Did you know that, currently, there are more than 5,000 cryptocurrencies on the market? Most of them scarcely appear on exchanges, while just a few of them are listed on the major ones. As digital money becomes more popular, the number of options available is really astounding.
Which crypto will lead the way in the next months? Given the astonishing number of coins on the market, we must narrow the focal point and enlist the most thrilling ones. Are you ready?
Let’s discover the 5 best cryptocurrencies to look for in 2021.
1) Bitcoin
It is perhaps a bit predictable to say that, but Bitcoin remains the most lucrative currency in the market. It accounts for more than 60% of the entire crypto market share. Tech expert John McAfee believed that the price of Bitcoin would reach $100,000 by the end of 2021.
Pros of Bitcoin
It’s the most open system to date
You can make tansactions with Bitcoin at any time, all over the world. And, since Bitcoin doesn’t belong to any state entity, it’s indipendent of any political influence. Many analysts regard Bitcoin as the perfect investment asset for both novices and experienced investors.
Its value knows no competitor
The market cap of Bitcoin is almost $650 million. The second most-popular cryptocurrency, Ethereum, hovers around $274 million. Bitcoin’s price of more than $34,000 knows no competitor as Ethereum’s one is just over $2,000. The value gap is relevant.
Cons of Bitcoin
It’s highly volatile
Bitcoin’s worth is unpredictable. There’s no way to tell if its value will fall or increase. Bitcoin’s volatility is a result from its limited supply and its lack of a central bank.
2) Ethereum
The most striking difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum lies on the fact that Ethereum is a platform to run smart contracts and applications via ETH, its own currency. It allows developers to create their own coin, by simply adhering to the Ethereum network. Though its value is far behind Bitcoin, Ethereum is still one of the leading cryptocurrencies to look after in 2021.
Pros of Ethereum
A giant community
Ethereum can count on a gigantic blockchain community. Analysts estimate around 250,000 Ethereum developers in the crypto system.
Speed
It takes Ether about 5 minutes to complete a transaction. And its block times last 14 seconds.
Cons of Ethereum
Poor scalability
Ethereum suffers from scalability issues. Its rate of 15 transactions per second is far from being competitive. For such a big network, a similar poor rate is rather sluggish, and is a major hindrance to its future adoption.
3) Litecoin
Litecoin is one of the most famous altcoins in the crypto market. Did you know that it is also one of the oldest cryptos? It is two years younger than Bitcoin, and was created in 2011 by former Google employee Charlie Lee, who conceived it to be a lighter version of the older coin.
Due to its relentless growth through the years, technicians and experts expect Litecoin to be one of the leading cryptocurrencies in 2021.
Pros of Litecoin
An open-source network
Litecoin is an open-source system. What does it mean? If you want to change its protocol you can do it easily and fast. Changes are implemented in order to cope with the crypto market needs. Being open-source, Litecoin is a flexible network and can be the perfect environment to experiment with tech innovations.
Litecoin is scalable
Did you know that Litecoin can process 56 transactions per second? Keep in mind that Bitcoin can handle just 7 transaction per second, while Ethereum can process 15. Moreover, Litecoin processes transactions within 2.5 minutes.
Cons of Litecoin
A marred reputation
It is hard to not object the fact that LTC marred a bit its reputation in the last years. Do you remember when Charlie Lee sold his holdings of Litecoin in 2017? Several analysts and traders began questioning his faith in the currency he created. Another controversial event dates back to when the company decided to withdraw the Litepay service.
Branding confusion
Many people believe that Litecoin, being its fork, is no different than Bitcoin. Therefore, it’s hard to recognize any kind of uniqueness in LTC.
4) Binance Coin (BNB)
Did you know? BNB is the most successful token owned by a Binance Coin crypto exchange. Its price has been experiencing bullish trends for months, having been trading above the $15 level so far. As long as the exchange keeps on performing at this pace, the BNB currency will continue to be worthy.
Pros of Binance Coin (BNB)
BNB is reliable
It must be said that the BNB coin derives from a well known and reliable company. Binance is one of the most popular and respected exchanges. This alone is a mark of credibility for the coin.
It is fast
Furthermore, BNB processes transactions speedily, at a rate of 1.4 million per second. The transaction fee
It is Affordable
Every BNB transaction has an extremely low fee, being just 0.1% of the transaction amount.
Cons of Binance Coin
BNB is limited to Binance
Bnb is limited to the Binance exchange. This means that the coin heavily relies on the exchange’s reputation and activities.
5) Ripple XRP
XRP is the cryptocurrency used on the Ripple blockchain for transactions. Ripple was founded in 2004 in Vancouver, by web developer Ryan Fugger. XRP was launched in 2021. Since that date, XRP has been growing and now works in over 65 countries. It has profitable partnerships with institutions such as the Bank of America and the HSBC Bank.
Pros of XRP
The transaction fee is almost non-existant
What’s impressive of XRP is it’s near-zero fee. If you want to make an XRP transaction, it will cost you $0.00001. The price of a single XRP coin is $0.29 and their value will keep on increasing in the future.
An international appeal
Ripple is favorite among fintech investors. For this reason, XRP is a staple cryptocurrency and allows cross-border transaction in a fast, hassle-free manner.
Cons of XRP
It is a centralized coin
Ripple, unlike the other cryptocurrencies, is a centralized network. Ripple Labs operates against the cryptocurrencies’ philosophy, because it controls all the stakes of XRP. The coin benefits from partnerships with several financial institutions, but these groups are not that passionate about the use of cryptocurrencies. Most of them hardly accept them as legitimate methods of payment.
What shall we expect from the future?
Which cryptocurrency will dominate the market? Is it safe to assume that Bitcoin will remain the king during the course of 2021? Will Ethereum surpass its long-time competitor? Stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment