2022 seems to be continuing the forward momentum crypto adoption saw in 2021. Digital tokens have gained remarkable traction against the backdrop of the pandemic, and crypto fanatics are already heading to speculate on the best cryptocurrencies they should invest in as we move to a post-pandemic era. Although many new asset classes have emerged recently, cryptocurrency’s dominance remains at the top when one aspires for high rewards. All this while the world heads into a higher inflationary environment.
10 Best Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2022
Before diving into the realm of these digital assets, you need to know about the ten best cryptocurrencies and their market capitalization. Data is sourced from CoinMarketCap, as of February 18, 2022.
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Market Cap: $773 billion
Bitcoin, the first-ever cryptocurrency, was launched in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto to generate electronic transactions over the internet. Being the precursor of the cryptocurrency space, Bitcoin has always topped the market capitalization charts and has broken its previous records to reach an all-time high of 69,000 USD in November 2021. Its price skyrocketed with a notable growth of 7,600% in the last five years.
2. Ethereum (ETH)
- Market Cap: $349 billion
Ethereum is the second-largest digital cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It has witnessed massive growth following the footsteps of Bitcoin. The Ethereum blockchain is also a host to NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), dApps (Decentralized Applications), and smart contracts. Its price rose from $11 to $2,700, increasing 25,000% over the last five years.
3. Binance Coin (BNB)
- Market Cap: $68 billion
Binance, the largest crypto exchange globally, launched the Binance Coin (BNB) in 2017, allowing all kinds of trades, payment, and travel bookings. In Feb 2022 the price of BNB rose to $377 from $0.10 in 2017 — a gain of 377,000%.
4. Ripple (XRP)
- Market Cap: $38 billion
Ripple is a global payment processing network designed to ease financial transfers for banks and financial institutions. XRP is a digital coin created for use on the Ripple Network. As of February 1, 2022, its price has reached $0.62 from $ 0.006 in 2017 — more than 10,000% in gains.
5. Terra (LUNA)
- Market cap: $33.45 billion
Launched in 2018, Terra protocol powers price-stable global payment systems using fiat-pegged stablecoins. Terra combines the price stability and wide adoption of Fiat with the censorship resistance offered by Bitcoin for fast and affordable settlements.
6. Cardano (ADA)
- Market Cap: $35 billion
Powered by its native coin ADA, Cardano works on the same technology as Ethereum. Due to the infrastructural advancement, Cardano fosters the creation of native decentralized applications that use smart contracts for their operations. In 2017, ADA’s price was $0.02, and it has seen a modest surge of 5,150%, touching the bar of $1.05 later.
7. Solana (SOL)
- Market Cap: $31 billion
Solana is another fast-emerging blockchain network. Like Ethereum, Solana operates on a unique consensus mechanism- ‘proof of work’ and ‘proof of stake.’ It pioneered blockchains in becoming more energy-efficient and allowing faster transactions. After its launch in 2020, its price has surged from $0.77 to $100 — a gain of 13000%.
8. Avalanche (AVAX)
- Market Cap: $22 billion
Avalanche is one of the best performing altcoins. Since its launch in 2020, it has seen an impressive appreciation of around 3345%. However, its price highly relies on the development of decentralized applications, non-fungible tokens and smart contracts.
9. Polkadot (DOT)
- Market Cap: $18 billion
Polkadot is an open source protocol that enables cross-blockchain transactions for a variety of data. The integration of Polkadot with other projects aims to create a multichain ecosystem to facilitate interoperability among several networks. Between September 2020 and February 2022, its price grew from $2.93 to $19.49 — an increase of 565%.
10. Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Market Cap: $19 billion
Launched in 2013, DOGE was the first meme coin to hit the market. The inspiration behind launching Dogecoin was the Shiba Inu dog’s image, which circulated all over the internet and went viral. The meme-based coin hit an all time high of $0.69 as of May 5, 2021.
Opines from Experts
Greg Rubin, head of trading at Aussie firm Global Prime, told news.cu.au over an interactive session, “Looking at the scale of probabilities, it seems the most likely end to the bull run that kicked off in 2020 will be next year.”
Deducing from the prediction made by Mr. Rubin, the cryptocurrency space should be ready to ride a bear run in the upcoming months, and many are in favor of buying the dip. Be ready with your well-earned capital if you’re looking to buy and hold these best cryptocurrencies in 2022.
