The cryptocurrencies are back after an extended winter. In the next 24 to 36 months, crypto assets will surge by 50x or 100x. That’s not uncommon for altcoins during the bull market. Therefore, even a 10% to 15% portfolio exposure to cryptocurrencies will likely have a meaningful impact on total returns across asset classes. This column discusses the top cryptos to buy and hold through the bull market.
An important point is that gold has surged above $2,150 an ounce. Gold seems to be discounting potential rate cuts in 2024. This is relevant here as expansionary monetary policies would encourage risk-on trade. This is likely to translate into a bigger rally for cryptocurrencies.
It’s also worth mentioning that global crypto users increased by 34% on a year-on-year basis to 580 million in 2023. If this growth sustains, there will be strong demand for some of the top cryptos. With an overall bullish outlook, let’s discuss three top cryptos to buy for multibagger returns.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) can be likened to a blue-chip stock. For all crypto investors, Bitcoin is one name that’s a part of the core portfolio. The crypto has surged by over 200% in the last 12 months. In my view, this is just the beginning of the rally.
Earlier this year, the Bitcoin spot ETF was approved, which will likely be a key catalyst for the long-term upside. Some investors would feel relatively safer owning a Bitcoin ETF than holding the crypto asset. The launch of the ETF would, therefore, translate into higher adoption.
Further, Bitcoin halving is due to the reward for producing one block expected to decline from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. In past instances of halving, Bitcoin has skyrocketed. I will not be surprised if Bitcoin trades above $100,000 after the halving event.
I must add here that Cathie Wood of ARK Invest believes that Bitcoin can surge to $1.5 million by 2030. The target might be steep but is likely considering the limited supply and rising adoption of cryptocurrencies globally.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum (ETH-USD) has moved sharply in the recent past, with an upside of 65% year-to-date. I believe that Ethereum returns will likely be mirroring that of Bitcoin in the next five years.
At the onset, it’s worth mentioning that an Ethereum ETF is impending. After the Bitcoin ETF, it might be a matter of time before the Ethereum ETF is launched. That’s a big catalyst for ETH trending higher, possibly in the second half of 2024.
An important point to note is that with the Ethereum merge, a 99% reduction in energy costs of processing Ethereum transactions was expected. With the likely ETF, Ethereum might be in focus among investors targeting sustainability-focused blockchain.
When Ethereum merge was completed, Vitalik Buterin indicated that Ethereum development was only 55% complete. Therefore, some big developments are expected in the next few years. The upcoming development is likely to be the dencun upgrade. This development will be “focusing on improving rollup-centric scaling through data sharding, known as Danksharding.”
Zilliqa (ZIL)
Zilliqa (ZIL-USD) has been on my radar for a while. However, ZIL had remained depressed even as Bitcoin surged. This seems to have changed, and ZIL has surged by 75% in the last month. The ZIL token can deliver 10x returns in the next few quarters.
As an overview, Zilliqa is the world’s first sharding-based blockchain. In sharding, transactions are divided into smaller groups and divided among the miners for parallel transactional verification. This translates into faster transactions, and Zilliqa has significantly lower transaction costs than Bitcoin and Ethereum.
It’s also worth noting that the ZIL token has a strong use case. For platform services, ZIL is required for decentralized apps built on the Zilliqa network. Therefore, as dApps increase, the demand for tokens will swell. Currently, ZIL also offers an attractive APR of 10.34% for staking.
On the date of publication, Faisal Humayun 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.
