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GapLimit library

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A living taxonomy of digital assets

Asset Atlas

Not every token is a currency. Not every network performs the same economic function.
Families described
13
Assets with live data
7
Share denominator
Market cap of seven tracked assets

Tracked constellation

Seven assets, different jobs

Node size represents share of tracked market capitalization—not usage or importance.
  1. BTC77.03% of tracked cap
    BitcoinMonetary assets

    Native asset of a peer-to-peer electronic cash and settlement network with programmatic scarcity.

  2. ETH14.69% of tracked cap
    EthereumGeneral-purpose Layer 1

    Native asset of a programmable base network that executes smart contracts and settles application state.

  3. SOL2.97% of tracked cap
    SolanaGeneral-purpose Layer 1

    Native asset of a general-purpose base network designed for application execution and settlement.

  4. XRP4.25% of tracked cap
    XRPPayments & settlement

    Native asset of XRP Ledger, a public network with payment, exchange, and token capabilities.

  5. ADA0.39% of tracked cap
    CardanoGeneral-purpose Layer 1

    Native asset of a proof-of-stake base network with smart-contract and governance capabilities.

  6. LINK0.47% of tracked cap
    ChainlinkOracles & data networks

    Asset associated with decentralized oracle infrastructure that connects applications to external data and services.

  7. LTC0.20% of tracked cap
    LitecoinMonetary assets

    Native asset of an open peer-to-peer payment network derived from Bitcoin's code lineage.

Tracked market capitalization$2.08 trillion
Live coverage7 / 7
Not measuredusage, users or TVL

Share = an asset’s live market cap ÷ the sum of available market caps for GapLimit’s seven tracked assets. The denominator is not the entire crypto market and is not a proxy for on-chain activity.

Data provided by CoinMarketCap.com

Function tree

Types of digital assets and cryptocurrency

Families overlap. One asset can secure a network, pay fees, serve as collateral, and participate in governance at the same time.
01

Monetary assets

Networks whose native asset is principally framed around scarce, transferable monetary value.

  • Bitcoin
  • Litecoin
In the constellation: BTC · LTC
02

General-purpose Layer 1

Base networks that execute applications and settle their own state.

  • Ethereum
  • Solana
  • Cardano
In the constellation: ETH · SOL · ADA
03

Payments & settlement

Networks or assets designed to move value and settle obligations.

  • XRP Ledger
  • Stellar
In the constellation: XRP
04

Layer 2 & scaling

Systems that process activity beyond a base chain while relying on it for some settlement or security.

  • Optimistic rollups
  • ZK rollups
  • Payment channels
05

Stable-value assets

Tokens designed to track a reference asset through reserves, collateral, or protocol rules.

  • Fiat-backed
  • crypto-collateralized
  • tokenized deposits
06

Decentralized finance

Protocols for exchange, lending, derivatives, liquidity, or asset management executed through shared networks.

  • DEX
  • lending
  • derivatives
  • liquid staking
07

Oracles & data networks

Infrastructure that delivers external data or computation to applications and contracts.

  • Chainlink
  • price feeds
  • proof systems
In the constellation: LINK
08

Interoperability

Protocols that coordinate messages, value, or state across otherwise separate networks.

  • Messaging
  • bridges
  • shared security
09

Compute, storage & DePIN

Token-coordinated markets for computation, storage, connectivity, sensing, or other physical resources.

  • AI compute
  • decentralized storage
  • wireless networks
10

Tokenized claims & RWA

On-chain records that represent a legal or economic claim on an external asset, cash flow, or institution.

  • Treasuries
  • fund shares
  • commodities
  • private credit
11

Digital property & culture

Non-fungible records, game assets, creator claims, social tokens, and attention-led memecoins.

  • NFTs
  • gaming
  • creator assets
  • memecoins
12

Privacy & identity

Systems that minimize exposed transaction data or make credentials and identity claims verifiable.

  • Privacy coins
  • zero-knowledge identity
  • credentials
13

Governance & ecosystem coordination

Assets tied to protocol decisions, staking, restaking, exchange ecosystems, or collective resource allocation.

  • Governance
  • staking
  • restaking
  • exchange ecosystems

Specimen records

Classification is not a verdict on value

BTC

Bitcoin

$1.6 trillion
Primary family
Monetary assets
Cross-functions
Payments & settlement

Native asset of a peer-to-peer electronic cash and settlement network with programmatic scarcity.

Bitcoin white paper ↗
ETH

Ethereum

$305 billion
Primary family
General-purpose Layer 1
Cross-functions
Decentralized finance, Stable-value assets, Digital property & culture

Native asset of a programmable base network that executes smart contracts and settles application state.

ethereum.org ↗
SOL

Solana

$61.7 billion
Primary family
General-purpose Layer 1
Cross-functions
Decentralized finance, Digital property & culture

Native asset of a general-purpose base network designed for application execution and settlement.

Solana documentation ↗
XRP

XRP

$88.3 billion
Primary family
Payments & settlement
Cross-functions
Tokenized claims & RWA, Decentralized finance

Native asset of XRP Ledger, a public network with payment, exchange, and token capabilities.

XRP Ledger documentation ↗
ADA

Cardano

$8.06 billion
Primary family
General-purpose Layer 1
Cross-functions
Governance & ecosystem coordination, Decentralized finance

Native asset of a proof-of-stake base network with smart-contract and governance capabilities.

Cardano documentation ↗
LINK

Chainlink

$9.85 billion
Primary family
Oracles & data networks
Cross-functions
Interoperability, Compute, storage & DePIN

Asset associated with decentralized oracle infrastructure that connects applications to external data and services.

Chainlink documentation ↗
LTC

Litecoin

$4.23 billion
Primary family
Monetary assets
Cross-functions
Payments & settlement, Privacy & identity

Native asset of an open peer-to-peer payment network derived from Bitcoin's code lineage.

Litecoin.org ↗

Map boundaries

Four category mistakes to avoid

  1. An NFT is not automatically a currencyNon-fungibility describes record uniqueness—not art quality, legal rights, or liquidity.
  2. A token is not the projectSoftware or a network can succeed while the token’s role remains weak or unnecessary.
  3. The real-world asset is not inside the chainThe token is usually a claim dependent on an issuer, documents, and off-chain enforcement.
  4. Market cap is not usageIt is price multiplied by reported circulating supply—not user share, settlement volume, or value locked.