Ethereum's strong fundamentals, including its large developer community and widespread adoption, make it a top contender for investment. It's also worth noting that Ethereum's smart contract platform has a wide range of use cases, from decentralized finance to non-fungible tokens.
Solana's fast transaction processing times and low fees make it an attractive option for investors. Its proof-of-stake consensus algorithm also provides a more energy-efficient alternative to traditional proof-of-work models.
Cardano's rigorous scientific approach to development and its focus on scalability make it a solid choice for those looking for a more stable investment.
Top Cryptocurrencies
If you're considering investing in cryptocurrencies, it's essential to know the top performers. As of December 20, 2024, the top 9 cryptocurrencies by year-to-date performance are listed below.
Keep in mind that while these cryptocurrencies have performed well, it's essential to consider their use cases and market volatility before making an investment decision.
Market Cap: $66B
The third largest coin at the time of writing is quite different from Ether and BTC because it is a centralized cryptocurrency.
Tether is the largest stablecoin that attempts to tie its price to the US Dollar. It's commonly abbreviated USD₮ or USDT.
Tether is owned by iFinex, which also owns the Bitfinex exchange. This connection highlights the importance of understanding the ownership structure of cryptocurrencies.
The price of Tether is designed to be stable, tied directly to the US Dollar. This stability makes it an attractive option for traders and investors looking for a low-risk cryptocurrency.
10 Largest Cryptocurrencies
The top cryptocurrencies are a diverse group, but some stand out as the largest. Bitcoin is the largest, with a market capitalization of over $1 trillion.
Bitcoin's dominance is due in part to its early mover advantage, having been created in 2009. Ethereum is the second-largest, with a market capitalization of over $500 billion.
Ethereum's smart contract platform has been a game-changer for the industry, allowing for the creation of decentralized applications. Litecoin is the third-largest, with a market capitalization of over $200 billion.
Litecoin is often seen as a more accessible alternative to Bitcoin, with faster transaction times and lower fees. Ripple is the fourth-largest, with a market capitalization of over $100 billion.
Ripple's focus on cross-border payments has made it a favorite among banks and financial institutions. Bitcoin Cash is the fifth-largest, with a market capitalization of over $50 billion.
Bitcoin Cash was created in 2017 as a result of a fork in the Bitcoin blockchain. Stellar is the sixth-largest, with a market capitalization of over $20 billion.
Stellar's focus on cross-border payments has made it a popular choice for international transactions. Cardano is the seventh-largest, with a market capitalization of over $10 billion.
Cardano's proof-of-stake consensus algorithm has made it a favorite among environmentally conscious investors. EOS is the eighth-largest, with a market capitalization of over $5 billion.
EOS's decentralized operating system has made it a popular choice for decentralized applications. Binance Coin is the ninth-largest, with a market capitalization of over $2 billion.
Binance Coin is the native cryptocurrency of the Binance exchange, and is used for a variety of purposes on the platform. Tether is the tenth-largest, with a market capitalization of over $1 billion.
Tether's peg to the US dollar has made it a popular choice for traders looking to hedge against market volatility.
Top Cryptocurrencies by YTD Performance
If you're looking for the top-performing cryptocurrencies, you'll want to check out the list below. Here are the top 9 cryptocurrencies by year-to-date performance, with market caps above $10 billion.
The top performer is Sui (SUI), with a year-to-date return of 387.14%. This is followed closely by XRP (XRP) with a return of 271.71%, and Dogecoin (DOGE) with a return of 254.16%.
Here's a list of the top 9 cryptocurrencies by year-to-date performance:
Bitcoin (BTC) rounds out the top 9 with a year-to-date return of 128.84%.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency, holding a 40% share in the total cryptocurrency market cap. It's also the oldest cryptocurrency and still dominates the market.
The price of Bitcoin can change a lot every day, and it has seen many highs and lows over the last few years. One notable event was when the price dropped to around $10,000 in January 2018, almost half of the $20,000 it was worth in December 2017.
Investors who knew about the Bitcoin split into two cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash - on August 1, invested their money before the split and made huge profits, almost doubling their investment. This shows that staying informed about upcoming events can be beneficial for investors.
If you're interested in obtaining Bitcoin, you can easily do that using KuCoin or Binance, both of which are highly secure and reliable.
The price of Bitcoin has fluctuated significantly over the years, going from around $76 in July 2013 to as high as $20,000 in December 2017, and then dropping to around $6,000 in February 2018.
Here are some key events that affected the price of Bitcoin:
- Bitcoin split into two cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash - on August 1, resulting in huge profits for investors who invested before the split.
- The price of Bitcoin dropped to around $10,000 in January 2018, almost half of the $20,000 it was worth in December 2017.
- The price of Bitcoin dropped to around $6,000 in February 2018, following a significant sell-off.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum (ETH) is a top cryptocurrency that has made significant gains in the past. It reached its highest price of $1423 on January 4, 2018, with a total market cap of $138 billion.
Ethereum grew by about 3000% in the year 2017, making it the second-largest cryptocurrency, behind only Bitcoin. This impressive growth has caught the attention of many investors, who are now wondering if Ethereum is a good investment option.
Ethereum is not just a digital currency, but a more advanced blockchain project that allows developers to build their own cryptocurrencies. This unique feature has made Ethereum a popular choice for businesses looking to build blockchain-based solutions.
Here are some key events that have affected the price of Ethereum:
- Ethereum received an investment of around $150 million in May 2016, causing its price to rise from $1 in January 2016 to around $14.80 in May 2016.
- However, on June 18, 2016, members of the Ethereum community discovered a hack that resulted in the theft of around $60 million worth of Ether, causing the price to drop from $21.52 on June 17, 2016, to $9.96 on June 18, 2016.
Ethereum's potential for growth is still high, with blockchain expert Julian Hosp predicting that its market cap could reach $200 billion by the end of 2023, and the price could rise to up to $2000.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Binance Coin (BNB) is a popular cryptocurrency that's closely tied to the Binance exchange. It was created in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance.
BNB is the native cryptocurrency of the Binance exchange, and it's used to pay for trading fees on the platform. This means that users can save up to 50% on fees by paying with BNB instead of other cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies.
BNB has a total supply of 200 million coins, with a burn mechanism that reduces the supply over time. This has helped to increase the value of BNB and make it a more scarce asset.
Cardano (Ada)
Cardano (ADA) is a decentralized, open-source, public blockchain that's been around since 2017. Its development began back in 2015 with the help of an Ethereum cofounder.
Cardano has a rich history, starting its development in 2015, a full two years before it was officially launched.
Solana (SOL)
Solana (SOL) is a fast and scalable cryptocurrency that can process over 65,000 transactions per second.
It uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, which is more energy-efficient than proof-of-work (PoW).
Solana's architecture is designed to handle a high volume of transactions, making it suitable for decentralized applications (dApps).
Its fast transaction times and low fees make it an attractive option for developers.
Solana has a large and active community of developers, which has contributed to the growth of its ecosystem.
The Solana blockchain has a total supply of 489,600,000 SOL tokens.
Solana's native token, SOL, is used for transaction fees and as a store of value.
Solana has partnered with several major companies, including the video game platform, Atari, and the music streaming service, Audius.
Popular Cryptocurrencies
Some promising cryptocurrencies to consider for investment include 5thScape, which boasts Ethereum Layer 2 integration and a capped supply.
Its capped supply is a key factor in making it a potentially attractive investment.
USD Coin
USD Coin, abbreviated to USDC, has a market cap of $54 billion. It's the second largest stablecoin, which means its price is tied to the US Dollar.
USDC is owned by a central entity and is backed by cash and US T-bills. You can even view the underlying assets on their platform, which consist of approximately 20% Cash and 80% short-duration T-bills.
Ripple (XRP)
Ripple (XRP) is a cryptocurrency that has gained popularity among investors due to its unique features. Ripple uses blockchain technology to make international payments faster and more secure.
As of December 20, 2024, Ripple has a market cap of $130,877,835,554, making it the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Its year-to-date return is 271.71%, making it one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies of 2024.
Ripple's popularity can be attributed to its payment system, which allows for fast and secure international transactions. In fact, Ripple's technology can process transactions in a matter of seconds, compared to the 2-10 days it takes for traditional bank payments.
Many large financial institutions, such as American Express, JP Morgan, and Santander, are already using Ripple's technology. Ripple has also been working with the Saudi Arabia Central Bank, China's LianLian International, and other banks from around the world.
If you're considering investing in Ripple, now might be a good time, as its price has dropped 70% lower than its all-time high of $3.4 in January 2017. Keep an eye on Ripple's partnerships, as new collaborations with large banks could increase the price of XRP.
Here's a list of the top 9 cryptocurrencies by year-to-date performance, with Ripple (XRP) ranking second:
Polkadot (Dot)
Polkadot (Dot) is a decentralized platform that enables interoperability between different blockchain networks. It allows for the transfer of any type of data or asset between chains.
Polkadot's unique architecture is based on a relay chain, which acts as a hub for connecting various parachains. This setup enables the creation of a scalable and flexible network.
The platform's native cryptocurrency is called DOT, and it's used for governance, staking, and paying fees. One DOT token represents one vote in the platform's governance system.
Polkadot's interoperability features have been in high demand, with over 100 projects already building on the platform. This has helped to establish Polkadot as a major player in the cryptocurrency space.
Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin (LTC) has shown impressive growth in the past, with a price increase of almost 8000% in 2017. It's no wonder many investors are interested in this cryptocurrency.
Litecoin's price rose from around $4 at the beginning of 2017 to a high of $358 in December 2017. This is a remarkable increase in just a few months.
The price of Litecoin then dropped to $110 in February 2018, following the trend of most cryptocurrencies. It's essential to remember that cryptocurrency prices can fluctuate rapidly.
Litecoin was created in 2011 to improve upon Bitcoin's technology. It's interesting to note that Litecoin completes a transaction 4 times faster than Bitcoin.
The maximum number of Litecoin is capped at 84 million, which is 4 times more than the coin supply of Bitcoin (21 million). This is an essential detail to consider when investing in Litecoin.
Litecoin was the first cryptocurrency to perform a Lightning Network transaction in May 2017. This is a significant achievement, as the Lightning Network increases the speed of transactions on the blockchain network.
Here's a comparison of the maximum coin supply of popular cryptocurrencies:
Using the Lightning Network, 0.00000001 Litecoin was transferred from Zurich to San Francisco in under one second! This is a remarkable example of the speed and efficiency of the Lightning Network.
Tron (Trx)
Tron (TRX) is a content sharing platform that aims to keep your personal information in your hands, unlike traditional social media sites like YouTube and Facebook.
Tron can be thought of as an alternative to these platforms, where you don't have to worry about your data being shared with advertisers.
The project has had some controversy surrounding its creators, but these issues are often dismissed as smear campaigns or rumors.
Tron's price has had significant swings, but the coin appears to be climbing up in price.
One of the more interesting cryptocurrencies to invest in 2024, Tron is definitely worth considering.
EOS (EOS)
EOS is a unique project that stands out from other cryptocurrencies due to its aim of running a decentralized blockchain that allows for free transactions.
EOS allows you to develop smart contracts and create dApps on its blockchain, similar to Ethereum.
Most cryptocurrencies can't be traded, bought, or sold fee-free, but EOS is an exception.
EOS has experienced notable price swings in the past, but it's recently been stabilizing.
Scarcity Meets Bull Market
A capped supply is a key characteristic of a promising investment, like 5thScape.
In a bull market, scarcity of a cryptocurrency can drive up its value, making it a coveted asset among investors.
Projects with strong fundamentals, such as Solana, have a good chance of performing well in the next bull run.
Cardano and Avalanche are also potential candidates, with their innovative technologies and utility.
The next crypto bull run will likely be driven by projects with strong fundamentals, utility, and innovation, making them worth considering for investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which crypto will boom in 2025?
Unfortunately, predicting a specific cryptocurrency to boom in 2025 is challenging, but Solana (SOL) and Ethereum (ETH) are two established players with strong potential for growth. Keep an eye on these two, as well as emerging projects like JetBolt (JBOLT) and Bonk (BONK), for promising opportunities in 2025.
Which cheap crypto will explode?
According to recent trends, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Hedera, VeChain, and JetBolt are among the cheap cryptocurrencies to watch for potential growth, but JetBolt is a standout newcomer to keep an eye on
Sources
- https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/cryptocurrency/top-10-cryptocurrencies/
- https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/best-crypto-top-cryptocurrencies
- https://www.etoro.com/crypto/how-to-invest-in-cryptocurrency/
- https://www.bitdegree.org/crypto/best-cryptocurrency
- https://bravenewcoin.com/sponsored/presale/best-crypto-coins-to-buy-before-the-next-bull-run-secure-potential-200x-profits-by-investing-early
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