(Newswire.net — May 2, 2022) — Cryptocurrencies are quite the rage these days as far as diversifying a financial portfolio goes. But, with open-source software and everyone’s ability to mint their own coins as and when they wish, the waters seem murky, and opportunities scant and rarely worth the risk.
However, there are stories of stability and growth rife within the blockchain industry, and like with many other services, the test of time holds true for cryptocurrencies as well. The early forays into cryptocurrency remain some of the most trustworthy markets to invest in; the gains are often small, but at least they are consistent.
Smaller players also exist, and they do show promise, but before you jump headlong into the shiny new coin, you must ask yourself: Is this an established cryptocurrency? Just like it’s wise to only invest in established tech companies and not new upstart ones, the same logic applies here; ideally, you should only invest in cryptocurrencies that have been around for at least three years. This isn’t set in stone, though—some newer cryptocurrencies still turn out to be great investments.
Is this cryptocurrency backed by a solid business plan and large development team, or is it just some guy brainstorming over his garage? While there are exceptions to this rule of thumb, most successful cryptocurrencies are backed by a company that has real-life employees working on them and dedicated financial resources.
In addition to having funding from investors or other sources of income, reputable cryptocurrencies also tend to have active online communities centered around them. If it seems like people are excited about the cryptocurrency but don’t quite understand how it works or what value it offers customers, proceed with caution or avoid investing altogether.
The in-depth research into finding the cryptocurrency that is right for you goes above financial considerations and into coding considerations as well, and not all of us know the nuances of code, now do we? We have, in light of this, set up a list of the biggest players in cryptocurrency right now, which have, despite market volatility, held their own even in the early days of 2022. Read on for a cheat sheet for the next time you have the urge to purchase cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin (BTC)
When it comes to cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is the gold standard. It’s the most popular cryptocurrency by a long shot, it’s the first one you think of when you think of buying cryptocurrency, and it’s also the most widely used and traded cryptocurrency. In fact, on a global scale, Bitcoin accounts for over half of all trading volume in crypto markets.
Bitcoin is useful as both a payment system and as a store of value, as are all cryptocurrencies and currencies in general. This digital currency can be used to make payments just like any other form of money; however, because there are only 21 million BTC tokens in existence (and they can be divided into smaller units), Bitcoin is also considered an excellent store of value—an asset that can’t easily be inflated away.
While Bitcoin was originally created to serve merely as an alternative payment system (much like PayPal or Venmo), this cryptocurrency has now become known more commonly as “digital gold”—a hedge against inflation and a safer alternative to traditional paper currencies issued by governments, that’s still going strong.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Binance Coin, a cryptocurrency created by the Binance exchange, has seen a surge in popularity through the first quarter of 2022. A cryptocurrency exchange is a platform that allows users to buy and sell different cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Users typically need to use another currency (for example, U.S. dollars or Japanese yen) to buy cryptocurrencies; this currency is known as “fiat currency” because it’s issued by governments and therefore considered legal tender.
Binance Coin has become popular for several reasons: users can purchase other cryptocurrencies with Binance Coin on the Binance exchange; they can also use it to pay fees on that exchange; and in 2019, it was announced that 50% of profits from buying and selling cryptocurrency on the platform would be used to buy back tokens until 100 million are burned–thereby driving up demand for remaining tokens. Many analysts expect Binance Coin to continue growing in value throughout 2022 due to its wide variety of uses along with supply-related factors like coin burnings.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is an open-source blockchain project similar to Ethereum and NEO, that aims to create an efficient and scalable platform for decentralized applications. Created by Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of the Ethereum Project, Cardano aims to be a “3rd generation” cryptocurrency. It promises to solve many of the problems encountered by modern cryptocurrencies and even offers several improvements over Ethereum.
Cardano is a proof of stake cryptocurrency designed to be scalable and highly efficient. Cardano has been designed as a series of layers that can potentially have other blockchains attached to it in the future. This makes it extremely flexible while being highly performant at the same time.
On top of this, it seems like a normal enough cryptocurrency—what sets Cardano apart is its goal as a “smart contract” platform like Ethereum or NEO. Like these platforms, Cardano plans on offering software developers tools for creating DApps (decentralized applications), which will hopefully revolutionize many different areas of life, from managing supply chains to running elections in developing countries without concerns about fraud or hacking.
VeChain (VET)
VeChain is a blockchain-based platform that focuses on supply chain management. If you haven’t heard of it before, you’re not alone—but this is part of the reason VeChain has continued to fly under the radar while other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum receive most of the attention in crypto media.
VeChain is a relatively small coin with a market cap of $2.5B as of this writing. It was released in mid-2017, though most people probably hadn’t heard about it until well after then. While its relative obscurity can work against it from an investor standpoint (who wants to invest in something they don’t even know about?), the fact that VeChain has real-world use cases in a wide variety of industries makes its success inevitable if it continues along its current trajectory.
Crypto.com Coin (CRO)
Crypto.com Coin (CRO) is the native cryptocurrency of Crypto.com, a Hong Kong-based company founded in 2016 that offers a mobile wallet app, a Visa debit card payment system, a cryptocurrency exchange, and a platform for merchant payment services.
CRO tokens were launched in 2017 on the Ethereum blockchain as ERC-20 tokens with the original name MCO. In 2019 they migrated to their blockchain called Crypto.org Chain and began trading under the shorter symbol CRO, causing some confusion that continues today.
In addition to serving as fuel for its ecosystem’s decentralized applications and tokenized assets, CRO acts as an asset utilized to provide stability for Crypto.com’s MCO Visa cards, which are currently being rolled out in phases by region around the world. This makes buying crypto with a credit card quite a bit easier.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot (DOT) is unique in that it is focused on connecting blockchains. As a multi-chain network, Polkadot enables interoperability between different blockchain networks. The main purpose of the Polkadot protocol is to allow blockchains of various types and scalability levels to connect.
It gives users access to features like multi-chain transactions and pooled security. Polkadot also allows for cross-chain transfers of any type of data or asset. DOT has made several new partnerships and developments so far this year, furthering its utility in the crypto market. PolkaDOT is bringing in the next generation of cryptocurrency and making it even easier to convert cryptocurrency to fiat.
Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and open-source software project that forks from Bitcoin. The creation and transfer of coins are based on an open-source cryptographic protocol and are not managed by any central authority, as with most currencies. Litecoin was one of the earliest bitcoin spinoffs or altcoins, starting production in October 2011. Technically speaking, litecoin is nearly identical to Bitcoin.
Having been built on a platform with so much history and success behind it, not to mention relatively consistent, breach-proof code, Litecoin is a safe first investment. This is because it’s one of the quieter currencies that gains and loses in the shadows but remains relatively stable and dependable in terms of investments.
Conclusion
2022 is set to be a big year for cryptocurrencies, with a wide variety of traditional corporate and governmental interests helping to drive adoption and spending. Many people still talk about how blockchain is an “emerging technology,” but let’s be honest, it’s been nearly 13 years since the first Bitcoin was minted, and we’ve learned some nuances and risks associated with the blockchain.
It is still risky, certainly, with the number of scams and hacks growing by the day, but it’s not just Web 3.0 that’s full of them. Web 2.0 is quite littered with phishing and hacks as well; we’ve just gotten used to it. At this juncture, we can either completely disregard blockchain altogether or take it in our stride and make a few profitable investments where we can.