It’s been quite a year since it came to the cryptocurrency space. A rather broad-based crypto recovery has been seen, with the overall market capitalization of the entire crypto sector continuing to hold the $1 trillion level (at least, at the time of writing).
Higher-risk assets are seeing a much more impressive recovery this year for several reasons. First, the Federal Reserve has done its job in bringing inflation down. This could mean that rate hikes are set to slow, and a more accommodative monetary policy could result in rising valuations.
Second, the extent to which cryptos and other higher-risk equities got hit in 2022 paves the way for a more impressive resurgence. If we are on the verge of another bull market, higher-risk assets should be the first place investors look.
In the crypto industry, I think these three tokens are worth a look at first.
| BTC-USD | Bitcoin | $22,904.60 |
| ETH-USD | Ethereum | $1,653.50 |
| SOL-USD | Solana | $23.19 |
Bitcoin (BTC-USD)
Every investor should consider including Bitcoin (BTC-USD), the leading cryptocurrency by market size, in their portfolio. Despite the skepticism of some investors, buying Bitcoin during its lows offers a compelling investment opportunity.
Recently, Bitcoin has been on an upward trend, surging past the $20,000 level for the first time in two months, breaking its medium-term downside trend. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is just below the $23,000 level, poised for a continued breakout if this momentum continues.
The reason why many investors choose Bitcoin is its historical track record. The overall performance of Bitcoin since inception beats any other asset class out there. Accordingly, while critics cite high energy usage and other downsides of proof-of-work validation, this is a crypto I think makes the most sense as a starter investment for those just starting to consider cryptocurrencies right now.
Ethereum (ETH-USD)
Ethereum (ETH-USD) is a crucial player in cryptocurrency, serving as the foundation for most decentralized applications. Indeed, the fact that Ethereum’s network was the first prominent player to incorporate smart contacts has allowed this crypto to outperform its peers.
Many prominent investors believe that a potential “flippening” could happen soon, in which Ethereum takes over the top spot in terms of market capitalization from Bitcoin. It’s certainly possible, and I think Ethereum maxis have a good reason for this argument.
Simply put, most of the functional crypto projects that create utility out there are based on Ethereum or tied to Ethereum in some way.
Ethereum has experienced a tremendous rise in value, growing by over 27,000% from roughly $11 to over $3,000 between April 2016 and March 2022. Despite this, Ethereum’s price dropped to a one-year low of $1,091 on 9 November 2022 due to a market-wide downturn. However, by 10 January 2023, it had rebounded to around $1,400 and currently trades slightly above $1,600.
Solana (SOL-USD)
Another project explicitly designed for decentralized finance is Solana (SOL-USD). This network is considered a main competitor to Ethereum, recognized for its fast performance and ability to handle many transactions.
Presently, it’s estimated that Solana holds a market share of approximately 1.1% in the NFT sector. This is remarkable, given its market share was only 0.01% at the beginning of 2021. This rapid growth is attractive to long-term investors, and the crypto’s recovery is likely.
Additionally, Solana witnessed substantial daily transaction growth in the second quarter. Over 40 million daily transactions were processed on the Solana network compared to 1 million for Ethereum from April to June. As a result, the Solana blockchain is perceived as more practical and less of an investment option.
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.
