Make no mistake about it, there continues to be a lot of optimism coursing throughout the cryptocurrency space. Leading assets including Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and Ethereum (ETH-USD) continue to make a lot of sense in the lead up to 2024. However, for these Cryptos I wouldn’t touch, there’s little to no reason to buy them.

In general, a rising tide raises all ships. While that would seem to suggest that investing one’s money randomly across crypto at the moment is a good idea, it isn’t. There are many strong altcoins and there are many more that are absolute junk.

Optimism around Bitcoin ETFs is going to propel the overall market higher but the cryptos discussed below continue to be those two avoid.

Internet Computer (ICP-USD)

Internet Computer(ICP-USD) Is among all coins to avoid at all costs. The company has made sustained efforts to develop a smart contracts platform that ostensibly can challenge Ethereum. 

The cryptocurrency market remains acutely aware of the fact that ethereum is far from infallible. It’s expensive, it isn’t that fast, and any project that can improve on those factors has a chance. In fact, that’s been the springboard for many leading names, for example, Solana (SOL-USD). 

Internet Computer has lost a lot of value over its short life. The company received early investment from leading VCs including Andreessen Horowitz. That was enough to set off frenzied speculation that hasn’t panned out. In the interim investors have seen the value of Internet Computer continue to slide overall and intermittently spike. Those intermittent spikes have done nothing to quell its continued decline and investors should absolutely stay away.

There’s nothing to suggest that it won’t continue to disappoint investors.

Shiba Inu (SHIB-USD)

Shiba Inu (SHIB-USD) serves more as a test case for what can go right when investing in altcoins but today isn’t really worth anything. 

Let me correct myself, Shiba Inu was never truly worth anything. Its lack of inherent value stems from its lack of utility. However, when the price of an asset moves from a fraction of a penny with seven zeros to the right of the decimal point to a fraction of a penny with four zeros to the right of the decimal point, there’s a lot of money to be made. 

That’s the story of Shiba Inu. it was designed to compete with Dogecoin (DOGE-USD), which doesn’t really mean anything at all. Instead, it was a clever marketing ploy that was successful in that it drummed up demand. There’s clearly a reason why this is one of the cryptos I wouldn’t touch.

Shiba Inu has undoubtedly broken a lot of hearts across the cryptocurrency investing space since its initial explosion onto the public consciousness. it doesn’t have any utility and so there’s no realistic reason for people to be investing in it today.

Pepe (PEPE-USD)

Pepe (PEPE-USD) is very much like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin. All of these projects are designed to take advantage of the unique evolution of the internet. Their success piggybacks on the success of memes and their unique nature.

Pepe is another one of the so-called meme coins that has provided ultra-fast, ultra profitable returns, making a name for itself in the process. 

Then, just as predictably, has suffered the slow decline in value that is very characteristic of meme coins overall. Congratulations to those who were fortunate enough to invest in Pepe prior to its take off. I certainly hold no grudge against them and understand that speculation and risk are part of investing in general. 

Some of them have reaped incredible rewards for taking on such risks. At the same time, I think Pepe has entered a predictable stage of life that means cryptos go through. investors can purchase Pepe now and there’s a chance that they can see intraday spikes of 10% or 20% on their investment, and maybe that’s enough. However, I don’t think that’s why people invest in Pepe. instead, they are hoping for it to explode again which simply doesn’t happen twice. meme coins like Pepe can sometimes turn $1,000 into a $1 million overnight, but once they do, don’t expect it to happen again.

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.