons: Its competition, ETH2.0 could remove its use

16. Crypto.com coin

• Summary: The native coin to the Crypto.com exchange ecosystem
• Function: Fees, rewards, staking
• Network: Native & ERC-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Can be used for several good earn programs and trading fees
• Pros: Many use cases, flexible
• Cons: Bad history, lack of focus

17. Wrapped Bitcoin

• Summary: A coin that is pegged to Bitcoin's value, or "wrapped" around the coin
• Function: Store of value, transfer of funds, usage on the Ethereum network
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work
• Uniqueness: Bitcoin but functioning on top of Ethereum
• Pros: Bitcoin on a smart contract blockchain
• Cons: Centralized

18. TerraUSD

• Summary: Stablecoin hosted by Terra that tackles the scalability issue faced by decentralized stablecoins
• Function: Stablecoins, trades, yield earning
• Network: Terra
• Protocol: Delegated-Proof-of-Stake (Tendermint)
• Uniqueness: Largest stablecoin without scalability issues that isn't centralized
• Pros: Its ecosystem has several stablecoins, interoperability, low scalability issues, earn interest
• Cons: Value fluctuates, not backed by a real world asset

19. Dai

• Summary: Part in the MakerDAO ecosystem, a fully crypto backed stablecoin
• Function: Stablecoin, trading
• Network: ERC-20
• Protocol: Maker
• Uniqueness: The first and largest fully decentralized stablecoin with verified 1:1 backing
• Pros: Decentralized, verified, 
• Cons: Price can be affected with a significant market crash

20. Litecoin

• Summary: A fork of bitcoin, aiming to perform faster transactions

• Function: Transactions, storage of value
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work (Scrypt)
• Uniqueness: It's a quicker version of Bitcoin allowing easier use
• Pros: Can be cross-mined with DOGE, 
• Cons: Small use case, being outperformed by coins with more use cases, same scaling issues as Bitcoin

21. Cosmos

• Summary: Is a network meant to bridge several different blockchains to allow them to work together
• Function: Smart contracts, staking, rewards
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (Tendermint)
• Uniqueness: Has strong competition but unlike its competitors this blockchain is already live
• Pros: No need for external interopbility layer, 
• Cons: Susceptible to attacks

22. Chainlink

• Summary: A collection of different data providers that help verify accurate data on the web
• Function: Data oracle, rewards for data providers
• Network: ERC-677 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: Chainlink
• Uniqueness: Has a reputation system and rewards data providers to have a vast network of reliable data
• Pros: Decentralized, strong partnership with SWIFT, reliable data, migrating to be on several networks
• Cons: Has had weird practices in the past, its central protocols is not automated with smart contracts

23. Near Protocol

• Summary: Is built based on Ethereum aiming to solve and improve its smart contracts
• Function: Transactions, staking, governance, smart contracts
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (Nightshade)
• Uniqueness: The network is very developer friendly and performs similarly as ETH2.0 is expected to perform.
• Pros: Developer friendly, fee burning might counter inflation
• Cons: 5% inflation, unorganized smart contract creation, no fees to block producers, semi-centralized governance

24. Uniswap

• Summary: The largest platform for swapping ERC-20 based tokens
• Function: Liquidity mining, swapping, governance, 
• Network: ERC-20 (Ethereum)
• Protocol: UNI protocol
• Uniqueness: The largest swap token
• Pros: No KYC, you own your keys, no lockups
• Cons: Only useable with ERC-20 tokens, doesn't take profit, recently started to cater towards TradFi

25. UNUS SED LEO

• Summary: A coin with a unique idea to deplete itself fully, used on Bitfinex
• Function: Fees, rewards
• Network: ERC-20 & EOS
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Used on the Bitfinex exchange and is uniquely designed to not exist forever
• Pros: Highly deflationary,
• Cons: All coins will be lost

26. Tron

• Summary: A network built to allow content creators to reach consumers without a middleman
• Function: Staking, smart contracts
• Network: Native [initially ERC-20]
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: One of the first ecosystems aiming to fix issues in the content creator industry
• Pros: Has a headstart in its market, no fees, high TPS, rapid transactions
• Cons: Initial whitepaper, questionable dev team, semi-centralized

27. Algorand

• Summary: A smart contract system built to be faster and cheaper than its older brothers
• Function: Staking, smart contracts, fast settlement, fees
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: A smart contract blockchains that is non-forkable, meaning transactions are final
• Pros: Transparent, accurate, secure, cheap
• Cons: Has strong competition

28. Bitcoin cash

• Summary: A fork of Bitcoin meant to fix its brother's issues
• Function: Transfer of funds, digital gold
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work 
• Uniqueness: An improvement on bitcoin which can host tokens with SLP
• Pros: Planning on smart contract upgrade
• Cons: Difficult to build on top off

29. FTX token

• Summary: The native token to a crypto derivates exchange, built by traders
• Function: Trading, liquidity in derivaties trading, fees
• Network: SOL
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: A coin made by experienced traders to tackle the issues within derivative trading
• Pros: Experienced team, low fees, good for high volume traders
• Cons: Centralized, new

30. Decentraland

• Summary: Is a virtual sandbox where users can own and monitize plots of digital land
• Function: Payment, NFT, rewards
• Network: ERC-20
• Protocol: None/Proof-of-Work
• Uniqueness: A blockchain hosted game similar to second life with better ways for users to earn
• Pros: Deflationary, ability to earn
• Cons: Explotation risk, limited user interaction

31. Stellar

• Summary: A coin built to be used for cheap and easy transfers
• Function: Transactions, smart contracts, fees
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Locally managed nodes
• Uniqueness: One of the largest coins with cheap fees solely meant for transfers
• Pros: Widely used, cheap fees, 
• Cons: Centralized, permissioned, "fork of ripple" drama

32. Fantom

• Summary: A smart contract blockchain which is built on BPoS and offers great speeds
• Function: Smart contract, payment, staking
• Network: Native (+ERC-20 & BEP-20)
• Protocol: Lachesis protocol (DAG/aBFT)
• Uniqueness: Has a scratch built unique consensus protocol which is fast and safe
• Pros: Fast consensus protocol, good team 
• Cons: Outsources their wallet development, centralized validators

33. The Sandbox

• Summary: Allows user to submit content and play with friends in a metaverse
• Function: Staking, fees, rewards
• Network: ERC-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Allows users to earn and create gaming experiences
• Pros: Strong partnerships, decentralized
• Cons: Slim use case, targets developers mainly

34. Internet Computer

• Summary: It's a smart contract provider aiming at performing contracts at near web speeds
• Function: Governance, store of value, rewards
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Queries and calls
• Uniqueness: Aims to solve the speed issue that other blockchains are having trouble with
• Pros: High speeds, deflationary, easily accessible
• Cons: Not decentralized, fairly untested, low adoption, rocky launch

35. Bitcoin BEP2

• Summary: A bitcoin on the Binance smart chain which is pegged 1:1 to bitcoins price
• Function: Store of value, digital gold
• Network: BEP-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-work
• Uniqueness: A bitcoin that is 100% backed and availble on the Binance smart chain
• Pros: Bitcoin on Binance smartchain
• Cons: Doesn't serve much function

36. Hedera Hashgraph

• Summary: Heder uses hashgraph to offer smart contracts and work around the scalability issue
• Function: Fees, smart contracts, file storage, staking
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (aBFT)
• Uniqueness: Uses a hashgraph instead of a blockchain which avoids most issues blockchains faces today
• Pros: It's fast, low fees, low/none scalability issues, ABFT
• Cons: Hashgraph is patented, not permissionless

37. Ethereum classic

• Summary: A fork of Ethereum which didn't reverse the effect of a DAO hack and aims to stay true to the original idea 
• Function: Pay for fees, rewards, transfer funds, smart contracts
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work (ETHash)
• Uniqueness: Stays true to Ethereums original idea and doesn't plan to turn into for-profit
• Pros: Staying a PoW, less adopted and easier use 
• Cons: Staying a PoW, been 51% hacked

38. Vechain

• Summary: A smart contract coin aimed to improve supply chains in several industries
• Function: Supply chain tracking and security
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: Aims to fix issues that have remained unchanged in the supply chain industry
• Pros: Unique use case, duo token allowing investors/users to invest accordingly
• Cons: Relies on humans to input data, can be replaced with a cheaper real world equivalent

39. Tezos

• Summary: Aims to upgrade and bring a better version of earlier smart contract blockchains
• Function: Smart contracts, staking, rewards
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Liquidated-Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: The chain provides advanced smart contract solutions and a unforkable blockchain
• Pros: Popular investors & partners, hard to fork, high security
• Cons: New, partly decentralized, potentially high network fees

40.Axie infinity

• Summary: A game inspired by Pokemon where users can battle with their NFT animals
• Function: Stake, minting NFTs, governance
• Network: ERC-20
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: The largest crypto game on the market
• Pros: Clear use case, fun reward system
• Cons: Requires users to be active to claim rewards, developers make questionble design changes

41. Filecoin

• Summary: A ecosystem that aims to bring fully trustless decentralized storage to the world
• Function: Decentralized storage, 
• Network: InterPlanetary File System (Native)
• Protocol: Proof-of-Space & Proof-of-Replication 
• Uniqueness: First decentralized storage systems
• Pros: Trustless storage
• Cons: Large set of mining power was located in China, large amount of token competitors

42. Elrond

• Summary: Aims to become "a new internet" and provides many tools and high scalability
• Function: Rewards, fees, staking, smart contract
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Secure-Proof-of-Stake (SPoS)
• Uniqueness: Works in different shards that allow for high TPS & offers good developer tools
• Pros: Good for developers, good scalability, low fees
• Cons: Alot of competitors, high initial inflation

43. Theta

• Summary: Is powering a decentralized video streaming service
• Function: Video streaming, smart contracts
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake (BFT)
• Uniqueness: Targets video streaming services
• Pros: Many partnerships, powered by users
• Cons: Bad incentive, reliant on miners & rewards

44. Helium

• Summary: A network that allows different devices to connect to hotspots and get bandwidth
• Function: Fees, rewards
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Coverage
• Uniqueness: Attempts to give universal internet coverage
• Pros: Earn by offering bandwidth, clear use case
• Cons: Potential risk as hacking points, traditional company competition

45. Monero

• Summary: A coin that allows the use of fully untraceable anonymous transactions
• Function: Anonymous, transactions
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Work (RandomX)
• Uniqueness: Fully anonymous cash, making it completely untraceable
• Pros: Decentralized, anonymous
• Cons: Had issues with ASIC mining, unable to migrate to PoS, high amount of illegal activity

46. Klaytn

• Summary: Creates a hybrid between public and private blockchains, creating the best of both worlds
• Function: Smart contracts, 
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-stake
• Uniqueness: Has easier barrier to entry and works as a hybrid blockchain
• Pros: Easy to use, strong founding company
• Cons: Bad communication, strong competition

47. IOTA

• Summary: A blockchainless blockchain that is meant to revolutionize the web
• Function: Transactions, scalability, smart contracts
• Network: TANGLE (Native)
• Protocol: Fast-Probabilistic-Consensus (FPC)
• Uniqueness: The chain requires at least two other nodes to verify transactions and more users means more nodes
• Pros: No fees, insanely good scalability
• Cons: Easier to attack, semi-centralized, new

48. Eos

• Summary: Provides a higher scaleble smart contract ecosystem with focus on user friendliness
• Function: Smart contracts, 
• Network: Native
• Protocol: Proof-of-Stake
• Uniqueness: More akin to a computer OS, this blockchain can be used by many, both in power & skill
• Pros: Easy to use, parallel processing, low fees
• Cons: Partly centralized, parent company's history

49. Gala

• Summary: Gives players power to fully own assets in games they play
• Function: Governance, NFTs, rewards
• Network: ERC-20 & BSC-20
• Protocol: Triple: PoW, PoS & Proof-of-Storage
• Uniqueness: Hosts several games where players can own their assets
• Pros: Supports multiple games, experienced team
• Cons: Limited use case, competition

50. Harmony

• Summary: A cross-chain blockchain that uses a unique consensus protocol for great speeds
• Function: Staking, governance, smart contracts
• Network: Native (formerly ERC-20 & BEP-20)
• Protocol: Effective-Proof-of-Stake (EPoS)
• Uniqueness: It's protocol is unqiue and it's been constantly upgrading
• Pros: Efficient sharding mechanism, good roadmap
• Cons: Weak price growth history, semi-decentralized