As investors look for cryptos to buy with the Bitcoin (BTC-USD) halving on the horizon, some under-the-radar names are well-positioned to provide outsized gains this year. 

Despite other growth names slowing down, the sustained crypto rally has made some investors believe that a new crypto bull market might have already started. 

However, with the backdrop of a banking crisis, high interest rates, and a possible recession, I believe it will take a lot more time before the crypto market reaches a new all-time high.

Rate cuts are likely later this year, and the halving event early next year will translate into a substantial upside. By finding the right cryptos to buy, your portfolio will be set to capitalize on such a rally. 

Investors can even invest directly into pre-made portfolios or tokenized funds offered by companies such as Velvet.Capital with high returns. Or they can use trading bots on exchanges like Binance or KuCoin. 

For example, Velvet offers flexible architecture, tokenization module and integrations with all major DeFi primitives including AMMs, liquidity aggregators, lending protocols, staking pools and other yield farming options.

But if you’re looking specifically for individual projects with high upside potential, these are the three cryptos to buy:

RNDR-USD	Render Token	$2.03
MATIC-USD	Polygon	$1.16
(ETH-USD	Ethereum	$2,075.81

Render Token (RNDR)

Render Token (RNDR-USD) is a token that is used to rent GPU rendering power on the Render network. 

The token is also a reward for users who lease their GPU computing power to the network. Essentially, the network pools all the GPU power from users worldwide and then resells that power to individuals and institutions that need to render digital art, movies, documentaries, motion graphics, or anything that requires GPU power.

I believe this project is an efficient way to speed up the rendering process for those who can’t afford expensive GPUs, and it is also quite cheap. 

There are growing sectors with huge demand for rendering power, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, the metaverse, and rising interest in digital art. These trends will act as tailwinds for the Render Token in the long run.

AI and cloud computing are two of the hottest sectors right now. That should explain why RNDR is delivering much higher gains compared to the rest of the market.

Polygon (MATIC)

Polygon (MATIC-USD) is a layer-2 project that runs on the Ethereum (ETH-USD) blockchain. It aims to solve the existing problems on the Ethereum blockchain, such as scalability and speed, using layer-2 solutions.

Of course, there are lots of layer-2 projects on Ethereum right now. But what makes Polygon unique is its zkEVM support and the fast-growing gaming sector on the network. 

The zkEVM support will allow developers on Ethereum to use the Polygon layer-2 protocol without writing any new code. They can easily skip the high fees but with the added security of zero-knowledge technology. That’s different from the optimistic rollups with EVM support, as they have less security.

Polygon is well-positioned to capitalize on Ethereum’s growth and could become an essential part of the Web 3.0 puzzle.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is arguably the best crypto project out there. It leads the Web 3.0 space, as it supports various programming languages (through clients), tools, and standards for developing dapps. 

Ethereum also has the largest and the most diverse developer community in the crypto ecosystem, which gives it an edge over its competitors.

One of the main strengths of Ethereum is its security and stability. Unlike some of its rivals, such as Solana (SOL-USD) or Avalanche (AVAX-USD), Ethereum has never experienced a major network outage or a catastrophic bug. 

Ethereum has also proven its resilience against attacks and hacks thanks to its large network of validators and developers.

Still, some may point out that Ethereum has a scalability issue, as it can only process about 25 transactions per second on its base layer. 

However, this is not a problem for me, as Ethereum has many layer-2 solutions that can boost its performance and lower its costs. As I’ve explained earlier, Polygon is one of them, with a blazing-fast 7,200 TPS. 

That’s less than Solana’s but enough to meet the needs of the Ethereum network. Even Solana uses no more than ~4,000 TPS.

Routine (such as Shapella) upgrades continue to add to the network’s security and efficiency.

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.