Top 10 Cryptocurrencies to Invest In 2022
With more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies in the market, it can be tough to decide on one that is best to invest in.
Why do I say this? People have different reasons and expectations when investing in cryptocurrency. Some want to invest for the long term while others want to capitalize on short-term gains.
In this review, we will be looking at the best cryptocurrencies to invest in based on market cap. Read on to find out.
10 Best Cryptocurrencies By Market Cap
1. Bitcoin (BTC)
Market Cap: $359.7 billion
Bitcoin is the first ever cryptocurrency having been launched in 2009 by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
It is blockchain-based, with a distributed ledger across a huge network of computers. It uses proof of work to verify transactions and is safe from hackers and fraudsters.
Being the best cryptocurrency in the market, it is widely accepted as a payment option by companies.
One BTC is currently selling at $20,052 down from $67,566 in August 2021, as I write this review. It is still the most valuable and trusted cryptocurrency in the world.
Bitcoin has attracted interest from various major financial institutions some of which have added it to their balance sheets.
Despite having lost more than half of its value due to volatility, it is still the best among its peers.
2. Ethereum (ETH)
Market Cap: $161.3 billion
Ethereum comes second on our list of cryptocurrencies to invest in. The coin is the second most valuable at $1,441 per coin.
Ethereum’s blockchain has risen in popularity to become a favorite among the community of developers.
ETH recently did an overhaul (the Merge) moving the blockchain from proof of work to proof of stake. The merge has subsequently allowed Ethereum to use less than 99.9% of its energy.
This makes the network more scalable and secure for the huge ecosystem of lending companies, non-fungible token markets, as well as crypto exchanges.
Established in 2016, ETH has increased in price by a whopping 14,150%.
3. Tether (USDT)
Market Cap: $67.9 bilion
Tether is a good cryptocurrency to invest in being the third-in-line according to market capitalization.
It is a stablecoin meaning that its value is pegged to fiat currency like the U.S Dollar on a ratio of 1:1.
A coin can also be backed by commodities like silver and gold. The cryptocurrency may not be the most profitable but if you are risk averse, it may just work for you.
This is because the coin stays liquid even during prolonged volatile situations as witnessed since November 2021.
Tether was launched in 2014 by a Hongkong based company called iFinex and is among the most successful stablecoins. It is therefore a favorite among many for loans and trading among other transactions.
4. USD Coin (USDC)
Market Cap: $50.1 billion
USD Coin is also a stablecoin fully backed by the U.S. Dollar. Powered by the Ethereum blockchain, you can complete transactions from anywhere in the world.
USDC was launched by a consortium owned by Coinbase and Circle in 2018. It is a store of value rather than an asset whose value appreciates over time.
Being a stable coin, it is, therefore, a riskier investment as the sole aim is to remain pegged on the dollar at a ratio of 1:1.
However, investors and businessmen can do business across multiple channels across the world without losing the value of their money.
The USD Coin is also compatible with other blockchains such as Solana, Algorand, Tron, and Stellar.
5. BNB (BNB)
Market Cap: $42.6 billion
Binance Coin is issued by the Binance exchange. Initially launched as a utility token on the Binance exchange, the coin is now being used for various applications.
These include payment of entertainment, bookings, financial services, and more.
BNB was launched in July 2017 through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and has a maximum of 200 million BNB tokens. It has since risen to be among the best performing cryptocurrencies in the market outdoing older coins.
Today, you can use BNB to make payments online, pay for travel, invest, and more.
The coin was formerly in the Ethereum blockchain but later changed to become native in the Binance chain. It is loved for its low fees compared to other exchanges.
6. Binance USD (BUSD)
Market Cap: $20.5 billion
Binance USD is another stablecoin backed by the USD dollar and runs within the Binance chain. The stablecoin was launched in September 2019 through a partnership between Paxos and Binance.
BUSD was developed to allow a frictionless and improved financial system that is flexible, fast, and accessible.
Not only can you use BUSD on the Binance exchange but also outside the platform. The exchange has grown to include more than 1000 trading pairs including the USD.
Because of this, traders can trade BUSD against any cryptocurrency. The platform has a dedicated page that allows you to sell or buy various currencies within a single click.
7. XRP (XRP)
Market Cap: $17.2 billion
XRP is the native token behind Ripple — a cryptocurrency exchange and a system for settling payments globally.
It was launched in 2012 and has so far announced partnerships with several financial institutions globally that use its Ripple network for transactions.
This means that you can now trade with more than 45 countries around the world using XRP.
Ripple provides fast, convenient, and low transaction fees for cross-border transactions. It is a great alternative to using SWIFT which is a global payment system mostly used by banks.
The XRP has a maximum supply of 100 billion tokens which is part of the reason why it’s cheaper than Bitcoin.
8. Cardano (ADA)
Market Cap: $14.8 billion
Cardano was launched in 2017 by Charles Hoskinson who is also a co-founder of Ethereum. The cryptocurrency has positioned itself as Ethereums alternative and is among the busiest cryptocurrencies.
It has always been Ethereum’s higher version through its use of the proof of stake protocol that requires less energy compared to POW.
At the time of writing this article, a token is $0.04372 which is a drop from a high of $2.33 in September 2021. As has been with most other cryptocurrencies, ADA has not escaped the wrath of the bear market.
Still, it remains to be among the best cryptocurrencies to invest in in 2022. Investors see it as a great asset for short and long-term investment.
9. Solana (SOL)
Market Cap: $11.1 billion
Solana is a cryptocurrency designed to work similarly to Ethereum but as an improvement. It was introduced in 2017 and then launched in March 2020 by Anatoly Yakovenko, a software engineer.
It has outpaced several others to be among the top ten cryptocurrencies to invest in 2022.
SOL is available and can be bought or sold in most major crypto exchanges. In contrast with other cryptocurrencies, SOL uses proof of history and delegated proof of stake mechanisms.
These mechanisms use timestamps to define Solana’s next block. Solana is currently selling at $31.31 per coin down from a high of 258.93 in June 2021 due to the prolonged bear market.
10. Dogecoin (DOGE)
Market Cap: $7.5 billion
Doge is a popular cryptocurrency whose logo is a Shiba Inu dog breed. It was founded by Billy Markus and Jackson Plamer after forking it from Litecoin in 2013.
Elon Musk has tweeted about it a number of times terming it his favorite altcoin.
What started as a joke, has fast risen to be among the best cryptocurrencies. Dogecoin does not have any capped limits on the number of coins that can be mined.
Due to the prolonged bear market, DOGE is currently selling at $0.05705 down from a high of $0.3 in October 2021.
It is widely used as a meme coin but is also convenient for daily transactions as its community grows and becomes stronger.