We are living in the exciting age of decentralized finance and smart contracts. To an extent,that the advent of blockchain technology has revolutionized the world of finance.
The world is moving towards a day when there will be real alternatives to fiat currency. It may take time, but replacing fiat is a possibility sometime in the future.
In the world of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is king. But it is not the only one you can invest in and grow your wealth.
Bitcoin might be the most popular cryptocurrency, but others have real investment value, such as Dogecoin and Litecoin, and most recently, Samecoin. Altcoins or tokens are a good investment and trading alternative to bitcoin, and smart investors are looking into them.
Typically, the best tokens are those from the best organizations or projects in the blockchain space. They have real tradable value and potential for profits. Tokens are issued by the various companies in the blockchain and are intended as a requirement to use their platform. If the companies add value to the platform, more people use the tokens, and the value goes up.
Check the following top altcoin picks for 2022.
Best Crypto Coins Right Now
The altcoin market continues to expand and offer real value to crypto investors. The cryptocurrency tokens may be weakening the market capitalization of bitcoin, but it is for a good cause. There is now a wider variety of cryptocurrencies you can trade-in.
The following list includes viable crypto alternatives to bitcoin.
1) Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is the brainchild of Vitalik Buterin. Ethereum has an ambitious plan of one day replacing the internet with a network of nodes. It is what the company calls one computer for everyone.
In 2021 alone, the crypto asset experienced more than 500% gains, thanks to rapid growths in non-fungible tokens and decentralized finance. Another factor contributing to the network’s success was the April 2021 system upgrade dubbed ‘the Berlin Hard Fork.’
The upgrade improved the system’s security, optimized transaction fees, and allowed specific types of transactions. Another upgrade, ‘London hard fork,’ is expected to make ethereum even better.
Created in 2013, the smart contracts platform has grown to be one of the best. But Ethereum’s popularity rides on the vast array of applications that can run on the platform.
Everyone who wishes to use the platform to run solidity smart contracts must pay Ether as the network gas fee.
Ethereum was the pioneer of decentralized finance (DeFi), and so the network has a good amount of goodwill. It is widespread, and its early blockchain success means that Ether token will continue to grow, especially with the rapid adoption of DeFi. It’s expected that the fees will go down with the rolling out of version 2.0.
2) Uniswap (UNI)
The Ethereum-based DApp operates in the liquidity pool of the ethereum blockchain. Typically, Uniswap provides liquidity and makes it possible to use this liquidity.
With Uniswap, you only need to tap into the smart contract’s liquidity pool to exchange the ethereum-based cryptos. But where do the liquidity pools come from? It is from other users that get an exchange fee for providing this service.
And even though you can swap the different types of tokens using the Uniswap app, it does not connect to the conventional financial network. That means you cannot convert it to fiat currencies such as the Euro or the USD. Instead, you can only convert UNI to stablecoins.
Uniswap’s trading volume recently surpassed Coinbase in trading volumes, and this heightened the talk of it being the future of cryptocurrency among its enthusiasts. By April 2021, UNI had reached a high of $42.
3) Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Cryptos based on blockchain technology typically store information in data blocks. However, these data blocks can fill up, slow down the transactions and make the whole process costlier.
Some of the developers proposed a solution to lower the data on each block, but others doubted the practicability of this proposal.
Instead, they created Bitcoin Cash, with blocks that can hold up to 8 MB of data, as opposed to the 1 MB in bitcoin blocks. As a result, the transactions are faster, more frequent, and lower prices, which was the primary objective of creating Bitcoin Cash.
BCH may not be as popular as Bitcoin, but it is making great strides in the crypto world. It has scalability that enhances its growth potential, thus making it a great investment vehicle.
4) Aave (AAVE)
Various factors make decentralized lending a better alternative to centralized lending. For starters, the lending in the blockchain has mouth-watering interest rates, allows anonymity, and has much better security.
Aave, a top lending protocol, requires borrowers to deposit collateral larger than the amount they are borrowing as security. The collateral stays in the smart contract throughout the loan period, and this arrangement does away with the need for a middleman. In case of a default, the lender gets their pay from the smart contract.
5) Chainlink (LINK-USD)
The primary goal of Chainlink is to bring real data to smart contracts and connect with the real world. According to the company, the primary objective of the coin is to address connectivity and interoperability.
It works through smart contracts that act on global occurrences, other asset prices, and make calls. Farmers and other stakeholders such as manufacturers can hedge crop produce against an awful crop harvest.
If the values of the smart contract, such as rainfall or share price, reach a particular standard, it will pay out insurance claims. Receiving appropriate weather data triggers instant payments from the program.
At the moment, Chainlink tokens are limitless, and some of the top DeFi apps pay handsomely for them. Using real-world data increases the potential for LINK-USD and is a great investment avenue.
6) Stellar Lumens (XLM)
Stellar Lumens is a decentralized platform that uses a decentralized ledger to bring together various banking systems. Ripple, XLM’s current rival, is facing an SEC investigation, and this provides the best opportunity for growth.
Those using the Stellar Network need to fulfill various requirements and pay a transaction fee to prevent spamming.
7) Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR)
Hedera Hashgraph is one of the few cryptocurrencies that have dared venture into uncharted territories through the asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT). The groundbreaking algo uses directed acrylic graphs in the place of mining to validate transactions.
Hedera brings a lot of advantages. For example, cryptocurrency is up to four times faster than bitcoin. It is safer, transparent, and low cost. Furthermore, the coin is backed by the big boys in the industry, such as Google and IBM.
What sets it apart from other tokens is its superior security and the rumored involvement with the Central Bank to create the Digital Dollar. If this happens, it will be the first cryptocurrency to do so.
The currency’s low bandwidth consumption is another factor that highlights its sustainability. It is more friendly to the ecosystem than the other cryptocurrencies that consume a lot of energy resources.
Hedera is undoubtedly a viable investment given its various benefits.
8) Dogecoin (DOGE)
The year 2021 can be said to be Dogecoin’s year capped by an impressive surge of more than 13,000%. By market capitalization, DOGE is the fourth largest crypto and therefore has great potential for any investor.
Dubbed as the friendly and fun internet currency, DOGE was created as a satire to Bitcoin. It is a clone of Bitcoin but has no real use. However, some people use it to give small tips to others over social media. Dogecoin has unexpectedly exploded in popularity and boosted the price to new heights.
It crossed the $0.05 mark in early 2021. By April, it had reached an all-time high of $0.70.
The crypto is in large circulation, which is one factor that keeps the price below the dollar. The Dogecoins in circulation has already surpassed the 129 billion mark. Considering the cap for bitcoin is at 21 billion, we can agree the amount of dogecoins in circulation is quite significant.
Dogecoin credits its success to Elon Musk’s tweets. Its popularity surged when the Tesla CEO called it his favorite cryptocurrency. DOGE is expected to continue with its surge to new heights, and anyone investing in it could reap significant rewards in the future.
Final Word
All investment advice regarding crypto-assets should always be taken with a grain of salt. Not at face value. Cryptocurrencies are volatile and can slice millions in value within a short period. Don’t invest money with the hope of striking gold in the shortest period.
However, investing in tokens and other digital coins can still be a great way to increase your wealth. There is a lot of potential in DeFi, and those that invest in it will benefit in the future. But exercise due diligence when investing. Do your homework by reading, comparing, and exercising caution. Don’t throw your last coin into an unproven crypto coin in the hope that it is going to change your fortunes. Ideally, you treat it as a long-term investment where you invest and forget for a while.
