Many current positive catalysts are rippling throughout the crypto market of late. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has pushed upward by 25% over the past month due to the positive changes. Rates may have peaked, which is about as bullish a sign as anyone could hope for in the stock or crypto markets. Bitcoin spot ETFs look increasingly likely to become a reality. This rally has led to the rise of cryptos to buy.

Those are powerful enough factors that investors should consider risking some capital in smaller-name plays. A little bit of capital can go a long way in the crypto market. 

So here are the best cryptos to buy to for Q4.

Cardano (ADA-USD)

Cardano (ADA-USD) is due for a rebound at some point, if only because it has performed so poorly over the year. During that period, it has fallen by more than 18%, even though it has made up some of the loss in 2023, rising from $0.25 to $0.32 of late. 

Cardano remains the idealist’s altcoin at this point. It’s designed to be greener than Ethereum (ETH-USD) or Bitcoin and was created by Charles Hoskinson, who had deep ties to Ethereum. 

Cardano is utilitarian at its heart. The project focuses on creating dApps that provide real-world utility to its user base. In particular, MELD is worth paying attention to. It is a banking app that brings fiat and crypto together. It aims to meld the traditional banking world and update it with cryptocurrency. Cardano continues to develop smart contract functionality, which will ultimately help modernize it and improve its utility. This makes it one of those cryptos to buy.

Kaspa (KAS-USD)

Kaspa (KAS-USD) is really about scalability at its heart. That means it aims to be so fast that it will grow dramatically. Remember, Ethereum has faced significant trouble with throughput or transaction speeds. Its slow transaction speeds allowed alternative cryptos, including Solana (SOL-USD), to grow massively. 

Kaspa boasts transaction speeds above 35,000 per second, according to some sources. The risk is that Kaspa’s early claims might not hold up over time. Kaspa recently launched its mainnet, so it’s still very early in its development. It will take time for its transaction speed to be reliably verified.

That could go well, and it could go badly. Beyond that, Kaspa also relies on a unique consensus mechanism that differentiates it from accepted and known security models. Again, there’s very little with which an investor can reliably assert that Kaspa will succeed with its consensus mechanism. It’s certainly a gamble, and in the world of early cryptos, that’s precisely the kind of bet that produces massive returns. 

Zilliqa (ZIL-USD)

Zilliqa (ZIL-USD) is all about sharding and the benefits of sharding confers. The term sharding refers to partitioning databases and networks into smaller constituent parts. Those shards are more easily processed, leading to faster transaction speeds and greater scalability. Zilliqa has asserted that it is the pioneer in the crypto sharding field. It isn’t the only crypto project utilizing sharding, as many other projects, including Cardano, employ the technique. 

Renewed interest in the metaverse also bodes well for Zilliqa. It relaunched its metaverse venture in September. That venture, formerly known as Metapolis, has been renamed MetaMinds. All in all, it’s one of those cryptos to buy. 

The press release associated with relaunching the project is short on details but focuses on many of the same points earlier efforts cited. That means many investors continue to believe in AR/VR, gaming, and all of those high-growth potential focal points. Rate hikes may be done, so that might provide all the fuel a project like Zilliqa needs to spike quickly. 

On the date of publication, Alex Sirois 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.