Smart Contract Cryptocurrencies To Keep an Eye on in 2022
Many in the crypto community believe that 2022 will be the year of the rise of metaverse, NFT, GameFi, and web3 projects. Nonetheless, BigONE believes that we have forgotten an essential point: these projects will all be created using smart contracts. There are numerous outstanding cryptocurrencies in the market right now, all of them high-quality projects that pique the interest of investors. It is unclear at this point which cryptocurrency would emerge victorious in this blockchain war. In such a competitive market, any of these cryptocurrencies could be eliminated by a big technical flaw or security incident. Certainly, Solana has come under criticism recently for network outages. Furthermore, no matter how good Solana was last year, there will always be another new cryptocurrency out there looking to outperform it. As a result, it looks like 2022 will be remembered as the year of smart contract cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum (ETH)
Currently, network congestion and high fees are prompting developers and investors to look for Ethereum alternatives. As Ethereum nears the completion of its Eth2 upgrade, it will benefit from faster transaction speeds and cheaper gas transaction fees. The issue with Ethereum is that it is a staged upgrade, and as a recent JPMorgan analysis showed, a full changeover may not occur until 2023. This provides rival networks with a broad window of opportunity to grab market share. In terms of the fundamentals of its market value, it’s worth noting that the Ethereum network also still has the biggest market share of DApps
Solana (SOL)
Solana is expected to be one of the top-performing cryptocurrencies in 2022. In terms of market capitalization, it went from $5 at the start of 2021 to $170 by the end of the year, and its cryptocurrency price increased by more than 3,300%.
Solana is one of the most rapidly growing cryptocurrencies. It can handle 50,000 to 65,000 transactions per second (TPS), whereas Ethereum can only handle 15 to 45 TPS. Solana’s average transaction cost is $0.00025, according to its website, and it now has over 1,000 projects in its ecosystem.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano looks to be competing with other cryptocurrencies, with a slow-and-steady approach to development and a penchant for researching competitors before releasing new features, as it only debuted smart contracts in September. Cardano has also come under fire, with opponents claiming that it has failed to deliver on past pledges. Cardano’s founder Charles Hoskinson stated that its ecosystem is home to more than 100 projects, some of which are set to launch in the first quarter of 2022. According to BigONE, this will be a chance for Cardano to exhibit its ecosystem capabilities while also correcting the negative opinion of its detractors.
Avalanche (AVAX)
To understand what makes Avalanche unique, we must analyze “finality,” because there is a distinction between simply and quickly processing a transaction, and truly closing it. This is like the difference between real-time and next-day arrival in bank transfers; finality is important. According to Avalanche, it is the fastest smart contract platform in terms of finality, even outperforming Solana. It accomplishes this by utilizing three different blockchains on its system while also keeping fees low and scalable. According to Avalanche’s founder Emin Gün Sirer, the total value locked on its platform now exceeds Solana. More recently Avalanche confirmed in December 2021 it’s adding a native version of USDC — the stablecoin backed by cash and liquid cash equivalents that is administered by Boston-based Circle. “Bringing USDC to Avalanche should further grease the wheels of decentralized finance (DeFi) on the network, following a recently announced $200 million incubation fund for DeFi projects of various stripes. Robust stablecoin options are seen as table stakes for any emerging base layer looking to rival Ethereum for functionality,” explained a CoinDesk report.
Cosmos (ATOM)
Cosmos calls itself as the “Internet of Blockchains,” and it places a premium on interoperability, ensuring that different blockchains can communicate with one another. As people begin to use a variety of different smart contract networks, interoperability becomes even more important. Cosmos’ vision is to create an ecosystem of blockchains that communicate with one another, rather than individual silos that cannot work together.
Algorand (ALGO)
Algorand has set its sights on the financial sector, and its website features a number of DeFi projects that make use of its ecosystem. Algorand has established itself as a go-to source for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Many countries are considering launching their own CBDCs, demonstrating the importance of ALGO as a niche market. Furthermore, the Latin American cryptocurrency platform Koibanx is using Algorand’s technology to build a blockchain in El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
Elrond (EGLD)
Elrond is still in its early stages of development, and its current market cap ranking is low. Elrond can process 15,000 TPS, which is slower than Solana but still a significant improvement for Ethereum. It is intended to use several languages and to have a user-friendly, secure, and scalable platform.
Although there is a good chance that they will stand out in the cryptocurrency market, it is important to be cautious not to invest blindly based on some news or hype. However, BigONE, does not advise investors they put all their eggs in one basket. You can diversify your portfolio by purchasing multiple such programmable cryptocurrencies.
At its peak Solana’s surged up to 11,000% in 2021, making people eager to find the next cryptocurrency that can rise by more than 10,000%. Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency market is volatile, and no one can guarantee that additional profits will be obtained. Before investing in cryptocurrencies, make sure you understand the risks and only invest money you can afford to lose, so you don’t lose more than you can afford if crypto prices fall.
