Ever wondered – what are the best altcoins to invest in (2022)?
Then you’ve come to the right place!
Welcome to the “spinoff show” from the very popular article – Best Cryptocurrency To Invest In 2022.
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Introduction To The Best AltCoins
By this point, cryptocurrency is significantly more widely accepted than it was just a few years ago.
These days, there are publicly traded companies whose entire business revolves around cryptocurrency. Additionally, some of the world’s biggest investment banks are starting to take positions in different coins or projects.
For most people, investing in cryptocurrency probably means owning a little Bitcoin in a digital wallet. However, after Bitcoin, you may be unsure what other coins represent a viable investment. This is where altcoins come into play!
Developers are constantly working to improve cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Over the years, new coins have been introduced that are more efficient or have been designed to handle different projects. The result is that, as of November 2021, there are approximately 10,000+ cryptocurrencies in the world! Combined, these coins currently account for over half of the total cryptocurrency market.
After all, the "overnight crypto millionaires" of the last few years all seem to have come from altcoins.
Due to this, many investors are strongly considering adding at least one altcoin to their portfolio. Before jumping into which coins you should consider, we want to reiterate that investing in altcoins is risky!
Their prices tend to be incredibly volatile. This gives them both their potential for a huge profit and their potential for a huge loss. If you do choose to get started, please only do so with funds that you’d be comfortable losing. You also risk to loose your precious coins if you don’t keep them safe!
With that said, let’s take a look at the best altcoins to invest in 2022.
Note: Since cryptocurrency prices are so volatile, we’ve refrained from putting coin prices below. Instead, we’ve included a link for each coin where you can see its current price.
What Is An Altcoin?
If you’re not familiar, an altcoin is defined as any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. These types of coins may be very similar to Bitcoin. However, most of them have been improved to have slightly different characteristics.
The main difference between Bitcoin and many altcoins is how they verify transactions. Bitcoin uses a proof of work model, which requires a lot of electricity and manpower. On the other hand, many altcoins use what’s called a proof of stake model. This model allows holders of coins to stake their coins in order to verify transactions.
Additionally, some altcoins are programmed with different types of functionality (as opposed to just being a digital currency). For investors who are looking for more cryptocurrency investments outside Bitcoin, altcoins present an excellent opportunity!
With that said, let’s take a look at a few of the best altcoins for 2022.
Some The Best Altcoins To Invest In 2022
Ethereum (ETH)
I’m pretty sure you all know this one by now. So why am I including it in another list?
Well, after Bitcoin, Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization!
As of November 2021, Ethereum has a whopping market capitalization of just under $600 billion!
One of the key functions of Ethereum is its ability to support smart contracts. Smart contracts are essentially digital contracts that live on the blockchain. These contracts are automatically executed whenever predetermined conditions are met. This allows two parties to conduct business without the need for a 3rd party.
In addition to smart contracts, the Ethereum network is the main network that supports non-fungible tokens (NFTs). As per our article NFTs are digital stores of value that cannot be replicated or swapped for something similar. NFTs can be basically anything and drawings, music, or even tweets have all been turned into NFTs. These digital assets surged in popularity during 2021 and the most popular platform, OpenSea, has transacted over $10 billion since its launch.
For the most part, the entire NFT craze has taken place on the Ethereum blockchain. This is super important!
Ethereum has enjoyed a rally of 500+% in 2021 and currently shows no signs of slowing down.
Want to know more? Check out Ethereum Explained Simply
Solana (SOL)
Solana is another altcoin that has recently emerged as a competitor to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
One of the main reasons for Solana’s meteoric rise is its versatility. Solana has the functionality to support smart contracts, NFTs, decentralized finance, as well as digital apps (games, investing, social media, etc.)
One of the biggest things that separate Solana from Ethereum is the speed at which it operates. Ethereum is able to support about 13 transactions per second. On the other hand, Salana can support tens of thousands of transactions per second.
Of course, Ethereum still has a distinct advantage in terms of coin price and market capitalization. However, these two coins could very well flip places in the next few years.
Solana rallied over 11,000% in 2021 but crashed at the end of 2022.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is another altcoin that has a faster transaction speed than Ethereum.
Cardano is able to support about 250 transactions per second. This puts it ahead of Ethereum but still well below Solana. However, there are two other factors that make Cardano an attractive altcoin.
To start, it is much cheaper to transact on Cardano. The cost of a transaction on Cardano is just 0.1 ADA, which converts to just a couple of cents. On Ethereum, it costs about $15 per transaction minimum.
Another factor that makes Cardano appealing is it’s extreme energy efficiency. One of the biggest concerns about Bitcoin and Ethereum is that they both consume an incredible amount of energy in order to operate. Remember when a simple tweet for our friend Elon wiped MILLIONS off the cryptocurrency markets? This was all down to question of energy efficiency.
However, since Cardano uses a proof of stake model, it consumes about 99% less electricity than either of these coins. Not bad at all right?
Cardano is up almost 2,000% in 2021.
Polkadot (DOT)
The biggest benefit of Polkadot, and what makes it unique, is that it has very high interoperability. This means it’s designed to work with other networks. Due to this, developers can build applications that can be used on Polkadot as well as other networks like Ethereum or Bitcoin.
This factor could be an attractive draw, encouraging more developers to join the team. If more developers are incentivized to join then it will grow the value of the network and the altcoin.
Polkadot also has an experienced leadership team and was founded by the same person who founded Ethereum.
Polkadot has enjoyed a gain of almost 1000% in 2021. What do you reckon? Is Polkadot one of your contenders for the best altcoins to invest in 2022?
Dogecoin (DOGE)
The final altcoin to consider investing in for 2022 actually has basically zero functionality. In fact, Dogecoin was started as a joke!
However, that didn’t stop it from surging over 1,000% in just a matter of months!
Now, you might think that the rally has already come and gone for this meme coin. However, there is no telling when it could surge in popularity once more. In the past, all it has taken is a well-timed tweet from Elon Musk in and Doge’s price soared. This coin has been relatively stable for months, which might actually mean that it’s primed to soar again in 2022.
If you missed the last rally, I can see why you might consider putting just a little money into Doge. Remember though, no-one truly knows which way the crypto market will go. Any website or crypto guru claiming otherwise is sadly mistaken (or pumping the coin for their own benefit).
Dogecoin is up well over 9,000% in 2021. If you don’t want to go near Doge, Shiba Inu is another meme coin that we should discuss.
Should I Invest In Shiba Inu In 2022?
We knew you’d ask us that! Do I personally recommend that you invest in Shiba Inu? Well…
Sorry folks, I’m not going anywhere near that one! I could hear our lawyer sweating as I typed (yes George, I told them that this article doesn’t represent financial advice).
Shiba Inu is a meme coin and on paper, has no right to have seen the extreme rises of the past few weeks. With a huge circulating volume and no functionality, some say it has all the technical attributes of a “shitcoin“. Nonetheless, Shiba Inu has soared through the ranks over the past few weeks. Some cryptocurrency investors have turned thousands into millions!
Many of our readers tell me that Shiba Inu is set to be the ‘Dogecoin Killer’. What’s the difference? Well, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are both altcoins, but Dogecoin uses the same technology as Bitcoin, whilst Shiba Inu is powered by Ethereum. Otherwise, they’re both dog related meme coins which have shocked the cryptocurrency world.
Do you think Shiba Inu has the potential to be the best altcoin to invest in 2022?
So, What Are The Best Altcoins To Invest In 2022?
As always, we have to tell you to do your own research (DYOR) – which I guess you’ve started if you’re here!
There can’t be one right answer to this question – unless you have a crystal ball. What we will personally be doing (which is just our opinion, not advice) is diversifying our portfolio by investing in multiple of these altcoins. Statistically speaking, putting $1000 into any one of the top 10 altcoins at the start of 2021 would have generated significant profits. However 2021 has been an atypically huge bull run! There’s no telling what will happen in 2022. A diversified portfolio is a method of managing your risk; pick a loser and still end up in profit due to the rise of your other altcoins.
Anyway, we hope that you’ve found this article valuable when it comes to considering the best altcoins to invest in 2022.
To keep exploring, check-out more crypto articles below!
