The Best Cryptocurrencies to Watch in 2022

With the advent of the new year, industry enthusiasts are wondering from which cryptocurrencies it is best to expect explosive growth in 2022. Number of site views Coinmarketrate.com increased exponentially. It is expected that in the coming months, the digital currency market will expand again, due to a number of factors: the introduction of special rules for digital assets, the subsequent expansion of services related to decentralized finance, and, do not forget about large corporations that are ready to use Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as a means of investing large sums.

Among the most interesting cryptocurrencies to watch out for, of course, are digital assets with the highest market capitalization. They are followed by cryptocurrencies with a lower value, but excellent long-term growth potential.

And so, let’s start:

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

As in previous years, Bitcoin may remain the first choice of investors in 2022. During 2021, the value of BTC increased by 60%, and in November a new historical maximum was reached, exceeding $68,000.

Predicting future trends has always been a big challenge for analysts, however, many believe that in 2022 Bitcoin may surpass its current highs and stabilize at very attractive levels.

The possible adoption by the United States of legislation on BTC, as well as the offer on the financial markets of new derivatives focused on this crypto asset are just some of the factors that may contribute to the strengthening of the BTC in the next 12 months.

It is obvious that the continuation of the “bullish” trend of cryptocurrencies may be negatively affected by bans adopted by countries such as China or India, although the latter has not yet issued any official restrictions on mining or operations with digital currency. It is obvious that the attention of world finance will be focused on Bitcoin for a very long time.

2. Ethereum (ETH)

As for the BTC, experts also predict a golden year for Ethereum. The cryptocurrency launched by Vitalik Buterin in 2015 ended 2021 on a high note: since the beginning of the year, it has risen in price by more than 400% against the US dollar, and its growth has met fewer obstacles than the growth of BTC.

In 2022, the modernization will be completed (hopefully), as a result of which ETH will switch to the Proof-of-Stake protocol, which will reduce transaction costs and power consumption of computers currently used for Ethereum mining.

The growth of the currency will also be facilitated by the development of the DeFi ecosystem and the NFT market, in which the Ethereum blockchain plays an important role.

3. Solana (SOL)

Solana has become one of the great discoveries of 2021: from January to December, its value increased by more than 10,000%, and the prospects for 2022 look just as prosperous.

Solana’s extraordinary performance is mainly related to the use of its blockchain to create decentralized applications (also known as “dApps”) and non-interchangeable tokens (NFT).

The speed of transactions on the Solana network is another factor that needs to be taken into account, since more than 65,000 transactions can be confirmed in one second. The cryptocurrency has all the makings of one of the leading “Ethereum killers” of 2022 – this is how investors define altcoins, which are an alternative to Ethereum in various fields of its application. Some analysts believe that in the long term, Solana remains bullish and may exceed $300 by the end of the year.

4. Polkadot (DOT)

The price of Polkadot started 2022 slightly higher, although the current price of the cryptocurrency is still far from the highs seen in previous months.

Polkadot is an interesting cryptocurrency: its technology allows you to create parachains, that is, parallel and independent blockchains that rely on a central project only for certain procedures, such as transaction confirmation.

The possibility of establishing communication between different networks thanks to Polkadot is a sufficient reason to expect its growth in the coming months. According to long-term forecasts, the price of each DOT will return to a level above $ 50, and the most optimistic forecasters believe that by the end of the year it will be $ 100.

5. Tether (USDT)

Tether will be in the wallets of many investors in 2022. Linking a stablecoin to the US dollar provides good protection against excessive market volatility, and also guarantees good liquidity of portfolios.

Since the beginning of the year, the market capitalization of Tether has amounted to more than $ 60 billion, which makes it one of the 5 largest cryptocurrencies on the market. However, buying USDT is not without risk, since rising inflation in the US may worsen the purchasing power of the currency to which Tether is tied.

Some analysts also emphasize the impact of American regulation on stablecoin crypto assets, which were at the center of a number of disputes with American regulators back in 2021. In this regard, experts advise that buying Tether, like any other token on the market, should be approached very carefully.

6. Polygon (MATIC)

The Polygon cryptocurrency, born in 2017 at the peak of the initial coin offerings boom, offers many interesting opportunities for creating decentralized and blockchain applications that are perfectly scalable and compatible with the ETH network.

Polygon is winning its place in decentralized finance, and the MATIC token is used as a tool for confirming transactions on the network, and as a currency with which remuneration is paid for the development of projects on the blockchain.

Compared to Ethereum, MATIC uses the PoS protocol, and more than 60,000 transactions per second can be performed on its network. In the long term, Polygon will certainly be a cryptocurrency that is worth considering if you want to launch a DeFi project, and in 2022 it is possible that its profitability will exceed $ 3 – the historical maximum of MATIC.

Another important factor that should not be overlooked is that the Polygon blockchain is used not only on Ethereum, but also on OpenSea. Currently, many consider it the main market for NFT, and the creation of NTF through the Polygon blockchain is the choice of many users, since it does not require any costs, unlike ETH.

7. Decentraland (MANA)

Decentraland is a cryptocurrency associated with the augmented reality platform of the same name, which offers owners the opportunity to sell or buy digital assets, such as virtual plots of land or gadgets to improve the appearance of their avatar.

The MANA token uses the ETH blockchain, and its owner can participate in the management of the platform. In recent months, the value of this cryptocurrency has increased by more than 4,000%, partly due to news about the development of metaverse by Meta and other American Big Tech companies. Decentraland cryptocurrency can be bought on all major exchanges, which suggests that in the future it will grow in price as market demand increases.

8. Sandbox (SAND)

Continuing the theme of the metaverse, it will certainly be interesting to observe the tokens of The Sandbox gaming platform, which in 2021 showed one of its best results, increasing by 14,563%.

Similar to Decentraland, The Sandbox also offers users the opportunity to make money by selling digital products or services in their market. Those who take part in the game can take possession of plots of land or gadgets to improve the design of their avatar, resources that are offered in the form of NFT.

The SAND digital currency uses the Ethereum blockchain, and since it is a PoS-based altcoin, you can earn it by staking it by storing it in your wallet. Optimistic estimates for SAND also take into account the possible launch of in-game DeFi projects.

9. Terra (LUNA)

The popularity of Terra is not yet comparable to other virtual currencies associated with decentralized finance, but in 2021 the price of LUNA tokens increased by more than 16,000% to $ 100.

Time series analysis shows that Terra does not depend much on Bitcoin’s performance, which makes it a potentially suitable purchase in the event of a serious downturn in the market’s leading cryptocurrency.

The Terra blockchain can issue several stable coins and facilitate the tokenization of financial assets. Since this project is closely related to decentralized financing, it is likely to develop in the new year. In the future, LUNA tokens may rise above $100 again, so many crypto enthusiasts recommend keeping an eye on them.

10. Avalanche (AVAX)

Avalanche is another “Ethereum killer” that stood out in 2021, and has all the prerequisites to continue its run in 2022.

We are talking about a cryptocurrency that provides access to several functions for decentralized finance, such as asset tokenization, the creation of smart contracts and a private blockchain.

Similar to Polkadot, Avalanche also aims to facilitate the exchange of information between different blockchains. In addition, those who want to earn AVAX tokens use staking, while cryptocurrency mining, at least at the moment, is impossible.

Given its innovative nature, some analysts believe that this cryptocurrency is worth watching in the future.

This discussion is not a call to invest, trade or buy cryptocurrencies, it represents just a a collection of opinions and forecasts of leading market experts, nothing more.