As cryptocurrencies continue to gain traction on Wall Street, more and more options become available. From Bitcoin and Ethereum to Dogecoin and Tether, there are over 10,000 cryptocurrencies currently available for investments or trading, so picking the best cryptocurrency options out there can be extremely difficult, especially if you are a beginner. To make things easier on you, we'll go over 10 of the best cryptocurrencies
Still dominating in market cap and popularity, Bitcoin isn't going anywhere soon. It still makes all the headlines and is what most people think about when they hear the word cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin has turned into the go-to cryptocurrency for traders. But for investors, who can hold through the volatility, see advantages to bitcoin as well. Once 21 million bitcoins have been mined, no new coins will be created ever.
Looking at it from a supply/demand standpoint, long-term investors stand to gain. Plus, Bitcoin is the base currency that you need to purchase if you want to end up getting some of the other currencies on this list. You can't simply buy many of these others with USD – you need BTC.
In terms of where Bitcoin can go, some market commentators believe that $100,000 is possible by the end of 2022, meaning that buying bitcoin remains a good option.
Bitcoin is one of the easiest cryptocurrencies to invest in.
The first Bitcoin alternative on our list, Ethereum (ETH), is a decentralized software platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) to be built and run without any downtime, fraud, control, or interference from a third party. The goal behind Ethereum is to create a decentralized suite of financial products that anyone in the world can freely access, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or faith.4 This aspect makes the implications for those in some countries more compelling because those without state infrastructure and state identifications can get access to bank accounts, loans, insurance, or a variety of other financial products.
In terms of market capitalization, Ethereum is the second-largest digital token in this space. The project was launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin to expand on the capabilities of Bitcoin. It does this by allowing developers to create and deploy smart contracts.
Ether (ETH) is like a vehicle for moving around on the Ethereum platform and is sought mostly by developers looking to develop and run applications inside Ethereum, or now, by investors looking to make purchases of other digital currencies using ether. Ether, launched in 2015, is currently the second-largest digital currency by market capitalization after Bitcoin, although it lags behind the dominant cryptocurrency by a significant margin.
Litecoin (LTC), launched in 2011, was among the first cryptocurrencies to follow in the footsteps of Bitcoin and has often been referred to as "silver to Bitcoin's gold."11 It was created by Charlie Lee, an MIT graduate, and former Google engineer.
Litecoin is based on an open-source global payment network that is not controlled by any central authority and uses script as a PoW, which can be decoded with the help of consumer-grade central processing units (CPUs). Although Litecoin is like Bitcoin in many ways, it has a faster block generation rate and thus offers a faster transaction confirmation time.
Other than developers, there are a growing number of merchants that accept Litecoin.
XRP is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies on this list. XRP is a useful token providing low transaction fees and fast transactions.
Ripple is more than just an exchange of value. It helps make cross-border financial transactions more efficient. By working with financial institutions, Ripple lowers currency exchange rates and provides for real-time exchange rates.
Ripple, the company that issued XRP, has established its reputation as the most sought-after partner of many countries in creating their own digital currencies. Also, Ripple's technology is being used by dozens of banks for facilitating transactions across the globe. Before Ripple, banks often had to use intermediaries for cross-border transactions. These were expensive and could take days to complete. Ripple has greatly improved efficiencies in how cross-border transactions operate.
For an investor, this shows that Ripple is providing real value in the world beyond the basic store or exchange of value premise.
US Dollar Coin (USDC) is another stable coin. It's redeemable on a 1:1 basis for US dollars, backed by dollar-denominated assets held in segregated accounts with US-regulated financial institutions. USDC is powered by Ethereum and can be used to complete transactions worldwide.
USD Coin is pegged to the value of $1, which makes it a stable coin just like Tether. The use case of USDC is similar to USDT as well, with investors using it for arbitrage or crypto conversion opportunities.
Unlike some of its cryptocurrency rivals, Tether is a type of 'stable coin'.
Stable coins attempt to peg their market value to an external reference. For Tether, this means it's backed by established 'fiat' currencies such as UK pounds, US dollars, or the euro and hypothetically keeps a value equal to one of those denominations.
Tether's value, the theory runs, ought to be more consistent than other cryptocurrencies. It tends to be favored by investors who are wary of the extreme volatility associated with other coins.
DOGE has to be hands-down one of the top cryptocurrencies to buy this 2022. Dogecoin is one of the most interesting coins especially with Elon Musk spearheading the conversation on Twitter every time. It is being backed with one of the most influential futures in crypto, and the community behind it keeps on pushing as well. The coin, which uses an image of the Shiba Inu as its avatar, is accepted as a form of payment by some major companies, including the Dallas Mavericks, Kronos, and—perhaps most notably—SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer owned by Elon Musk.
Dogecoin was created by two software engineers, Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, in 2013. Markus and Palmer reportedly created the coin as a joke, commenting on the wild speculation of the cryptocurrency market.
The price of DOGE hit an all-time high of approximately 0.74 cents during the week when Musk was scheduled to appear on Saturday Night Live.
SHIB takes the spot as one of the most promising cryptocurrencies and one of the most famous cryptocurrencies on this list. Shiba Inu is a coin that has been having plenty of developments alongside gigantic social support worldwide.
The biggest development recently is the announcement of the Shiba Inu Metaverse (official name pending) where people will be able to purchase / auction lands in the Shiba Lands. This switch to new developments and technologies signals more growth in the future. Additionally, it shows that Shiba Inu is focused on keeping the technology alive.
BNB is the cryptocurrency backed by Binance – which is the world's largest exchange. BNB allows users of Binance to reduce trading commissions. The token is also used to fuel the Binance Chain and the Binance Smart Chain – which are two independent blockchain networks.
This means that BNB has a real use case. Binance also burns BNB tokens – this reduces the overall circulating supply – which can help further increase the value of the token.
Bitcoin Cash is the result of a hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain, which happened in August 2017. It is a crypto that aims to focus on peer-to-peer online transactions and wants to make paying with crypto easy, simple, and cheap.
If you believe that cryptocurrency will continue to grow, then you would also believe that Bitcoin will become less and less usable for typical transactions. If you think that Bitcoin Cash and its workable solution to the scaling problem are the future of peer-to-peer transactions, then Bitcoin Cash is a wise investment choice.
Cryptocurrencies are popular because of their complete transparency, which is made possible by open-source, publicly verifiable technology. Investors are increasingly able to obtain institutional-grade custody services as necessary financial infrastructure is being constructed. Despite its volatility and fluctuation in the market, long-term investments in crypto are considered tremendously profitable. They can serve as a sound source of savings after retirement or provide a much-needed financial cushion in the event of a sudden economic downturn. The fact that Crypto trading is very flexible since it is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, allowing traders to do business at any time of day makes it popular among its investors.
Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp
_____________
Disclaimer: Analytics Insight does not provide financial advice or guidance. Also note that the cryptocurrencies mentioned/listed on the website could potentially be scams, i.e. designed to induce you to invest financial resources that may be lost forever and not be recoverable once investments are made. You are responsible for conducting your own research (DYOR) before making any investments. Read more here.