Key Takeaways
- There are now many projects in the crypto space, especially as it continues to expand
- Some of the best projects have the greatest use cases, and are worth looking into as an investor.
- Solana, Cardano and XRP have the best technical use cases and institutional demand.
- Projects like Chainlink, Cosmos and Polkadot are blockchain infrastructure projects, and are important for the defi space.
- Others like Avalanche have great scalability, with Ethereum and Litecoin having the best reputations in the crypto space.
The crypto has a lot more to offer investors, asides from Bitcoin.
There are now thousands of altcoins available, which can be daunting for many new investors.
While some projects bring innovation to the table, others focus on scalability and real world applications.
If you’re on the lookout for a way to diversify your portfolio with some of the most solid projects in the crypto space, here are ten altcoins that have caught the attention of investors so far.
1. Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is currently in a sluggish phase in terms of price action. However, it still tops the list of major altcoins to look into as a crypto investor.
Ethereum was the first platform to introduce the concept of smart contracts, and is therefore the leading force In the defi space.
Moreso, Ethereum’s transition to Proof of Stake has improved its energy efficiency, meaning that it is now more stable and capable of leading the altcoin space for a long time to come.
Its native cryptocurrency, ETH currently trades at a price of $2,145 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.
The cryptocurrency is down by around 45% over the last year, which many experts believe to be a prime buying opportunity.
2. Cardano (ADA)
Cardano stands out from many other projects in the crypto space, with its highly scientific approach to blockchain development.
This chain puts strong emphasis on security, scalability and sustainability.
It has attracted even institutional investors, and is on the verge of being added as part of the soon-to-be-created strategic crypto reserve in the US.
This attention that Cardano is set to enjoy from such a big move, is expected to boost its appeal to even more investors as the months go by.
3. Solana (SOL)
Solana has gained popularity on many fronts. Not only is this cryptocurrency set to be part of the US’ aforementioned strategic reserve, it is also on the radar of many asset managers for a possible spot ETF offering.
On the technical front, Solana is highly scalable and features incredibly cheap transactions.
This is one of the aspects of its operations that helped it to gain popularity in the first place.
Solana is now widely used in the defi and NFT sectors, and is therefore a major competitor to Ethereum.
4. XRP
Just like Cardano, XRP also got included in the US government’s plan to establish a strategic crypto reserve.
XRP is also like Solana, in that it is under serious consideration for an ETF offerings by several asset managers.
More than this, the XRPL shines on the technical front, by allowing cheap and fast cross-border transactions between users.
XRP is also one of the best-performing altcoins over the last year, with an ongoing 260% price increase so far.
This makes it poised to hit the $5 zone soon, or even higher.
5. Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot was designed to solve one of crypto’s biggest challenges—interoperability. For this reason, this altcoin will always be one of the best performing alternatives.
It connects different blockchains together, allowing all to share data and assets seamlessly.
Its parachain auctions have also attracted numerous projects to build on top of it scalable and highly secure network.
Polkadot currently trades at a $4.21 price, and is therefore a great dip-buying opportunity, like many other cryptocurrencies on the list.
6. Avalanche (AVAX)
Avalanche is known for having one of the most efficient consensus mechanisms.
It is capable of processing a high volume of transactions at low fees, and is therefore a popular choice for many defi applications.
Its ability to handle multiple subnets also makes it highly versatile, compared to many chains within the space.
Avalanche trades around the $20 zone, and presents a strong “buy the dip” opportunity like many of the others.
7. Chainlink (LINK)
The Chainlink protocol is one of the few services that holds defi together. This is because it provides decentralized oracles to many defi applications, which connect smart contracts with real-world data.
In essence, Chainlink plays a major role in how many defi protocols function. Its importance in the defi and blockchain gaming space will only continue to grow over the years, making this cryptocurrency a great one to keep an eye out for.
Chainlink now trades at a price of $14.6 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.
8. Polygon (MATIC/POL)
Polygon is one of the top layer-2 scaling solutions on Ethereum. It is designed to enhance the mainnet efficiency by reducing transaction costs and improving speed.
This chain is preferred by many developers, considering how it acts as a bridge to Ethereum but doesn’t come with the main chain’s many issues like high transaction fees and long wait times.
Polygon’s POL cryptocurrency has a current price of around $0.23 and is down by around 80% over the past year.
Such a huge dip gives Polygon massive growth potential when the crypto market begins to recover.
9. Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin is very similar to Bitcoin, and was even created from the same codebase. Because of this, the cryptocurrency is often referred to as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold”.
Compared to Bitcoin, however, it offers faster transaction speeds and lower fees. It does all of this, while maintaining strong security alongside.
Litecoin is one of the longest-standing cryptocurrencies. It has a solid reputation and is even being considered for ETFs like Solana and XRP.
Litecoin trades just underneath the $100 mark at a current price of $98.54.
10. Cosmos (ATOM)
Cosmos is similar toPolkadot in many ways. It was created to build an interconnected network of blockchains using its Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.
This means that Cosmos plays a major role in seamless asset and data transfers across different blockchains.
Cosmos is therefore one of the key players in the blockchain ecosystem, alongside Chainlink and Polkadot.
The cryptocurrency trades at around the $4 mark at the time of writing, and presents an attractive dip buying opportunity on the yearly timeframe.
