With January almost over, the prospect of another sustained crypto bull market this year is elusive at best. The current market environment also makes it very difficult for investors to find crypto winners. Excluding stablecoins, it is impossible to find any big-cap cryptocurrency with solid performance; hence focusing on utility projects with multibagger potential could pay off this year.
Of course, if you are investing in crypto, I’d highly recommend sticking with Ethereum (ETH-USD) and Bitcoin (BTC-USD). These two assets are enough for a balanced crypto portfolio with adequate long-term potential. But if you are adamant about finding crypto winners this year and are able to digest the risk that comes with it, look into the following three projects:
| Symbol | Cryptocurrency | Price |
| PLEX-USD | MinePlex | $0.2914 |
| AE-USD | Aeternity | $0.07663 |
| VRA-USD | Verasity | $0.07663 |
MinePlex (PLEX-USD)
If you believe cryptocurrencies are going to be a mainstream payment method, look into MinePlex (PLEX-USD). The project provides crypto users with banking services that support digital assets. Given the scarcity of traditional financial institutions that support digital assets, I believe this can pay off in the long run.
Mineplex.Payment allows businesses easily fast-track the acceptance of cryptocurrency payments. It makes a convenient and easy entry into the crypto industry for business through ready-made payment pages for accepting online payments in fiat and cryptocurrency, currency selection for payments, MinePlex’s own POS terminals, tools for creating their own payment pages, and more. The MinePlex Marketplace on its website allows PLEX holders to buy physical products without fiat currency. This could increase the demand for the PLEX token once the market gains a broader customer base. Moreover, the ecosystem is based on the Tezos (XTZ-USD) blockchain, making it very scalable and secure.
Overall, it is an under-the-radar utility project that could be among the crypto winners in 2023. MinePlex’s real-life use cases make the PLEX token undervalued at its current market capitalization of $94 million, and there’s a lot of upside potential.
Aeternity (AE-USD)
If you’re more into cyclical assets, Aeternity (AE-USD) is a likely candidate for the crypto winners in 2023. Of course, Aeternity is in decline if you compare it to its 2018 prices. But what piques my interest is that its developers are still active and are continuing to work on the project. Moreover, AE’s uptrend in 2021 was similar to the broader market, but it hasn’t declined as much in the past year and could be bottoming out.
The project has built a lot of utility and could emerge as among the most performative blockchains. As I’ve pointed out in the past, the Ethereum blockchain becomes congested during bull markets, and many alternative blockchains with better scalability start surging as developers look for cheaper ecosystems. A similar event in the future is likely to revitalize Aeternity.
Additionally, Aeternity is launching a hyperchains technology, allowing faster, cheaper, and smaller transactions while maintaining high levels of security through piggybacking on Bitcoin’s proof-of-work. Its FATE virtual machine allows for the creation of functional “Sophia” smart contracts, making it easier and safer for developers to code and execute them. Its state channels technology also allows for off-chain transactions, increasing privacy and reducing the load on the blockchain.
Furthermore, Aeternity’s native integration of oracles allows for the creation of decentralized applications that can interact with real-world data and events, while the naming system allows for easy identification on the blockchain. It also allows cross-chain communication, making interoperability with other blockchains possible.
With so much utility, the project seems set to reach a much higher valuation as more investors discover it.
Verasity (VRA-USD)
Verasity (VRA-USD) is off to a good start in 2023, as the token has tripled in value in the past month. It is definitely among the crypto winners so far, and I see a promising future ahead due to its various well-established platforms. The project‘s main product is VeraViews, which is an adtech solution that eliminates ad fraud. This solution has been adopted by several big names already and is available on the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Ads partner program and the Brightcove (NASDAQ:BCOV) marketplace. These big-name companies spend billions on ads, and a lot of it is likely to find its way into Verasity, which is why the project has been surging recently.
Verasity has also recently secured patent approval in the USA for its “Watch & Earn” rewarded video technology, which covers all aspects of rewards paid out to users for watching a video or video advertisement. Verasity will be seeking commercial applications and licensing deals for this patent in 2023.
Furthermore, Verasity is launching its own crypto card. Verasity also plans to roll out its adstack to new video players. This will generate market demand for VRA as it onboards new clients.
Overall, it is a crypto project with real-world utility and revenue, which is difficult to find in this environment. With that in mind, it is likely to be among the big winners in 2023, given that it has already started the year with impressive growth.
On Low-Capitalization and Low-Volume Cryptocurrencies: InvestorPlace does not regularly publish commentary about cryptocurrencies that have a market capitalization of less than $100 million or trade with a volume less than $100,000 each day. That’s because these “penny cryptos” are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. When we do publish commentary on low-volume crypto that may be affected by our commentary, we ask that InvestorPlace.com’s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks.
Read More: How to Avoid Popular Cryptocurrency Scams
On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan 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.
