Cheap cryptos, like cheap stocks, aren’t necessarily dependent upon price. Crypto investing used to be a “fringe” investment at one point in time but now holds a prominent position in the financial press.
Various prominent news networks are covering cryptocurrencies, and institutional investors are jumping aboard.
Despite this recent decline in the crypto market, there are many who are now looking for cheap cryptos to load up on in this market.
That said, June was another rough month for this space – the market capitalization of all publicly traded coins fell by 33% in that short period, plunging to around $880 billion from $1.31 trillion. Considering the $2.96 trillion market cap of November 2021, that is actually a 70% decline.
Ouch.
In this space, there are many cheap cryptos from a per-token price basis which are certainly worth looking into as potential investment opportunities. Despite many of these tokens’ prices being down so dramatically from their peaks, many remain well above their initial listing prices. Accordingly, all the growth from recent years hasn’t dissipated yet.
Here are seven top cryptos I think are worth considering for those with a limited budget.
| SAND-USD | The Sandbox | $1.41 |
| DOT-USD | Polkadot | $7.72 |
| TRX-USD | Tron | $0.07 |
| XRP-USD | XRP | $0.36 |
| ADA-USD | Cardano | $0.50 |
| MATIC-USD | Polygon | $0.90 |
| MANA-USD | Decentraland | $0.95 |
The Sandbox (SAND)
The Sandbox (SAND-USD) is a leading blockchain-based metaverse crypto project. It has been one of the best-performing altcoins of the past two years.
Despite recent declines, this token is still a 24-bagger from its listing price in August of 2020. Not bad for investors with a two-year holding period.
This blockchain-based virtual world makes use of blockchain games to enable users to purchase, sell, create and build digital assets. There are a number of bullish price targets on SAND, due in part to the proliferation of the metaverse.
With The Sandbox being one of the premier locales for corporations and institutional investors to buy digital real estate, interest in this platform has surged. Retail investors have followed, though not to the degree many expected.
Over the long term, I think corporate adoption of the metaverse will be a key driver for this project. Investors will want to watch. Right now, SAND is on my watch list.
Polkadot (DOT)
One of the more interesting projects I’ve been watching of late is Polkadot (DOT-USD).
This open-sourced sharding protocol is one of the highest-profile scaling solutions in the crypto world.
The goal of Polkadot is relatively simple – to solve the interoperability problem in the crypto sector. That is, allowing blockchains which don’t normally speak to each other to be able to do so.
That’s a problem that sounds simple to solve but really isn’t. Indeed, Polkadot’s network of layer-1 parallel chains (or parachains) is really what makes this project unique. Significant interest from major crypto projects in Polkadot’s chains has led to some rather interesting auctions, driving demand for DOT tokens.
As the Polkadot network grows, so too should the value of its native token, DOT. Right now, we’re obviously in a slow-growth environment. However, should that turn around, there’s a lot to like about how Polkadot is positioned for long-term growth.
Tron (TRX)
Even though Tron (TRX-USD) is among the cheap cryptos from a token perspective, it is actually one of the world’s largest cryptos. Currently the 13th largest crypto by market capitalization. Initially launched five years ago, Tron has stood the test of time.
It’s incredible to think that a project launched five years ago is an “old guard” in this space. Alas, that’s the way it is in the fast-moving world of cryptocurrencies.
Tron was originally launched as an ERC-20 token but has since shifted to its own network. This project supports decentralized apps (dApps), smart contracts, and other blockchain systems. It’s worth noting that Tron positions itself as an Ethereum-alternative as a dApp deployment platform.
Additionally, Tron has a mission that bodes well for the long term – it aims at directly rewarding content developers for their intellectual effort with TRX tokens. Also, transactions incur zero fees. In this high-fee crypto world, that’s a big selling point.
The Tron network is ideal for developing apps featuring substantial user-generated content and can support up to 2,000 transactions per second. That’s also lightning fast, meaning Tron checks the boxes of both speed and cost – key factors for users and developers alike.
Indeed, Tron is a well-established platform that has found its niche and continuously pushes out new upgrades. This network makes use of a delegated proof-of-stake (dPoS) consensus algorithm, which is fast and energy-efficient that provides it with an edge over similar projects.
XRP (XRP)
The Ripple blockchain and XRP (XRP-USD) token aim to disrupt the global banking industry. For many crypto purists, this is an aim worth investing in.
This project aims to replace the SWIFT communication and payment network and bring in a more secure, faster, effective and affordable cross-border messaging and payment system.
Already, several leading banks across the globe have adopted the Ripple payment system. Regarding its cheap price, this altcoin has proved its readiness and resilience to break free from the low levels during previous cryptocurrency rallies.
Recently, there has been some interesting news about this crypto. Firstly, Ripple scored a vital win in the SEC case lately. Sarah Netburn, the Magistrate Judge, rejected the SEC’s attorney-client privilege claims, thereby slamming a blow to the regulatory agency.
Also, the Italy-based motorcycle maker Ducati has declared plans to launch its first NFT collection in partnership with Ripple and NFT PRO. For these NFT projects, the XRP Ledger will be responsible for the blockchain part.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano (ADA-USD) is a blockchain platform developed on a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus protocol – Ouroboros – that can validate transactions without much in the way of energy costs. Even though ADA is dwelling among the cheap cryptos now, it hasn’t lost popularity. This is because of its roadmap for development and immense potential.
Along with its development team’s efforts, Cardano is gaining a sizeable audience in this space which it aims at dominating.
As per a recent report from CryptoCompare, the developer activity of Cardano has been going upwards for roughly six months now. Also, the Github commits on the blockchain have gone up to 6,200 from 5,400 in this timeframe.
There are several upcoming projects for Cardano that include an exchange for DeFi transactions and an NFT marketplace. As of early June, there were more than 1,000 projects building on the ADA blockchain.
Also, an upgrade called Hydra is on the way. This upgrade can solve the scalability concerns of Cardano and dramatically increase processing feeds, hence triggering greater prices.
Polygon (MATIC)
A leading Ethereum scaling solution, Polygon (MATIC-USD) essentially allows for more transactions to be done more cheaply than on the Etheruem blockchain.
This network’s native token, MATIC, is an ERC-20 token that runs on the ETH blockchain. It enables holders to vote on governance proposals and also secures the platform.
There are a number of recent catalysts for Polygon worth noting. The network’s native token MATIC saw a rally of more than 20% after news broke out regarding Polygon joining Disney’s Accelerator Program. At one point, this token went from $0.5291 to $0.6504, a whopping 20.568% jump. Notably, this token is still gaining at the time of writing.
Ethereum features among the most promising cryptocurrency projects, and Polygon’s link to it is certainly a massive benefit. It is worth noting that as cryptos enter the mainstream, multi-chain functionality will become increasingly important, therefore, this cryptocurrency platform has significant potential.
In addition to working with the Ethereum network, Polygon is backed by two cryptocurrency industry behemoths – Binance and Coinbase.
Polygon can be the solution that developers require to deploy dApps faster, less expensively, and more efficiently.
Decentraland (MANA)
Finally, we have Decentraland (MANA-USD), a VR ecosystem once again powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Decentraland enables users to try, develop, and monetize dApps.
MANA is an ERC-20 token through which users can buy avatars and other stuff on the marketplace of this platform.
Using Decentraland, users have been able to develop their own 3D experiences, invest in parcels of land, play interactive games, and do much more.
Decentraland is one of the growing NFT projects and operates as a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) for governance decisions. This ensures that holders stay in control of the decisions which are made in the community. Also, users can monetize their land via paid experience, leasing and advertising.
Due to the continuous ongoing development within its community, cryptocurrency enthusiasts have a lot to like about this token’s upside potential. Though it’s among the cheap cryptos to buy now, Decentraland isn’t small-time, given this network’s $1.6 billion market capitalization. This is one I’ve got on my watch list right now.
On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald 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.
