Bitcoin, heading back to over $10,000 on the 21st of June, 2019, signal the possible turn for the cryptocurrency market since the drop in early 2018. With exponential growths and declines, the inconsistency in the market presents opportunities for the smart investor. However, eager market entrants have over a thousand cryptocurrencies to choose from. So can one decide on which cryptocurrency to buy now?
No one can predict the future of each cryptocurrency’s performance. It is impossible to give a definitive answer to the best cryptocurrency to invest in. However, an individual has to make a decision somewhere along the line. Nonetheless, the best way to tackle such a problem is to take a logical approach and analysis of cryptocurrency base on a set of guidelines or standards. These guidelines and criterions are not infallible. They are always subject to interpretation and debate. As such, this article’s content serves as a point of discussion and not as financial advice. The reader shall make his or her interpretation of the content provided.
To start the process of analysis, this article will look at the top cryptocurrencies by market performance. This will also look for cryptocurrencies which can give contentment to market leaders in their respective sectors. Firstly, there will be an elaboration of criterions for evaluation before discussing the top ten list.
Criterions For Evaluation
Project History
Most projects fail for a myriad of reasons. Some ICO projects collapse after being revealed as exit scams. Others lose popularity and support. Others just did not get their bold ideas off the ground. Regardless, a project’s history after its listing on the market is an important factor to investigate as their actions, news, progress, and reactions can provide insights on their ability to survive the dynamic cryptocurrency market. In this article, we will consider these factors and emphasize the cryptocurrencies supply schedule and critical negative news that might arise.
Industry Segment
With the differences in problems each cryptocurrency project is trying to solve, it will be a one-sided view to just take the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capacity into consideration. Top cryptocurrencies have indeed proved their strength and place in the market, but some might have other use cases. Other cryptocurrencies might not be among the top 10 cryptocurrencies but are industry leaders in their market segment. For example, is a market leader for cryptocurrency energy sector or web browser. As such, there will be an exploration of each cryptocurrency ‘s main value proposition, as well as the types of the market it can service.
Market Performance
There are some technical analysts of markets, who purport that history can be a rough gauge of future performance. Nothing is set in stone when it comes to market performance. Also, no one can anticipate the magnitude and effect of demand and supply. History can then serve as a realistic estimate for future performance. For example, if an asset has experienced a maximum of 100% growth in a week, how realistic would it be to expect it to grow at 1000% within a week. As such, factors such as all-time high prices, price advance, and declines within a period, can be rudimentary benchmarks for future estimates.
Top 10 Best Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capacity standing at around 181 billion in September 2019. As the largest and most dominant cryptocurrency in the market, bitcoin is a market mover. Its rise and fall can and have impacted the prices of other cryptocurrencies. This is especially true for cryptocurrencies solely pegged to Bitcoin. Over its long history, the cryptocurrency by the person or group of persons called Satoshi Nakamoto has weathered numerous fears, uncertainty, and doubt rising from the hundred-dollar range in late 2013 to a staggering $19,000 in December of 2017.
Since its release, there have been concerns over bitcoins scalability as demand for its use increases. However, despite these potential issues, Bitcoin has retained its market dominance in a large community dedicated to improving it. Open-sourced and decentralized, Bitcoin is difficult to shut down as long as people are willing to run its nodes. Without a centralized point of failure, Bitcoin has been a popular ‘HODL’ cryptocurrency asset with bitcoin maximalist.
In the quest for determining the most promising cryptocurrency, Bitcoin boasts a track record for high yield potential either for long or short positions. Thus, some consider bitcoin as the best cryptocurrency to invest in.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capacity. It has a circulating supply of approximately 107,000,000 Ether at $178 in the early September of 2019. Initially, there is no data on the max supply of Ether due to its proof of work system. However, it might change in the future. Ethereum network seeks to move into a proof of stake system. Like Bitcoin, Ethereum has seen an astronomical rise since its release to the market. It grows from roughly a dollar in 2015 to over a thousand in January of 2018. Since then, it has retraced significantly. This could potentially be an opportunity to accumulate and add Ethereum to the list of the best coin to invest in. Past performance cannot be a full-proof prediction for future performance. However, the increase in value shows the potential for real growth.
As a decentralized platform in which other blockchain applications can be built on, this smart contract-based project has seen the actual utility in start-ups through initial coin offerings. It allows building and launching other applications on its network. As the de facto market leader in the Dapp market, Ethereum is certainly a contender for the next big cryptocurrency.
Ripple (XRP)
Ripple by Ripple Labs is an interesting cryptocurrency, unlike many cryptocurrencies which are open-sourced and decentralized. A company owns Ripple and managed not by communities and developers but by corporate management. Besides, it seeks to improve the efficiencies of the current financial systems rather than creating defragmentation. With a pre-mined 100,000,000,000 XRP tokens, this cryptocurrency has seen a surge from a fraction of a cent at roughly 0.003 to over three dollars nearing its all-time high.
Over the years, it has secured partnerships within the financial sector and has survived bear markets. However, concerns still loom over its actual adoption and utilization by financial institutions on a large scale. There have been questions regarding financial institutions by-passing Ripple and creating their cryptocurrency tokens.
Even so, Ripple has trough through the test of time. It has also seen high potential yields. Also, it has indeed made progress over the years in terms of working on the project’s value proposition, something a lot of other cryptocurrency projects fail or are unable to sustain. As the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capacity surpassing Ethereum at times, Ripple has the potential to make it on the list for the best altcoins in the market.
Basic Attention Token (BAT)
Basic Attention Token is an ERC-20 token created to address the issues and improve digital advertising on the web. The current problem statement is the issue of intrusive advertisement that collects user data to track browsing behavior and slow down computers. Basic Attention Token seeks to tackle this ethical problem. It allows users to opt-in or out of advertising and monetizing their online profile which includes their user behavior. Additionally, it seeks to help websites and content creators get more value without the need for third parties taking a share. Their suite of the solution includes a web browser called brave which has the feature to block ads, allow websites to receive BAT tokens and users to earn these same tokens for participating in ads of their choosing.
Despite being at the market rank of 34, BAT has seen a rise from below thirty cents to over eighty cents. Being a market leader in the blockchain solution for digital advertising, BAT has been listed and received a spot on the coveted exchange Coinbase. This has given it more exposure and accessibility to public participation. In its field, it has the potential to be the next best altcoin to invest in.
Tether (USDT)
Tether is a stable coin designed to tackle the issues arising from the volatility of the cryptocurrency market by acting as a common denominator for the exchange of assets. This creates a market called USDT market. As a stable token, its value should not fluctuate and should be pegged to one US dollar. While on occasions, negative news can cause its price to fluctuate below one dollar. It has thus far only dipped to around eighty-four cents before eventually returning to its one dollar pegging.
Without volatility, how can one benefit from Tether?
Well, Tether, as a stable coin with a centralized custodian, is potential heaven in times of extreme uncertainty or volatility. This gives a sense of value protection for participants in the cryptocurrency market. History has shown that its the price which is impossible to change. Besides, Tether is the closest cryptocurrency to a form of a stable store of value.
A centralized entity controls Tether’s Supply. There might be concerns over a single point of failure that plagues all centralized systems. However, as the dominant stable coin in the cryptocurrency market, it can be considered for the list of the most promising cryptocurrencies in times of volatility and indecision.
Monero (XMR)
Monero is a privacy digital asset or privacy coin that provides secure and anonymous transactions. By default, it can obscure the transactional details, thus allowing users to transact without their activities tracked or have their balances monitored. A utility is useful for both companies seeking to protect sensitive sales data and individuals looking for privacy in a transaction. Besides, Monero has the option to be selectively transparent.
Since late June 2015, this privacy token had a value increase from around four dollars to over four hundred at approximately January 2018. In the sector for privacy coins, Monero can be seen as a market leader because it is one among the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capacity in late 2019. As such, those looking for an altcoin to invest in can consider this privacy token.
0X (ZRX)
0X is a decentralized exchange built as a network for the exchange of value. It is an open protocol for peer to peer transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. 0X works by eliminating the intermediaries that traditionally facilitate a transaction or exchange of value. Thus, eliminating the fee that these intermediaries will take as part of the transaction. As an exchange, it is global and accessible to all.
As of early September 2019, 0X is ranked 55 by market capacity and its history have shown past growth from approximately $0.18 during late October 2017 to around $2.37 in late January 2018. Certainly, deserving a spot on the list of best altcoins to invest in, 0X is a promising cryptocurrency within its niche market.
Steem (STEEM)
Steem tackles social media on the Blockchain. Its main value proposition is flipping the script on traditional social media marketing platforms by giving greater control over to users and content creators, allowing them to maintain greater control over their data while earning cryptocurrency for their contributions. As of late 2019, it is a blockchain that is powering real social applications such as Steemit and Dtube.
With its achievement of real-world use case, Steem is a contender in the blockchain for the social media market. In its history, Steem has seen growth from approximately $0.13 on 15 January 2017 to approximately over $6 in early January 2018. A promising altcoin, it deserves to be in the list for the next big cryptocurrency.
Enjin (ENJ)
Enjin is a blockchain solution designed for the gaming industry. It has a wallet for storing cryptocurrency, Dapp function for other gaming applications to be built on it and incentives good behavior and engagement through cryptocurrency rewards. The gaming industry is a sector to watch as gamers could potentially be the first early adopters of cryptocurrency since they are already used to digital assets.
Enjin has made positive strides growing from approximately $0.02 on 17 November 2017 to approximately $0.19 on 10 March 2019. A promising altcoin in the blockchain for gaming space, Enjin is a cryptocurrency to watch moving forward.
Power Ledger (POWR)
Power Ledger is a blockchain solution for the renewable energy sector. It facilitates the transaction of energy, trading of environmental commodities, and investments in renewables by allowing users to utilize their excess energy. As a project, Power Ledger has reached a level of real-world application in Australia. Reaching a peak of approximately $1.79 on 5 January 2018, Power Ledger is an altcoin to observe in the market. While it is not among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capacity, it is certainly among the leaders in the blockchain energy sector.
Final Words On Buying Cryptocurrencies
As the cryptocurrency market is still in its infancy there is a lot of potential for growth. This is by no means an exhaustive list and everyone might have a different criterion for determining what constitutes the best cryptocurrencies to invest in. This article is, therefore, for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. As the industry continues to evolve, one has to be diligent in monitoring the market.
