We’re all keen to get our hands on the next big cryptocurrency and beat all others to the punch. All investors are aware of the shedload of cash some early adopters of Bitcoin (BTC) have made over the last decade or so.
But making money from cryptocurrency doesn’t need a time machine. 2021 was enormous for digital currencies, with a plethora of new and exciting coins and tokens emerging throughout the year.
But which cryptos look ready to offer investors great returns in 2022?
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot is essentially a platform which will allow different blockchains to interact with each other. It was founded by Gavin Wood, one of the key brains behind crypto giant Ethereum (ETH), but differs from his earlier venture in a few key ways.
Notably, it can be much more friendly to those looking to create decentralized finance apps, or Dapps. This is because creators of these projects can create their own blockchains within the Polkadot framework without having to develop their own security measures, a luxury they are not afforded when working on Ethereum’s blockchain.
Another factor that really makes this crypto stand out is its emphasis on general support for blockchain projects. With decentralized finance being thrust further and further into the limelight, platforms like Polkadot seem likely to be on their way to becoming more important and influential.
DOT’s price currently sits at around $25, having fallen from the peak of $55 that the crypto reached in early November. Even so, this is far above the $9.29 that it cost at the beginning of 2021.
Polkadot looks appealing to long-term investors, particularly given the project’s emphasis on linking different blockchains in one big tent.
Solana (SOL)
Solana is a unique cryptocurrency which claims to be powered by the fastest blockchain in the world. Though some aspects of Solana are similar to Ethereum, Solana can outmatch its competitor when it comes to transactions per second.
While Ethereum can handle somewhere around 13 per second and Bitcoin can handle seven or so, Solana says it can churn through an almighty 710,000 on a standard gigabit network.
This also means transactions are far cheaper on the platform, especially compared to Ethereum, which has seen gas prices climbing in 2021.
This makes the platform incredibly attractive to decentralised finance applications and investors looking for the next hot cryptocurrency. It also helps that the currency is more than friendly to NFTs, which became increasingly popular across the last 12 months and have shown no signs of slowing down.
2021 has been an enormous year for the coin. Solana’s price sat at around $1.50 at the start of the year, but has climbed to over $180 by December, with the currency having hit a high of $260 in the first week of November. With impressive technology behind it and rapid growth, 2022 looks to be a huge year for SOL.
Ripple (XRP)
Ripple had a bit of a topsy turvy time in 2021. The coin’s price reached its apex in April, standing at around $1.81, an impressive rise from the roughly $0.23 it started the year at. However, Ripple’s price has since dropped back down to around $0.87 at the time of writing, with something of a bumpy ride in the intervening months.
The crypto has had to negotiate hurdles put in place by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The regulator started legal action against Ripple this time last year, arguing that its exchange of XRP amounted to an unregistered offering of securities.
As such, US-based traders might still struggle to get hold of Ripple because of this, with many US-based exchanges having de-listed the digital currency.
So, with these barriers in place, why do we still think Ripple is worth a look?
First, it’s worth noting how well the currency’s price has held up in spite of its legal challenges. This is because Ripple is seen by many as the future of international money transfers.
It has a rapid transaction process, where fiat currency is converted into Ripple and then back into fiat currency for the recipient, negating the need for arduous waits and large fees when sending money to somebody from a different bank or even a different country.
Indeed, the crypto’s worth as a payment system is such that it has been adopted by many traditional institutions such as MUFG (NYSE:MUFG), Axis Bank (NSE: AXISBANK) and BBVA (LON: BVA). This is why investors are getting excited about Ripple.
This all comes with a major caveat of course, due to the ongoing SEC legal action and the difficulty US investors might have with getting hold of it. Ripple is probably the riskiest of the bunch we have listed here, but 2022 could still be a massive year for the cryptocurrency.