Cryptocurrencies captured the world’s attention in 2021 with staggering rallies, multi-millionaire stories and promises of a decentralized future. However, 2022 brought the winds of change. As the Fed raised interest rates to curb inflation, risky assets like crypto felt the chill. Even millionaire-maker cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC-USD) got stung by shedding 60% of its value — and many altcoins fared even worse.

Yet embedded in every bear market are the seeds of the next bull run. As the Fed potentially reverses course later this year, catalysts for a sustained crypto breakout are accumulating. More Bitcoin ETFs could arrive in 2024, while the next halving might restart the crypto growth cycle. With stocks and crypto often moving in tandem, the rebound on Wall Street could also lift digital assets.

Against this backdrop, several overlooked altcoins look primed for 1,000% gains or more. These hidden gems could transform early investors into millionaires. Still, small-cap cryptos carry substantial risk. Treat these picks like speculative lottery tickets. Only throw “fun money” into small altcoins.

As I’ve said many times in my articles, bet with your head, not over it — many if not most smaller altcoins are shady. But the following 10X winners could arise from these three millionaire-maker cryptos for those willing to take a calculated risk:

Crypto Asset Governance Alliance (CAGA-USD)

Crypto Asset Governance Alliance (CAGA-USD) recently emerged as an intriguing governance-focused protocol in rapidly innovating decentralized finance (DeFi). CAGA introduces a dual token model that uniquely rewards users for both staking and participating in ecosystem governance. Unlike other staking platforms focusing on investment returns, CAGA incentivizes community engagement by distributing additional tokens for completing surveys, tasks and other activities.

A DAO governs this community-driven approach and gives CAGA members direct decision-making authority through democratic processes. Users can vote on business decisions, Treasury allocations, protocol changes, etc. Since launching quietly in mid-November 2023, CAGA prices have rocketed over 7,696% to $0.001098. However, its current $67.3 million market cap remains tiny for a crypto project with ambitious governance goals.

CAGA increased accessibility and exposure by listing on two major exchanges, Gate.io and Bitmart, in late November 2023. This propelled further price and popularity gains. CAGA is also preparing to unveil a community-proposed and voted “mega pool” to develop the protocol collectively and distribute rewards.

Additionally, CAGA’s newly released 2024 roadmap shows its commitment to meaningful community-driven utility by launching a governance platform, boosting social media and partnerships and collaborating with other DAOs and DeFi projects.

I believe CAGA has substantial upside potential thanks to its focus on governance innovation if a new crypto bull run starts this year. While risks exist speculating on emerging altcoins, CAGA’s tiny market cap has the potential to make it one of the millionaire-maker cryptos — if its community-first experiment succeeds.

Beldex (BDX-USD)

Privacy and anonymity remain scarce in the crypto sector, but one undervalued project called Beldex (BDX-USD) caught my attention for tackling this issue head-on. Beldex, based on the Monero’s (XMR-USD) Cryptonote protocol, uses the proof of stake consensus and over 2000 distributed validators to enhance user privacy in crypto transactions. It also operates a decentralized messenger, allowing direct token trades in-app without intermediary risks. Moreover, the upcoming Bern hardfork introduces the Beldex Name Service (BNS) feature, which enables users to send and receive BDX just by using the BNS name.

Despite privacy being a hot topic in crypto as regulation and tracking concerns grow, Beldex still sports a relatively small $276 million market cap. I believe ample room exists for exponential growth if its anonymity features to capture more mainstream interest amid the Layer 2, Web 3.0 and metaverse boom. Bullish signs have already emerged of bigger things ahead for this crypto moonshot. Beldex secured a $25 million investment from Web 3.0 backer DWF Labs in early 2023. DWF Labs plans to funnel this capital into expanding Beldex’s research and development and more widely marketing its privacy applications.

In the latter half of 2023, Beldex raised $3 million from Block Alpha. Similarly, in January 2024 the project raised another $3 million from Alpha Token Capital to expand its research into EVM integration & building private dApps. As these backers assist Beldex in gaining more traction, I anticipate much greater awareness of its unique anonymity value proposition.

Golem (GLM-USD)

If computations and graphics fuel the next crypto run, overlooked projects like Golem (GLM-USD) could steal the show by offering cheaper decentralized solutions. While Render Token (RNDR-USD) has surged in popularity for cloud graphics, I believe the open-source alternative Golem still promises 10X potential despite its $208 million market cap.

Here’s why: Golem aims to be a decentralized market for idle computing power, similar to Render Token. But compared to Render’s $1.45 billion valuation and 46% annual inflation, Golem offers cheaper entry with negligible inflation. As decentralized cloud computing gains traction across visual effects, machine learning and more, open-source innovators like Golem seem poised to capture this growth more sustainably in the long term, with the eventual capability to become one of the millionaire-maker cryptos.

On Low-Capitalization and Low-Volume Cryptocurrencies: InvestorPlace does not regularly publish commentary about cryptocurrencies that have a market capitalization less than $100 million or trade with volume less than $100,000 each day. That’s because these “penny cryptos” are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. When we do publish commentary on a low-volume crypto that may be affected by our commentary, we ask that InvestorPlace.com’s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks.
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On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not hold (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.