Top Crypto-currencies To Buy In 2021
- May 21, 2021
What Are Cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrency is digital asset that isn’t managed by a central system. Instead, it’s based on blockchain technology, with Bitcoin being the talk of the market in recent years. As digital money continues to gain traction everywhere, more and more options become available.
It has been over ten years since the Satoshi created Bitcoin, the first and by the most popular form of cryptocurrency in the world. Bitcoin isn’t the final word on cryptocurrency – imitators, innovators and spinoffs have emerged in huge numbers, and there are more than 7,000 cryptocurrencies on the market today. With such a broad range of cryptocurrencies to choose from, how do investors know which is the best cryptocurrency to invest in?
The best cryptocurrency to buy will depend on your familiarity with digital assets and risk tolerance. Most people treat it as a long-term investment, However, investing in cryptocurrency can be risky if you don’t know where to begin. These are the most valuable cryptocurrencies after bitcoin that are most worthy of investment in 2021.
Top Cryptocurrencies to watch in May 2021
1. Ethereum
Ethereum market cap: $317 billion
Ether value: $2,750
The Ethereum story: Ethereum was founded by Vitalik Buterin in 2015 with bigger and broader ambitions. The blockchain it runs on is programmable, meaning it can run programs, or apps, in a decentralized way, i.e. on millions of computers at once. This opens up many possible use cases, from technology and finance to gaming and collectibles, making Ethereum an attractive investment hence allowing developers to create their own cryptocurrency utilizing the Ethereum network.
ETH performance history: In the past year, Ethereum’s price has shot up from around $200 to well over $3,000. In fact, it recently passed $4,000 for the first time in early May and reached an all-time high of more than $4,350 recently, but has fallen sharply this week and currently stands at around $2,750.
How to buy Ethereum: Buy, sell, and use ETH at Coinbase and get $10.
2. Binance Coin
Price per unit: $384
Market capitalization: $56.9 billion
Binance Coin (BNB) was launched in 2017, used the Ethereum network as a foundation, but has since become the native currency of the Binance Chain.
The coin can be used to pay transaction fees on the Binance exchange or to just simply trade for other cryptocurrencies. Binance has committed to using 20% of its profits to buy back and burn (destroy) BNB tokens. This will continue until Binance buys back and destroys 50% of the total supply, making its coin scarcer and therefore more valuable.
BNB performance history: Since launching back in 2017, Binance Coin has made a long, slow climb to about $60 a coin, before shooting upwards in February 2021 and reaching more than $600 at one point. As with virtually all of the top cryptocurrencies, it suffered a major fall on Wednesday (May 19) and is currently trading in the $386 range.
How to buy Binance Coin: Binance is the best place to buy and trade your BNB coins.
3. Tether
Price per unit: $1
Market capitalization: $58.1 billion
Tether is unique among the options in our top cryptocurrency list: it’s the leader in the category of cryptocurrency known as “stable coins.” Why stable? Because they are pegged to a traditional currency, in this case the US dollar.
As a stable coin (specifically, a fiat collateralized stable coin), for every unit of Tether in circulation there is one US Dollar sitting in reserve, which means the price of the cryptocurrency maps the exact price of the flat currency.
This consistency in value allows users to transact using Tether, content in the knowledge that purchases will have the equivalent dollar value the next day, or the next month.
Although there are many others in circulation, Tether is currently the largest stable coin on the market, as well as the fifth largest cryptocurrency in the world by market capitalization.
NOTE: However, there are those that believe the quantity of Tether in circulation is not fully backed by dollars in the bank, despite what the issuer and its Bahamian bank has to say. If this is ever proven, the price of USDT won’t remain stable for long.
How to buy Tether: Buy, sell, and use Tether tokens at Coinbase and get $10.
4. Cardano
Price per unit: $1.68
Market capitalization: $54 billion
The Cardano story: Cardano (ADA), founded in 2015, is another Ethereum-like contender, with which it shares a number of common attributes and facilities. It’s a blockchain platform that supports applications, systems, and real-life business use cases. It’s a promising technology but, like all the others, has a lot of catching up to do with Ethereum in terms of its network size. It’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, is also co-founder of the Ethereum project.
ADA is the cryptocurrency underpinning the Cardano network, named after famous programmer ADA Lovelace. The currency can be used for transactions in the same was as any other crypto, but also gives holders a stake in the network, allowing them to vote on proposed technical changes.
Cardano is developed and maintained by a company called IOHK, which is also responsible for a number of other crypto-based products and services, as well as the Cardano Foundation and EMURGO. As with other similar projects, development is always ongoing.
Cardano performance history: Cardano was cruising along at about $0.10 from its founding in 2017 until early 2021, when it jumped to well over a dollar and was recently trading at around $2. Cardano had weathered the recent crypto market problems better than most, due to being one of the more environmentally friendly cryptocurrency options, but has suffered a big fall on Wednesday (May 19) and is now back to $1.76.
How to buy Cardano: Buy, sell, and use Cardano at Coinbase and get $10.
5. XRP
Price per unit: $1.12
Market capitalization: $51.5 billion
The Ripple story: XRP was launched in 2012 by a trio of developers, who then created a private company formerly called Open Coin, now changed to Ripple Labs. XRP’s enables real-time global payments anywhere in the world. As such, some payment providers use XRP to expand their reach, lower foreign exchange costs, and settle payments more quickly.
Anyone who would want to buy Ripple should be ware that in late 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit against Ripple and its two cofounders, claiming that they raised over $1.3 billion through an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering (aka XRP). The lawsuit is still unsettled.
XRP performance history: Aside from a blip of a spike in December 2017-January 2018, XRP didn’t crack the $0.60 threshold until 2020. However, it’s grown strongly throughout April and May and as of today (May 21) it was trading at $1.12.
How to buy Ripple: Buy, sell, and use Ripple at Coinbase and get $10.
5. Dogecoin
Price per unit: $0.39
Market capitalization: $50.4 billion
The Dogecoin story: Launched in 2013 by IBM developer Billy Markus and Adobe data scientist Jackson Palmer as a satire of Bitcoin and the exploding popularity of crypto, it’s basically a Bitcoin clone with a cute dog meme for a mascot. Dogecoin was supposed to satirize the online frenzy surrounding cryptocurrencies at the time.
Since then, however, it has become a cult symbol embraced by a loyal and increasingly large following. The currency has also been endorsed by a variety of celebrities, such as Snoop Dogg, Gene Simmons and, most notably, Elon Musk.
Dogecoin has no real use even though some people use it to give small tips on social media. However, it’s developed a growing fanbase that’s boosted the price of a Dogecoin from less than a penny a few months ago to about $0.40 today, making it one of the top cryptocurrency performers by market cap if nothing else. Dogecoin also started what is now known as the “meme coin” space. If you’re looking for the next big meme coin, it could be Safe Moon, which launched in March 2021 and already has over a million users. Safe Moon encourages investors to buy and hold by imposing a 10% fee on anyone who sells their tokens.
Dogecoin is a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency that enables you to easily send money online, as written on their official website
Dogecoin performance history: In early 2021, Dogecoin crossed the $0.05 threshold for the first time, then went to the moon in April, recently trading at an all-time high of $0.70. It dropped to below $0.45 following Elon Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, then rallied slightly, then plunged again, then jumped back. It’s been quite the ride. It currently stands at around $0.39.
How to buy Dogecoin: Buy, sell, and use Dogecoin at Coinbase and get $10
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