Top Cryptocurrencies to Consider Investing in During 2024

1. Bitcoin (BTC): The Undisputed King 

Popularity

Bitcoin retains the top spot in crypto market capitalization, constantly hogging over 40% of all crypto investments. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price was just over $44,000, its all-time high was $68,789.63, and it was first bought and sold for a tiny fraction of a dollar.

Investment Rationale

Bitcoin’s volatility influences the entire market but makes it one of the most popular investments. Some believe Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by the end of 2024, though other forecasts are far more conservative.

Bitcoin is accepted widely, facilitates crypto transactions, and is used as loan collateral. Ultimately, Bitcoin has gained its place as a digital asset akin to gold, and its scarcity and use combine to make it a favorite investment for those hoping Bitcoin will once again reach new highs.

Risks of Investing in Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s volatility can wipe thousands off its value in minutes. Bitcoin shares the same risks as other cryptocurrencies: they are difficult to value, there is regulatory uncertainty, and they are subject to hacks, cyber risks, and loss of wallet keys. Bitcoin is complicated to value due to a lack of intrinsic value compared to other investment classes like stocks. Another factor for Bitcoin is its energy-intensive Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining mechanism, which draws scrutiny. 

2. Ethereum (ETH): The Smart Contract Pioneer 

Popularity

The Ethereum blockchain has become the go-to for developers, a feature that secures Ethereum’s place on any list of best crypto coins to buy in 2024. Ethereum is constantly innovating and has a massive community of users and developers. There are now over 3,000 dApps built on the Ethereum blockchain, which has moved from an energy-intensive PoW governance mechanism to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

Investment Rationale

Ethereum’s price has yet to reach the highs of Bitcoin, but it is one of the higher-value cryptos available and performs similarly to an asset. Ethereum’s utility also adds interest for investors. The coin and the blockchain have a purpose outside of being an investment, which may secure Ethereum’s place as a leader in Web3 technology. Ethereum’s (ETH) price has reached $4,891.70 and is trading at just over $2,100.

Risks of Investing in Ethereum

Again, Ethereum shares the same volatility and investment risks as any other cryptocurrency. Though Ethereum shows promise as a foundational technology of Web3, there is also the danger competitor blockchain technologies could surpass its utility. Arguably, Ethereum’s blockchain upgrades that change how transactions are secured and processed increase the security risk for the network.

3. Cardano (ADA): The Eco-friendly Contender 

Popularity

Cardano is another smart contract-enabled network and one of Ethereum’s competitors. Its technology is different, and Cardano works to improve scalability and answer other blockchain challenges. Cardano added its stablecoin, Djed, in 2023, increasing potential DeFi and enterprise adoption. Bitcoin, and initially Ethereum, uses energy-intensive mining processes for validation. Cardano was an early user of the more environmentally friendly PoS consensus mechanism.

Investment Rationale

Cardano launched in 2017, nearly two years after Ethereum. It has over 1,000 dApps on its network to date, and its layer-2 scaling solution, Hydra, may have the potential to process 1 million transactions per second (TPS), far faster than Ethereum. Cardano has a team of expert scientists and researchers from global universities, and its phased updates add to its reputation. Like Ethereum, the Cardano blockchain has the potential to be adopted for enterprise-level use.

Risks of Investing in Cardano

Cardano doesn’t share the early popularity that Bitcoin and Ethereum attracted as assets and investment vehicles. Ethereum generally performs as the second most patronized cryptocurrency, whereas Cardano is in eighth place at the time of writing. Cardano’s (ADA) price is currently $0.51, and its high is $3.09. Cardano’s future could be reliant on the performance of its blockchain network.

4. Binance Coin (BNB): More Than Just an Exchange Token 

Popularity

Exchange tokens have become common in recent years, providing additional benefits to regular platform traders and incentivizing traders’ exchange choices. Binance Coin holders benefit from lower fees on the platform. BNB was initially an ERC-20 token and has since moved to its BNB Chain network, which can host other projects and dApps.

Investment Rationale

Binance Coin has long-term potential because of its utility for the exchange, the size of the Binance exchange, and its utility on the BNB Chain for additional use. BNB transactions are cheap and fast so the network may attract more participants over time. BNB Holders can also invest in a select group of ICOs through the Binance Launchpad program.

Risks of Investing in Binance Coin

Binance Coin’s all-time high is $686.31. At the time of writing, it is $288.04, the fourth cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The BNB blockchain is centralized, as Binance chooses and controls the network authenticators. The Binance cryptocurrency exchange pleaded guilty to criminal money laundering offences and was fined over $4 billion in November 2023.

5. Polkadot (DOT): Bridging the Blockchain Gap 

Popularity

Polkadot addresses some significant challenges blockchain technology must overcome to achieve mainstream adoption. The key issues that Polkadot works to address are interoperability between blockchain platforms and projects and scalability. Polkadot was launched in 2016 and was one of the first projects to delve deeply into this issue, coming up with a novel technical approach that garners interest.

Investment Rationale

Polkadot is a blockchain that developers can utilize, and the company has built many partnerships, including with Chainlink, to use its Oracle network. Like Ethereum and Cardano, Polkadot’s cryptocurrency technological potential for Web3 makes DOT one of the best crypto coins to buy in 2024. DOT’s all-time high is $54.98, with a current value of $7.20.

Risks of Investing in Polkadot

The price of DOT may depend on the performance of Polkadot’s technology, which is still evolving. The company has several promising competitors in the interoperability space. As a cryptocurrency, investing in DOT has all the general risks associated with the sector.

6. Chainlink (LINK): The Oracle Solution 

Popularity

The last on this list of cryptocurrencies to invest in during 2024 is Chainlink (LINK), another revolutionary project with a utility coin. Chainlink, like Polkadot, aims to answer an interoperability issue to speed the mainstream use of blockchain technology, but this time, it is interoperability between on-chain and off-chain systems.

Investment Rationale

On-chain and off-chain interoperability enables blockchain projects to work more closely with conventional applications. Several DeFi protocols, including Paxos and Nexus Mutual, have already deployed Chainlink’s Oracle technology. Chainlink is also launching its staking platform.

Risks of Investing in Chainlink

From the perspective of analyzing the underlying technology the LINK coin supports, Chainlink is another strong contender on a potential list for which cryptocurrency will rise in 2024. It doesn’t compete with blockchain networks like Ethereum or Solana but offers a solution to aid them. That said, LINK price will be affected by the overall performance of the technology and carries the same risks as other cryptocurrencies.

Here are a few critical points to consider after finalizing this list of crypto coins to buy in 2024.

• Cryptocurrencies are volatile and high-risk. Extensive research, due diligence, and investing only what one can afford to lose are vital.
• We are analyzing whether a cryptocurrency fits investment goals, risk profile, and personal sentiment.
• Knowing how to keep cryptocurrency safe from hackers and choosing genuine and credible projects.
• Answering whether a cryptocurrency has utility, supports a promising project, or is simply a good asset or store of value.
• Remember that cryptocurrencies are widely unregulated, and developing regulations, including crypto prices, could greatly influence the market.

Recent years have shown that cryptocurrencies can enjoy major gains in value, as well as major losses. In a way, this makes them comparable to technology stocks in terms of their potential as investment which are very risky, but also potentially extremely rewarding.
Coin Hint’s experts along with most analysts have little doubt that crypto as an asset class is here o stay. If this is true, it is logical to assume that as this asset class continues to mature, there will be certain coins that might enjoy substantial increases in value. If recent history is a guide, picking the best cryptocurrencies to invest in successfully will be a very profitable move. I hope the highlighted coins here will give you, the investor or long-term trader, some coins to carefully consider buying.