If you are here — reading this article, you must have realized the huge potential that lies in store for the cryptocurrency market in 2023. With the number of cryptocurrencies available, it is normal to wonder what is the best coin to invest in. After all, we all want a bang for our buck, don’t we?
You might have missed your chance with Bitcoin when it was trading at just US$50 back then, but trust us, you need not feel low over a lost opportunity because there are some amazing altcoins out there.
What are altcoins?
Altcoins are basically cryptocurrencies that are an alternative to Bitcoin. While Bitcoin is considered the 1st generation cryptocurrency, altcoins fall into the second and third generations of cryptocurrency.
In fact, some altcoins are doing wonders to bridge the gaps that Bitcoin has. And, that is why altcoins are highly valued.
So, we have curated a list of the top 10 altcoins to buy, and number seven is our personal favorite! Before that, though, here’s a quick rundown of what altcoin Season is.
What is altcoin season?
Short definition: A period of time when the values of cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin suddenly rise above those of the US dollar and Bitcoin.
Altcoin season is a period of time in which Bitcoin’s market capitalization (market cap) starts to dip below other cryptocurrencies’.
The market cap shows you “big” an asset’s market is. It’s calculated by multiplying an asset’s unit price by the circulating supply.
Unit price: the price at which one unit of the asset is sold
Circulating supply: total number of coins available for trade
Cryptocurrency market cap = circulating supply x unit price
Which altcoins to buy in 2022? (Not financial advice)
1. Polygon (MATIC)
MATIC price chart
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What is Polygon (MATIC)?
2023 could be the year for Polygon, and there is a lot of buzz around this Altcoin. And everything about Polygon justifies the attention it’s getting.
How does Polygon work?
Polygon is a layer-2 network that supports the Ethereum blockchain to unclog the Level-1 Ethereum platform — at high speed and low cost. The network’s native currency ― MATIC is used for staking, paying fees on the network, and governance. It is an ERC-20 token that runs on the Ethereum blockchain and uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
Polygon news and updates
- MATIC price increased at the beginning of November by 20% as a result of the announcement of Polygon NFTs and the Instagram integration news.
- Because of the newly launched projects, traders expect a 200% MATIC price increase.
- Polygon’s founder plans to utilize Beacon on the network for a better connection with investors.
- MATIC current price is US$0.783893 which dropped by 2.44% in the past 24 hours as of 6 January.
Why should you buy Polygon?
Currently, Polygon is the best bet for solving the scalability issues faced by Ethereum Blockchain. Developers who want to use the Ethereum blockchain and get the benefit of multi-chain support for their projects find resorting to Polygon to be the best option. If you want to start accumulating Polygon Matic coins, the best strategy to invest in Polygon is to buy the dip whenever the Fear and Greed Index is in the extreme fear stage.
Polygon’s market cap and growth
Polygon’s market cap is still below US$8 billion and its price is less than US$1 at the time of writing in Jan 2023.
This can be a good thing because the time is still ripe to invest in Polygon. Don’t be surprised if Polygon Matic turns out to be the multi-bagger altcoin of 2023.
2. Algorand (ALGO)
ALGO price chart
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What is Algorand?
Algorand is a two-tired, permissionless, open-source blockchain that uses a Proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
Algorand is built to solve the blockchain trilemma by adopting unique ways from its peers with similar objectives. This has attracted a lot of private funding from big investors. One can stake and earn rewards with ALGO, the utility token of Algroland. What stands out with ALGO is that every time new ALGO tokens are introduced, they are distributed to the system’s existing currency holders.
How does Algorand work?
Algorand’s PoS is one of its kind for having deployed a random selection process where validators are randomly selected to validate the next block.
It uses VRF (Verifiable Random function) — a unique and sophisticated cryptographic tool that selects the nodes randomly. It is indeed a low-cost, high-speed, and environment-friendly alternative to Ethereum and Bitcoin.
Algorand News and Updates
- Algorand powers the Drone Galaxy project, a racing game in collaboration with the Playground Labs.
- ALGO price is currently traded at US$0.200986 with a 24-hour trading volume of US$45,303,782.
- At the end of 2022, Algorand price increased dramatically as it was selected by Italy for its digital guarantee platform.
Why should you buy Algorand?
Algorand’s model is not the only reason for considering investing in it, but also the fact that it plays into people’s sentiment. With huge proponents of preserving the climate, Algorand has a sentimental edge as it has achieved Carbon negative status, unlike Bitcoin.
Algorand’s market cap and growth
Algorand’s market cap is at US$1.5 billion currently as of January 2023, and this year could have a bigger impact on its market cap.
3. Avalanche (AVAX)
AVAX price chart
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What is Avalanche?
Talk about underrated Altcoins, and Avalanche tops the list. Avalanche is a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain and smart contract platform. It aims to solve scalability issues — one of the important blockchain issues that are prominent at present.
Avalanche swears by its lightning-fast speed at a cost lower than most of its peers. It has currently managed to achieve a throughput of 4500 transactions per second (TPS).
How does Avalanche work?
Avalanche has deployed Ava Labs designed — Snowball as its Proof-of-Stake mechanism. Users can validate transactions by staking AVAX.
Users will have to stake a minimum of 2000 AVAX to participate in consensus or delegate their AVAX to another validator. ‘X-chain,’ ‘C-chain,’ and ‘P-chain,’ are the three blockchain infrastructure utilized by Avalanche.
Through the deployment of these numerous blockchain architectures, it enables the creation of blockchain networks that are customizable and interoperable, and host decentralized applications (dApps).
Avalanche news and updates
- AVAX current price is US$12.52, which is a 0.57% increase in the last 24 hours, according to CoinmarketCap.
- At the end of 2022, Avalanche had the plan to partner with the Asia infrastructure services of the Alibaba cloud.
- Grayscale removed AVAX from its Digital Large Cap fund, resulting in AVAX price drop of 2%.
Why should you buy Avalanche?
Avalanche would be a stellar investment considering the surge in dApp projects which ticks developers’ criteria of a low-cost, scalable blockchain.
Avalanche’s market cap and growth
Avanlanche’s market cap is US$4.7 billion as of January 2023, which is way undervalued than that of its peers. And investing in undervalued altcoins can be another strategy smart crypto investors do.
4. Litecoin (LTC)
LTC price chart
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What is Litecoin?
Litecoin is like that younger sibling who constantly tries to be better than the older one. In this case, Litecoin is indeed better in so many ways when compared to its sibling — Bitcoin.
The founders of Litecoin and Bitcoin are not the same, so you might be wondering why we are calling them siblings! It is because Litecoin was built on the base of Bitcoins code and improvised a lot of aspects that were lacking in Bitcoin. It improvised transaction speed and scalability.
How does Litecoin work?
Litecoin works on a proof-of-work consensus mechanism, where miners have to validate each block. LTC is the token of Litecoin and has a maximum supply of 84 million.
LTC can do without any middleman such as an exchange platform for instance to be exchanged for other currencies. LTC can be exchanged peer-to-peer as it is Atomic Swap compatible.
Litecoin news and updates
- Litecoin network plans to have the third halving in 2023 which LTC will be slashed in half to 6.25 LTC per block.
- Litecoin had a 7.05% growth at the start of 2023 which was believed to be a bullish sign.
- LTC price is now US$73.05 with a US$484,344,202 trading volume.
Why should you buy Litecoin?
Litecoin is a great investment as its proof-of-work mechanism attracts a lot of miners to its network. The team is constantly working on bettering the network, and investing in Litecoin would be like investing in the silver of the crypto world.
Litecoin’s market cap and growth
Litecoin’s market cap is US$6 billion as of January 2023, and it is one of the oldest altcoins out there, but it’s just an ageing wine that only gets better with time.
5. Chainlink (LINK)
LINK price chart
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What is Chainlink?
Chainlink is a decentralized network that is powered through oracle — a decentralized data provider. The issue that is faced with smart contracts is that to execute their terms, most of them have to utilize an external data source.
Chainlink wanted to be the golden gate bridge between blockchain and the real world. Props to Chainlink for having extended the smart contacts’ abilities by making the accessibility to the real-world easier and quicker.
Its abilities extend to even events and payments without having to compromise on the security, and reliability of blockchain technology.
How does Chainlink work?
Chainlink works on the purchaser and provider dynamics. Purchasers will specify the data they need to procure and providers have to bid to deliver the data by staking LINK tokens.
The Oracle reputation system weighs the data provided, and the oracles can be modified to keep up with the dynamic technology changes.
Chainlink news and updates
- Chainlink automation is now available on Arbitrum One platform.
- According to CryptoNewsFlash, Chainlink has progressed significantly over the past year, hosting 1,600 projects, and moving US$6.9 trillion transaction value.
- LINK current price is US$6.33. The price was up by 0.15% in the past 24 hours, with a US$306,293,941 trading volume.
Why should you buy Chainlink?
Chainlink is undoubtedly one of the smart altcoin investments. After all, a prudent investor would sail the same boat as the big players.
Global giants like Google and SWIFT, and popular cryptocurrencies like Synthetix and Polkadot have partnered with Chainlink. And, Chainlink will sweat it to quench their thirst for more such partnerships. So, you can imagine the tremendous growth potential for this amazing altcoin.
Chainlink’s market cap and growth
Chainlink’s current market cap is US$3.2 billion at the time of writing in January 2023, and this altcoin could likely add billions of dollars to the cryptocurrency economy.
6. Polkadot (DOT)
DOT price chart
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What is Polkadot?
Polkadot is a cryptocurrency that has adopted a proof of stake (POS) mechanism to provide seamless interoperability amongst many blockchains.
Cross-chain interoperability is achieved by allowing various systems to work in unison as oracles, permissionless, and blockchains with permission can all be connected through Polkadot’s protocol.
What makes Polkadot so unique is that it allows developers to create their own blockchain while comfortably leaning on the security that Polkadot’s chain provides.
How does Polkadot work?
The Polkadot network runs three types of blockchain — the relay chain, bridge chain, and parachain.
The relay chain is the major network that enables it to connect with other blockchains and process transactions, and over 1000 transactions can be processed per second. DOT, the Native token of Polkadot plays the main role in the network’s maintenance and functioning.
Polkadot news and updates
- Polkadot was one of the cryptocurrencies he was keeping his eyes on due to its potential, said Anthony Di Iorio, Ethereum co-founder.
- Polkadot was one of the fastest-growing projects in the crypto world according to the report from the Santiments.
- DOT current price is US$ 4.57 which was a 0.91% decrease in the last 24 hours as of 6 January.
Are you considering buying some DOT? Hold up and check out Polkadot Price Prediction before you invest!
Why should you buy Polkadot?
Polkadot should definitely be on your watchlist because it is a promising multi-chain platform and very user and developer-friendly.
Plus, developers might naturally prefer Polkadot over the likes of Ethereum because they need not have to create its own security measures. Creating such security measures could make it vulnerable to hackers and attacks in its project’s initial stages.
Polkadot’s Market Cap and growth
Polkadot’s Market Capitalisation was around US$6 billion in January 2023. Polkadot returns used to increase by three-fold in 2022, so, if you stay put this year, the history may repeat itself.
7. Stellar Lumens (XLM)
XLM price chart
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What is Stellar Lumens?
Stellar network’s main objective is to cement the cracks that persist between the centralized finance world and the crypto world.
To make that a reality, it has to connect laymen, financial institutions, and payment systems, and Stellar is doing just that. What powers the Stellar network is Lumens (XLM) —its native token. It uses a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism called Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP).
How does Stellar Lumens work?
If you want to convert your currency to another currency, the fund uploaded through your currency is initially converted to Stellar coins, and then converted to the currency you desire.
This makes the exchanges of any currency throughout the world hassle-free. The low cost and blazing transaction speed — without the intervention of intermediaries, is the cherry on the cake!
Stellar Lumens news and updates
- TechStars, a Stellar-powered company supports tech startups in Latin America.
- According to Cryptonewsflash, Stellar had its major growth in 2022, resulting in a potential strong bounce back during the crypto winter.
- At the beginning of January, Stellar launched a platform called “Stellar Aid Assist” to provide financial help to the public.
Why should you buy Stellar Lumens?
The tech and finance giants like Deloitte, Stripe, and IBM, and a lot of European and Asian financial institutions have partnered with Stellar.
IMB, using Lumens, is working towards bringing financial institutions and banking systems to the most remote parts of the world – the part of the world that’s never been privy to even money or bank. Tapping the untapped market would be a value booster for stellar and its investors of course.
Stellar Lumens Market Cap and growth
Stellar’s market cap is at UD$2 billion currently as of January 2023, and with its special features stated above, Stellar Lumens is one of the altcoins to keep your eyes on.
8. BNB token (BNB)
BNB price chart
What is BNB Token?
BNB is a crypto that runs on the Binance blockchain. Created in 2017, BNB faced strict cryptocurrency restrictions in China, so Changpeng Zhao moved its base to the Caymans Islands. Four years later, it has become the third-largest cryptocurrency after BTC and ETH.
BNB Token news and updates
- At the end of 2022, after the FTX crash, Binance has played a major role in the crypto industry. The firm launched a campaign to help many crypto projects in December last year.
Why should you buy BNB Token?
One of the reasons BNB is a good investment choice is its multiple use cases. As mentioned above, BNB users can benefit from the reduced trading fees which means they can earn more interest. Moreover, BNB tokens fuel the Binance Smart Chain, a blockchain that runs smart contracts that are the foundations of several dApp projects.
BNB Market Cap and growth
BNB’s market cap is over US$46 billion and its price is less than US$289.41 at the time of writing in Jan 2023.
9. Cardano (ADA)
ADA price chart
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What is Cardano?
ADA — Cardano Blockchain’s native token is used to facilitate P2P transactions. Cardano is an open-source blockchain that has adopted a proof-of-Stake model called Ouroboros.
It aims to solve scalability, regulatory compliance, fraud committed by voters, and interoperability. The network gains its credibility because of its peer-reviewed technology, giving it a technical advantage in terms of superiority.
It is worth bringing to light that Charles Hoskinson, one of Ethereum’s founding members, left the team to help co-found Cardano.
How does Cardano work?
One of Cardano blockchain’s utilities is in running smart contracts and developing decentralized applications that are secure and highly scalable.
Cardano has integrated the best of both, Bitcoin and Ethereum in its two layers. ADA keeps track of settlements and transfers just like Bitcoin, and this is its settlement layer. Its similarity to Ethereum can be seen in its computation layer, which enables decentralized applications and smart contracts to run smoothly.
Cardano News and Updates
- ADA price is expected to rise by 100% within 31 January, according to the report from Cryptoglobe.
- Investors expected major upgrades from Cardano in 2023 to improve DeFi significantly through its oracles.
- ADA is currently traded at US$0.27139. The price increased by 1.78% in the past 24 hours as of 6 January.
Why should you buy Cardano?
Cardano’s platform – Marlowe enables those without prior knowledge in coding to build their own applications. This would not only help cast a huge net on crypto geeks but also on the laymen trying to work through the decentralized world. Its high user base potential is why you may not want to ignore ADA.
Cardano’s Market Cap and growth
Cardano is the 8th largest cryptocurrency in terms of Market Cap as of January 2023 with a market capitalization of US$11 billion.
10. Hedera (HBAR)
HBAR price chart
What is Hedera (HBAR)?
Hedera is the only decentralized public ledger to have taken the road less travelled. It has shied away from both Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-stake mechanisms and uses Hashgraph as the alternative. HBAR, the native currency of Hedera, is not only used for paying transaction fees but also in-app payments. 50 billion HBARS is the maximum supply the network can have.
How does Hedera (HBAR) work?
Having considered blockchain to be obsolete and inefficient, Hedra has deployed a unique consensus algorithm that uses what is called a gossip protocol for the creation of nonlinear chains.
To verify the transaction, the nodes keep passing the transaction details to one another, and the nodes receiving this information will pass it on again. It is almost like a Chinese whisper, isn’t it?
Thanks to this out-of-the-box verification method, 10,000 transactions can be processed per second on the Hedera network.
Hedera News and Updates
- LG is planning to expand Web3 to support blockchain and NFTs, after the firm launched the Hedera-based crypto wallet
- HBAR current price is US$$0.037172 as of 6 January. The price went down by 2.90% in the last 24 hours, with a market cap of US$936,827,166.
Why should you buy Hedera (HBAR)?
Hedera has been utilized for various projects in sectors like finance, retail, healthcare, logistics, and agriculture to name a few.
Tech giants like IBM, Google, and Boeing Co. have already partnered with Hedera. It seems like the companies that want to partner with Hedera, and the sectors that it would penetrate would only increase going forward.
The growth potential is massive, and who wouldn’t want to invest in patented technology such as this. Yes, Hedera’s hashgraph technology is patented!
Special Mentions
You might be wondering if there are more Altcoins to buy in 2022 that isn’t mentioned on our top 10 list, so here are some more Altcoins that deserve some recognition:
Investing tips for Beginners
These are a few tips for Beginners before investing in Altcoins:
- Invest in only what you can afford to lose. You do not want to invest the sum you had set aside for mortgage payments.
- Don’t go all-in on just one or two coins. Diversification is the best way to hedge against uncertainties.
- Do your due diligence. Spend some time to understand the details about the coins you want to invest in.
- Don’t get panicked when there is a sell-off due to a mild correction. Have fun investing!
There are plenty of Altcoin options available on Zipmex. Check out our exchange to start trading.
There is nothing worse than the feeling of having missed an opportunity of a lifetime, and we really get that. That’s why we sincerely hope the list we curated for you comes of major value to you! We are all set to grab the opportunity 2022 presents us, and we encourage you to as well!
So, what are you waiting for?
Ready…set…1…2..3…GO!!!!
Let’s look what coins do cup and handle pattern, Click here for learn more.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is not intended to provide investment or financial advice. Investment decisions should be based on the individual’s financial needs, objectives, and risk profile. We encourage readers to understand the assets and risks before making any investment entirely.
