Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and Binance Coin all hit their all-time highs in 2021.
Of course, the future may look different from the past. That said, blockchains have network effects, which means that the more users they add, the more the price is likely to grow.
Here are our picks for the best crypto investments for 2022, ranked by user growth and Return On Investment (ROI).
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1. Bitcoin (762,499,900% ROI)
Bitcoin is the world’s first digital asset, and it still holds the first position in terms of market cap value ($1.250T) and price. (For our analyst’s rating, download our Bitcoin Investor Scorecard here.)
Even with the ups and downs over the past decade, bitcoin has still seen massive growth. Just this month bitcoin managed to surpass its all-time price at $66,000.
As the bellwether of blockchain, bitcoin leads the market with a 442% growth over 2021, and an incredible 762,499,900% increase in value since launch.
2. Ethereum (618,556% ROI)
Ether is the second-largest digital asset with a market capitalization of $486.98B. Unlike bitcoin, Ethereum is more than a digital currency. Ethereum is also an open-source decentralized platform that enables smart contracts and DApps without control from a third party.
Ether (ETH), Ethereum’s digital token, hit new all-time highs in 2021, due to its status as the leading platform for blockchain development. (For our analyst’s rating, download our Ethereum Investor Scorecard here.)
The growth is even more tremendous when you consider that Ether’s price was about $10 just 4 years ago. That’s a 41,000% growth over the same period of time and a 618,556% rally since launch.
3. Binance Coin (325,900% ROI)
Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, facilitating massive trading volumes every day. Binance Coin (BNB), which is the native token of the exchange platform, aims to reduce transaction fees for users.
Binance Coin was launched in 2017 and has developed by facilitating trades on the Binance exchange platform. It can now be traded for other forms of digital assets like Ethereum or bitcoin. Additionally, it can be used for everyday tasks like payment processing, or even paying for travel arrangements on some websites. (For our analyst’s rating, download our Binance Coin Investor Scorecard here.)
Binance will mint a maximum of 200 million BNB tokens. The main reason for the supply cap is to add a level of scarcity to the token. Additionally, Binance “burns” a portion of tokens every three months, in order to decrease supply and reduce inflation.
That said, BNB’s popularity has grown even more in 2021. BNB saw a steady price rise throughout 2021, leading to a jaw-dropping 325,900% ROI since launch.
The top blockchains by total market value, so you can compare our picks against each other.
(Courtesy Token Terminal)
4. Solana (24,237% ROI)
Solana is considered one of Ethereum’s major rivals. It is also a blockchain platform designed to build decentralized applications, or dapps. Solana has become more popular as it offers solutions that lower transaction fees, and faster operation than Ethereum.
Additionally, unlike bitcoin and Ethereum, Solana is a proof of stake blockchain. This makes it more environmentally friendly as opposed to proof of work blockchains where a massive amount of energy is used for mining.
That said, Solana has had a meteoric rise ever since it was launched in April 2020. This has made it one of the fastest-growing digital assets in 2021. Solana kicked off 2021 at a trading price of $1.86, and by November had climbed to $202. That means an investment of $1000 at the beginning of 2021 would be worth over $100,000.
The introduction of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to Solana has also helped to increase awareness of the token. Additionally, some new NFT projects use Solana’s blockchain over Ethereum’s, due to lower transaction fees.
5. Cardano (12,782% ROI)
Cardano is a decentralized blockchain platform that was launched in 2017. Cardano was created with an aim of solving underlying problems in the blockchain industry like scalability issues in consensus mechanisms (used to approve transactions) and providing a secure blockchain that is less prone to attacks.
Cardano has maintained a top 10 position in terms of market capitalization at a value of just over $67 billion. As for growth in price, it has seen a fairly modest increase when compared to other major tokens.
ADA, Cardano’s native token, went for about $0.017 back in 2017. At the time of writing, ADA goes for around $2.19, a 12,782% growth since launch. That said, ADA joins the list of tokens to have hit all-time highs in 2021.
Even though Cardano is still in its early stages, many believe it stands out among its proof of stake blockchain peers.
Digital assets are here to stay. Remember this market is not a get-rich-quick scheme. And the value of investments can go up and down. Consider diversifying your investments, using an approach like our Blockchain Believers Portfolio.
Related Articles:
- Bitcoin Investing 101: What is Bitcoin? How Does it Work? How Can You Invest in It?
- Blockchain Investing 101: How to Build Long-Term Wealth in the Digital Asset Markets
- DeFi Investing 101: What Is It? Where Do You Start? What Are the Risks?
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