Top Altcoins To Keep an Eye on in 2022
Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) had a fantastic 2021 as popular meme coins, but which have been affected by the recent cryptocurrency rout, particularly SHIB, which is now down nearly 75% from its all-time high of $0.00008616 per coin reached in October. While SHIB has recovered somewhat this week with gains of 52%, many investors are still concerned about investing in riskier asset classes in the face of changing economic conditions, including reduced market liquidity, and rising inflation. SHIB and other meme tokens have taken the brunt of the price decline because they lack a solid foundation and practical application. However, BigONE believes there are few altcoins to keep an eye on in 2022, and they are likely to outperform other altcoins in the long run.
Avalanche (AVAX)
Avalanche is a smart contract cryptocurrency that has emerged as a viable alternative to Ethereum. Since Ethereum’s launch, it has struggled with network congestion and high fees, allowing several other programmable cryptocurrencies to gain a foothold in the market. Avalanche’s price already increased by more than 3,000% in 2021, and at time of writing is in the top ten of cryptocurrencies by market cap, according to CoinMarketCap.
A promising cryptocurrency has two key metrics to monitor: the number of applications running on the network and the amount deposited into its ecosystem, i.e., the total value locked (TVL). For example, Avalanche is currently the fourth largest blockchain in the entire network in terms of total value locked, with approximately 160 applications running on the Avalanche network.
Cardano (ADA)
If meme tokens are at the bottom in terms of utility and seriousness, Cardano is at the top. With its popular and well-respected leadership, Cardano has an ambitious vision to use blockchain technology to make the world a better place. For example, it has established several partnerships in Africa, including a collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, to record student learning records on its blockchain.
The cryptocurrency has taken a slow-and-steady approach to development, and while it has received numerous accolades, it has also garnered some criticism. For example, Cardano only launched smart contracts in September 2021 after planning to launch several applications in the first half of the year. The biggest risk for Cardano is that if it is too slow to ramp up its offering, it will risk being overtaken by newer cryptocurrencies before it can fully establish a solid position. The good news is that it announced on Twitter on February 3 that it has reached three million ADA wallets.
Livepeer (LPT)
One of the few decentralized networks and protocols gaining traction is Livepeer. This decentralized system provides storage, cloud services, and other services by utilizing computer processing power or storage networks. For example, Livepeer’s transcode videos reformat the videos to play smoothly on various bandwidths and devices. Although transcoding can be costly, Livepeer’s decentralized model allows users to contribute their computer’s processing power. Furthermore, these individuals or “orchestrators,” will be compensated with LPT tokens for contributing their PC’s processing power, which can reduce the cost of video streaming significantly. As testament to the project’s long term future the Ethereum-based decentralized video transcoding network secured $20 million in funding to continue building Web3 infrastructure. According to Livepeer, there are over 70,000 GPUs in their network, providing sufficient power to encode all video streaming through Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook combined.
Sandbox (SAND)
Sandbox is a metaverse token that skyrocketed in value after Facebook announced it rebranded as Meta in 2021. The metaverse is a virtual world where people can hang out, spend money, work, and play, but in reality, people can do many of the same things in the metaverse that they would do in the real world.
BigONE believes the metaverse will be worth trillions of dollars in the future. Shiba Inu, which recently announced plans to create a metaverse called Shiberse, is among those who want to join the metaverse world. Right now, there’s a lot of uncertainty about which of the projects in the metaverse will succeed, so sticking with Sandbox makes sense. To cap it all Sandbox has announced several collaborations in recent months, including with NFT marketplace OpenSea, celebrity rapper Snoop Dogg, and TV show The Walking Dead. At the same time, it recently completed a $93 million financing round.
Cryptocurrency prices soared in 2021 as the industry drew new investors and made significant strides toward mainstream adoption. On the other hand, the US Fed is removing its stimulus, and we are now entering a very different economic environment. Therefore, although talking about a serious dip in the cryptocurrency market may be exaggerated, BigONE believes that gains of more than 5,000% in 2022 may be unrealistic. Nevertheless, many people believe Shiba Inu has a chance to make a comeback this year.
Because cryptocurrencies are a risky investment, you should not approach them with a gambling mindset as an investor. BigONE, believes that the altcoins listed above are worth keeping an eye on because they all have more reliable real-world applications and reputable development teams. However, keep in mind that cryptocurrency is still a relatively new industry, so only invest money you can afford to lose. If meme tokens like SHIB drew you into crypto investing in the first place, BigONE believes 2022 may well be the year you explore other options in the crypto world.
