The cryptocurrency industry has recorded spectacular growth in the past few years. In slightly over a decade, the industry has moved from nothing to being valued at more than $2.6 trillion. In comparison, the global private equity business had about $4 trillion in assets under management in 2020.
Bitcoin is the best-known cryptocurrency in the world and its total market capitalization has jumped to more than $1.25 trillion. In addition to Bitcoin, there are more than 10,000 cryptocurrencies that are popularly known as altcoins. Let us look at some of the best altcoins to buy.
Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that was launched as an alternative to Bitcoin. It is mined using a proof-of-work technology and is often relatively faster and cheaper to transact with than Bitcoin. This is primarily because its network is not as congested as that of BTC.
Litecoin has a relatively close correlation with Bitcoin. This means that the two cryptocurrencies tend to follow each other. For example, in May 2021 when Bitcoin crashed from $65,000 to $30,000, Litecoin declined from an all-time high of $411 to $102. Similarly, the coin jumped when Bitcoin started its comeback.
As one of the biggest second-generation cryptocurrencies, Litecoin is popular by both retail and institutional investors. For example, the Grayscale Litecoin Trust, which is a closed fund, has more than $300 million in assets under management.
A common question is on how to buy Litecoin online. You can use an online exchange like CEX or use a broker that offers Litecoin’s contracts for difference.
LTC has a market capitalization of more than $14 billion, making it the 14th biggest cryptocurrency in the world.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ether is the biggest altcoin in the world with its market capitalization of more than $505 billion. ETH is the native token for the fast-growing Ethereum’s network.
For starters, Ethereum is a blockchain project that provides a platform for developers to build decentralized applications. Today, some of the best-known products in the industry are built using Ethereum’s technology. For example, Shiba Inu, the meme coin, was built using Ethereum.
Ethereum has been used to build most of the existing DeFi products today. According to DeFi Llama, all DeFi projects built using Ethereum have a total value locked (TVL) of more than $160 billion. This is notable for an industry that was in its infancy a few years ago.
Ethereum is also used to build the biggest non-fungible token (NFT) platforms like OpenSea. This is an industry that made about $2.5 billion in the first six months of the year. Also, it is the biggest platform for decentralized gaming.
Therefore, as Ethereum developers work to shift from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake platform, there is a likelihood that ETH price will keep growing.
Axie Infinity (AXS)
Axie Infinity is a blockchain project that is at the intersection of gaming and non-fungible tokens. AXS is the native token for this ecosystem and has a total market cap of more than $7.9 billion. This is a significant performance since Axie was relatively unknown a few months ago.
Axie Infinity has developed pokemon-inspired games that people play globally. Winners are then rewarded with AXS. At the same time, the platform has created a marketplace where people can buy and sell NFTs.
Indeed, according to Dapp Radar, the volume of NFTs traded in Axie’s marketplace were valued at more than $2 billion in the third quarter. Axie has millions of daily users. Therefore, the AXS token will likely keep rising as the ecosystem expats.
Avalanche (AVAX)
Avalanche is a blockchain project that aims to solve some of the problems that are in Ethereum’s technology. For one, it is built from the ground up using a proof-of-stake technology. This means that it has many validators who are required to verify blocks. As a result, it is a faster and more scalable network than Ethereum. AVAX is the native token for the ecosystem.
Avalanche is also significantly faster than Ethereum and its peers. For example, it handles more than 4,500 transactions per second while Ethereum handles less than 20. Solana, on the other hand, handles about 2,000 transactions per second.
Additionally, Avalanche is relatively cheaper than most platforms. As a result, more developers have moved to the network. For example, its DeFi platforms have a total value locked of more than $7.5 billion, which is remarkable since it was launched in 2020.
As a result, AVAX token’s price has jumped in the past few months, which has pushed its total market capitalization to more than $14 billion.
Other altcoins to buy
There are other good quality altcoins that you can invest in. Some of these are Solana, Polygon, Tron, and Audius. Solana is an Ethereum-killer that is loved because of its speed and costs. Polygon, on the other hand, is a layer-2 network that helps developers accelerate their Ethereum applications. Tron is the biggest blockchain operating system in the world while Audius is disrupting the music streaming industry.
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