With the rise of Bitcoin and the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs, altcoins have been gaining ground as well. In general, it’s a good time to buy cryptocurrencies now when attitudes towards adoption and regulations are changing.
It’s also a good idea to have a diverse and complex portfolio that balances itself out with steady and popular cryptocurrencies. That way, the investors hedge against the risks involved. In this article, we’ll outline some of the best altcoins out there based on their value and usability.
Chainlink $LINK
Chainlink is one of the best cryptocurrencies out there when it comes to mid-sized altcoins. It has a market cap value of $12 billion, and it’s been steadily growing for the past couple of years, which means that it may still be undervalued.
Its best feature is the CCIP interoperability protocol that it has recently implemented. Chainlink also gets into many large institutional partnerships and integrations. The narrative rotation from BTC to ETH and L2s will also garner some profits in the years to come. The future of Chainlik is in its smart contract implementation.
Polygon $MATIC
Polygon has had initial interest and an early run-up in the price, but it has lagged the rest of the crypto market ever since. The narrative shift to ETH and L2s is just starting, and there should be a massive shift in interest. The best feature it has to offer is its tech-aggregated zkEVM supernets, which are set to revolutionize L2 with a focus on staking.
Polygon combines the Plasma Framework and the proof-of-stake blockchain architecture. It boasts of the ability to make 65.000 transactions in a second. In the next couple of years, altcoins will distinguish themselves based on their technology, and Polygon will be a part of every successful portfolio.
Cronos (CRO)
Cronos is one of the newest altcoins that has distinguished itself in recent years. It’s been around since 2021, rising ever since, and CRO price prediction is favorable for the years to come. CRO was launched by one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world – crypto.com- and was made with decentralized finance in mind.
Ethereum has shown to have limitations when it comes to scalability, and CRO was designed to address and fix those issues in particular. Its main uses are decentralized apps, platforms, NFTS, and metaverse applications.
Solana $SOL
Solana deserves to be a part of every investor’s portfolio since it managed to survive the debacle of FTX. After that, it has managed to increase trading volume and even become an Ethereum alternative for many users looking for crypto for smart contracts. However, it was also been very volatile in recent years, especially after it has halted new protocols.
The Solana protocol is designed to facilitate the creation of a decentralized app (DApp). It aims to improve scalability. What’s great about Solana is that it’s used equally by small-time traders and large companies. It employs proof-of-stake consensus.
Fantom $FTM
Fantom has dipped in price after the Multichain Bridge hack, but it managed to recover with the introduction of Axelar and Layer Zero. Fantom is trying to position itself as the alternative to Ethereum, which is a theme for many altcoins that are focused on smart contracts and expanding the base of users.
In addition to being a fast, secure, and cheap payment platform that enables one to make fast and secure payments at minimal cost, Fantom also features on-chain governance. Andre Cronje is a developer who’s most associated with Fantom and one of the biggest drivers of interest in the currency.
Immutable X $IMX
In the last couple of years, there has been a lot of specialization in the world of cryptocurrencies. Immutable has established itself as the coin that’s mostly used in the world of decentralized gaming. This is a relatively young industry, but it’s growing, and there’s going to be more of a need for this specific feature in the years to come.
It is transitioning from the current StarkWare L2 to the Polygon zkEVM, which will have an impact on its price as well as on the cost of Polygon. At the time of this writing, there’s a noticeable dip for Immutable, which is the perfect time to buy.
Polkadot $DOT
Dot was a very popular altcoin in 2021 during the Bull Run. Many investors are holding on to it as it showed promise at the time, but the talk in the industry is that many will also try to divest from it in the coming months. This doesn’t mean that it’s not an altcoin that’s worth your while, and the dip is the best time to buy.
Polkadot is a sharded multichain network, meaning it can process many transactions on several chains in parallel (“parachains”). That’s what made it so popular initially, as it provides a good structure for scalability.
Akash $AKT
Akash is a minor cryptocurrency, but one that has a great AI tech behind it. A year or two ago, this could have been an interesting curiosity, but now it can be a source of profit. AI implementation is going to be a big theme for cryptocurrencies in the years to come, and it’s already starting to show in its growing price.
The AKT token has a market capitalization of over $1 billion. The currency is built using the Cosmos software development kit (SDK) and implemented on the Cosmos blockchain.
Osmosis $OSMO
The main quality of Osmosis is that it provides access to Cosmos airdrops, which of late have proven quite lucrative (TIA, DYM, Neurton, etc). Cosmos has also been in the crypto news lately for fixing most of its bugs and issues the users have been struggling with.
Most investment analysts predict that we’re in for a surge in the quarter when it comes to Osmosis and a few other altcoins. Cross-chain transfers are probably the biggest trend in the industry, and efforts to build a cross-chain native DEX that connects all chains (such as Blockchain and Ethereum) have proven to have numerous applications.
Rollbit $RLB
Rollbit is one of those currencies that has been flying under the radar for a while now, but it does deserve much more attention, given how well it’s doing. It’s one of the best revenue-generating projects in crypto, and millions are created every day.
The Rollbit token (RLB) was launched as an integral part of the Rollbit lottery. The idea was for the lottery to drive the interest for the token. The supply of RLB is capped at 5 billion coins, so there’s no chance of inflation.
Conclusion
There are dozens of interesting altcoins on the rise, along with Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies. Most are niche projects that are noticeable due to the unique spin they put on blockchain technology, and many are tied to particular industries, such as gaming.
A smart investor should include these in their portfolio as a way to mitigate the risks and explore new options beyond the few most widely used cryptos. Some can also be hidden gems that will have strong growth periods and lead to huge profit margins. The key is to study the currency before buying it.
