The crypto sphere is experiencing renewed optimism, with market bellwether Bitcoin breaking past the $25,000 mark for the first time in close to six months. Though it still has plenty of ground to make up for to reach the highs achieved in November 2021, its recent performance has been incredibly encouraging. Therefore, many investors would want to scoop up the best cryptos to buy ahead of a sustained bull run.
Bitcoin’s recent surge is a breath of fresh air for investors in digital assets. In addition to the structural headwinds weighing down the sector, specific events such as the FTX debacle and the collapse of TerraUSD (USTC-USD) added more fuel to the fire. Experts felt that it would take years for the market to rise from its current predicament, but Bitcoin and its peers have exhibited immense strength in a relatively short time.
| Ticker | Cryptocurrency | Price |
| BTC-USD | Bitcoin | $21,573.50 |
| ETH-USD | Ethereum | $1,529.32 |
| ADA-USD | Cardano | $0.31 |
Bitcoin (BTC-USD)
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) shed a ton of value last year but has been up over 30% since the start of the year. Following a cooler inflation report for January, BTC surged to $25,000 on February 19. Moreover, the positive indicator surrounding the U.S. manufacturing sector has reinvigorated investor confidence.
Furthermore, another positive for BTC was the launch of its Ordinals protocol. The latest upgrade allows for efficiently transferring multimedia objects on BTC’s blockchain. Consequently, network activity grew at a pace it hadn’t witnessed since China banned crypto miners in May 2021.
Moreover, our fellow InvestorPlace contributor Josh Enomoto believes that BTC could mount a robust rally if it can reach the critical $30,000 level. Early in 2021, BTC rose to $30,000 before bouncing back emphatically in spring, reaching its record valuation in November.
Ethereum (ETH-USD)
Many in the crypto punditry would agree that Ethereum (ETH-USD) has a much brighter future than BTC due to its laundry list of use cases. Like BTC and other cryptos, ETH lost billions in value last year. Its non-fungible-tokens collection alone shed nearly 60% of its value, dropping to $3.7 billion. Nevertheless, its long-term bull case remains firmly intact as it improves the quality of its network and adds new use cases. Also, ETH has been up over 30% since the start of the year.
Most crypto purists favor ETH over other networks due to its hold on the decentralized finance space. It commands an impressive 58.1% of the DeFi market, which continues to grow each year. Moreover, its much-talked-about 2.0 update went live last year, which is expected to improve ETH’s throughput by over 6,500%. Additionally, multiple upgrades and enhancements are scheduled for ETH this year, which could be a major catalyst for ETH.
Cardano (ADA-USD)
Cardano (ADA-USD) is another stand-out in the crypto world, with its robust protocol driving increased accessibility for its worldwide user base. Last year, it beat its competition in terms of development activity with its methodical development framework backed by a dedicated team of developers.
Cardano recently surpassed 60 million blockchain transactions, a testament to the popularity of its platform. Its underlying technology was given a massive boost in 2021 following the completion of the Alonzo hard fork, which allowed for the deployment of smart contracts. Many experts believe that the update puts it on the same footing as Ethereum regarding smart contract functionality.
Following the Alonzo hard fork, the platform implanted the Hydra update, potentially boosting transaction capacities by up to a factor of 100. With more updates planned to improve its scalability and governance mechanisms, I expect ADA to be a potent force in crypto place for the foreseeable future.
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.
