Top 6 Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2021

Cryptocurrencies have become a hot investment and a viable alternative to traditional financial assets. Besides the institutional and corporate interest in altcoins that skyrocketed their prices, like Tesla’s $1,5 billion investment in Bitcoin, blockchain is another reason for cryptocurrencies’ popularity. It’s the underlying technology of all virtual currencies that have risen to be used for web and mobile application development beyond financial transactions. Blockchain technology improves security and speeds up information exchange, is cost-efficient and transparent.

Having presented a brief background on crypto perspectives & blockchain increasing adoption, let’s discover the top 6 altcoins that have shown the best past performance and are going to break new all-time highs in 2021.

• Market Capitalisation: $855,1 billion
• Year established: 2008
• Founded by: Satoshi Nakomoto
• Cost per transaction: $25

Sure, it’s the most obvious option. Bitcoin remains the boss in the crypto market throughout the years, holding the majority of the market share 62,7%. The first-mover will never go out of fashion and is undoubtedly the strongest virtual currency out there. 

By the end of November 2020, Bitcoin reached its 2017 all-time high (ATH) and then hit a new price tag of close to $20,000. It ended last year with a 300% price gain and a worth of $28,200. Bitcoin keeps up conquering new peaks week after week and hit a record high at $58 thousand per coin on February 21.  

The king of cryptocurrencies demonstrated incredible price performance, but will it continue growing in 2021? Analysts are strongly bullish about the Bitcoin future price, predicting the minimum $100,000 price target.

The primary Bitcoin price driver is growing support from institutional investors and big corporates because of its perceived role as digital gold – and thus as a hedge against inflation.

• Market Capitalisation: $163,4 billion
• Year established: 2015
• Founded by: Vitalik Buterin
• Cost per transaction: $23-30

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency that started the year trading around $740 and climbed up to around $2,000, which is a 111% surge within two months. 

Why is it considered the most potential crypto? Ethereum is the open-source blockchain where Ether is a native coin that acts as fuel and enables smart contracts. That makes Ethereum closer to Apple Pay or Google – payment systems that approve transactions based on real-world events. Its blockchain technology is more focused on decentralized applications (dApps) rather than digital currency. Developers can build apps that operate via their own tokens based on the Ethereum platform.    

A rising number of institutional investors are embracing Ether for its great returns. Ethereum represents good prospects because it’s evolving as a store of value while retaining its status as a digital commodity. 

Industry leaders, including cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, share positive views on Ether. This is due to the expansion of the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector. Many large investors are checking out the opportunities of DeFi, which can revolutionize finance, insurance & loan programs disrupting financial intermediaries. Most apps that call themselves DeFi are sitting on top of Ethereum and have already attracted massive capital (more than $13 billion), contributing to its strong position as the leading altcoin.

• Market Capitalisation: $30,2 billion
• Year established: 2017
• Founded by: Charles Hoskinson
• Cost per transaction: a + b × size 

Cardano has significantly outperformed Bitcoin over the last two months and brought an impressive return of 436%. Potentially, it can exceed the $1.5 threshold by the end of 2021 while sitting at $0.97 per coin currently.

Cardano network with its ADA currency is one of the most technologically exciting cryptos. The proof-of-stake system offers a unique approach to scaling and securing the blockchain. It uses smart contracts allowing keeping track of transactions like Bitcoin and handling payments like Ethereum.   

The cryptocurrency took just three years to reach a $10 billion market cap. Now it’s the fifth-largest altcoin that is gaining momentum. The release of Hydra – the solution that can scale more than Visa or over million transactions per second will boost Cardano’s growth.

• Market Capitalisation: $36,6 billion
• Year established: 2017
• Founded by: Changpeng Zhao

This coin is the native token of Binance crypto exchange, one of the world’s biggest exchanges in terms of volume. Stable fundamentals and its usage in various crypto-related projects have earned it a place in the top 10 largest altcoins. 

BNB price has been rising over the past few weeks following the bullish rally. It demonstrated an upsurge from around $40 to over $300, hitting its new ATH.

Binance Coin is supported by one of the most used and popular crypto exchanges that offer a discount to users who pay transaction fees with BNB. It’s a smart strategy that helps sustain stable coin growth while keeping users on the platform. Another BNB price driver is its use as collateral on the DeFi platform called Kava.

• Market Capitalisation: $11 billion
• Year established: 2011
• Founded by: Charles Lee
• Cost per transaction: $0.03-0.04 

Although Litecoin didn’t impress with its performance over the last few months like other altcoins, it has always been among the top 10 cryptocurrencies. 2021 is unlikely to change the situation.

The founder Charlie Lee wanted to create the light version of Bitcoin, a coin that could play the role of silver to Bitcoin’s gold. He managed to do just that with Litecoin. It’s faster and easier therefore more and more merchants accept LTC as a payment method.

The launch of the Litecoin-based RPG game LiteBringer also gave an advantage to the whole network, as LTC transactions skyrocketed. 

Currently, the price is fluctuating around $180 which is quite affordable. Analysts have a positive outlook and predict a $600 price target for LTC in the coming years following the halving.

• Market Capitalisation: $8,8 billion
• Year established: 2017
• Founded by: a group of enthusiasts led by Amaury Séchet
• Cost per transaction: $0.0033

Bitcoin Cash will forever hold a special place in history as the first hard fork from Bitcoin and the most successful thus far. The main difference from its famous ancestor is the increased size of blocks that allowed for much faster transaction times and improved scalability. In theory, BCH could become the main blockchain for online payments. 

Bitcoin Cash started the year with $345 and climbed up to $750. Currently, its price fluctuates around $550. It’s a must-own virtual currency at the moment. BCH offers easy and hassle-free transaction processing, contributing to its adoption, popularity, and consequently price.

Massive adoption of cryptocurrencies and payments via digital currencies is a matter of time. 2021 is going to be a good year for the whole crypto market. The list of top-performing coins may vary, but all of the cryptos we mentioned could provide good trading & investing prospects.  

Furthermore, cryptocurrencies seem to be an excellent alternative option for protecting the value of your capital.