The cryptocurrency market has come of age in the past couple of years. Many thought the Covid-19 crypto enthusiasm would fade away, but the opposite has transpired so far this year. Unlike before, the crypto market of today is being pushed by institutional investors rather than retail investors, leading many to search for which cryptos to buy.

Moreover, major financial institutions and governments around the world are taking them seriously. Hence, with everyone jumping in on the action, it’s time to ditch the FOMO and start looking for some cryptos to buy on Coinbase.

Though there’s no denying the sustainability of the latest crypto bull run, you need to have a clear idea of which cryptos have long-term potential. There are plenty of meme cryptos out there, which are moving purely based on speculation. You want to be investing in cryptos that offer real-world use-cases, making them long-term investments.

Having said that, let’s look at seven of the most popular and worthwhile cryptocurrencies to invest in at this time:

• Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD)
• Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD)
• Cardano (CCC:ADA-USD)
• Polkadot (CCC:DOT-USD)
• Solana (CCC:SOL-USD)
• Ripple (CCC:XRP-USD)
• Polygon (CCC:MATIC-USD)

Cryptos to Buy: Bitcoin (BTC-USD)

Bitcoin represents the crème de la crème of the crypto market, with many investors believing it to be the only crypto worth investing in over a long-term horizon.

It enjoyed an incredible bull run in 2020, having risen from $4,748 in mid-March to slightly below $30,000 by the close of the year. Though it hasn’t had a phenomenal run that many had expected this year, it has still shot up nearly 100% in value year-to-date.

Nevertheless, Bitcoin is an institutional asset class that will continue to be the sheet anchor for the crypto market. The money being poured into Bitcoin is not from the Reddit crowd but by major institutional investors who believe in its long-term value. Therefore, Bitcoin’s long-term value can hardly be debated, and it is in it for the long haul.

Ethereum (ETH-USD)

Ethereum is the second-largest crypto by market capitalization as arguably the most versatile blockchain technology. Ethereum’s value has grown nearly 500% YTD, significantly higher than Bitcoin. The robustness of its platform sets it apart from the competition, making it a darling for institutional investors. Moreover, the platform’s impending transition to a proof-of-stake (POS) system will significantly improve scalability, transaction costs, and speed.

The great thing about the Ethereum blockchain is its massive developer community, which continues to grow aggressively. On top of that, the platform is being used to create new digital assets and markets. For instance, its applicability in decentralized finance has been a major contributor to ETH’s rapid ascent. Consequently, with its incredible network and multiple developments in the pipeline, many consider it a better investment than Bitcoin.

Cryptos to Buy: Cardano (ADA-USD)

Cardano is a third-generation cryptocurrency that has been one of the top altcoins in the market. Cardano has shot up more than 900% in value YTD, making it one of the top-performing digital assets since the start of the year. Unlike Ethereum, Cardano already uses a POS mechanism to process up to 257 transactions per second. Moreover, the POS system makes it more eco-friendly crypto compared to its peers.

Furthermore, Cardano is programmable, allowing developers to create a smart contract that facilitates the creation of DeFi apps. Looking ahead, Ethereum and Cardano are likely to dominate the DeFi realm pushing their respective cryptocurrencies to new heights.

Polkadot (DOT-USD)

Polkadot is another unique blockchain network that aims to create a completely decentralized internet. The goal is for its users to access any service or decentralized application without compromising security.

Moreover, Polkadot involves a network of connected blockchains that can substantially increase transaction throughput. With the help of sidechains, it is estimated that the platform could handle close to 1 million transactions per second. Hence, Polkadot’s unique solution offers a significantly robust and scalable network than its predecessors.

Polkadot has gained over 400% since the start of the year and is expected to continue performing sublimely for the foreseeable future.

Cryptos to Buy: Solana (SOL-USD)

Solana has been gathering a lot of attention in the crypto community due to its low costs and high throughput compared to its peers. Additionally, its average transaction fee of $0.00025 per transaction make it one of the most economical blockchain platforms. Moreover, the platform can effectively handle more than 65,000 transactions per second and could go up to 710,000 as per its white paper.

Furthermore, its relevance in the DeFi sector continues to grow as the reported total value locked (TVL) on the platform is $14 billion. On top of that, the NFT markets are also popping on the network, making Solana a major contender to challenge the dominance of Cardano and Ethereum.

Solana is up by over 11,000% YTD.

Ripple (XRP-USD)

Ripple is one of the few cryptocurrencies that hasn’t rebounded as much investors would’ve hoped in the past couple of years. That is mainly because of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against it in December last year. However, the case against it continues to weaken and will likely result in a massive win for Ripple.

The XRP token is a digital asset that is highly conducive to online payments. Its decentralized ledger can effectively settle countless transactions within 3 to 5 seconds. Therefore, several analysts believe that it can compete with the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT). Hence, with such strong use-cases as a payment platform, Ripple will be back on track after the conclusion of the SEC case.

Cryptos to Buy: Polygon (MATIC-USD)

Polygon is arguably one of the most rewarding investments in the crypto realm. MATIC gained a dumbfounding 10,000% since the start of the year. The layer-2 blockchain sits on top of the Ethereum network and effectively processes transactions much more quickly than its peers. Moreover, MATIC is essentially a governance token that allows users to say how the network is run and earn interest through staking.

Polygon’s scalable platform appears to be tailor-made for DeFi transactions. Its modular network called “Plasma” facilitates the creation of sovereign off-chain transactions. Hence, the platform’s effectiveness in the DeFi realm points to an incredible growth runway ahead for MATIC.

On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Muslim Farooque is a keen investor and an optimist at heart. A life-long gamer and tech enthusiast, he has a particular affinity for analyzing technology stocks. Muslim holds a bachelor’s of science degree in applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University.