Best Crypto to Buy in 2024
What's the best crypto to buy in 2024? Our experts analyzed the top cryptocurrencies in the market to help you research the best crypto to buy this year.
What’s the best crypto 2024?
The competition is tough, but is there a clear winner for the best crypto of 2024? Let our roundup help you with your research.
Bitcoin
Ethereum
BNB
Solana
Ripple
Cardano
Avalanche
Chainlink
Polkadot
Polygon
Bitcoin
Bitcoin remains at the forefront for good reason. Widely regarded as the premier cryptocurrency, it comes closest to functioning as a real-world currency. With a history spanning over 14 years, Bitcoin boasts a clear use case and thrives on widespread adoption. Many investors consider Bitcoin an essential addition to any investment portfolio.
Given its substantial market capitalization, the era of rapid 1000x returns on Bitcoin might be behind us - although it depends on who you ask as many think Bitcoin will go to $100,000 at some point in the future. But if you're seeking high-risk, high-reward opportunities, Bitcoin may not be the ideal choice.
Market capitalization: Very high (less volatile, but potentially limited significant growth)
Liquidity: Very high
Adoption: Well-established and widely accepted
Tokenomics: Minimal inflation and finite supply
Development team: Sizeable and proven
Security & transparency: Market leading
All-time performance: Strong (8,000,000,000% since 2010), but not at its ATH currently
Read next: How is Bitcoin taxed?
Ethereum
Dubbed the Bitcoin killer, Ethereum is a major player in the crypto world, and it's not hard to see why. It's not just another digital coin – Ethereum offers a whole range of possibilities beyond just being a currency. With years of development behind it, Ethereum has carved out a clear role and use case as the first smart contract capable blockchain. Many investors see Ethereum as a must-have in their investment mix.
While Ethereum's market value is already substantial, there's still room for it to grow, especially in the DeFi and NFT space. And let's not forget, Ethereum has had some seriously impressive gains in the past, hinting at its potential for more big wins down the road.
Market capitalization: High (with room to grow)
Liquidity: Very high
Adoption: Widely accepted and still expanding
Tokenomics: Infinite supply with evolving rules around other tokens
Development team: Sizeable and proven
Security & transparency: Trusted, but smart contract vulnerabilities remain a concern
All-time performance: Strong, but approximately half of its ATH
BNB
BNB is the ‘exchange coin’ of Binance, and it’s also the native coin of the BNB Smart Chain (formerly the Binance Smart Chain and BNB Beacon Chain). Not only is it used to pay fees for the BNB Smart Chain, but holders can also gain access to discounts on Binance exchange.
BNB has a high market cap, and there’s still room for growth given Binance’s ever-developing offering. However, despite the popularity of BNB, some investors avoid the coin due to its centralized nature. While Binance remains a trusted exchange, despite some legal troubles in the US, you only need to look to the FTX collapse to see how fast things can go wrong in an unregulated market.
Market capitalization: High (with potential for growth)
Liquidity: Very high
Adoption: Widely traded and accepted across exchanges and able to be spent with crypto debit cards
Tokenomics: Max supply with a burn process
Development team: Led by the largest crypto exchange globally
Security & transparency: Strong, but centralization may cause concern for some
All-time performance: Notable, but far less than its ATH currently
Solana
Solana was created to tackle the high fees and often slow transaction speeds the Ethereum network faced. The blockchain’s structure is more scalable and efficient compared to some other blockchains, and it’s a popular option for crypto staking.
While Solana is a popular investment, it struggled throughout recent years due to a close association with FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, as well as struggling with outages. Despite this though, Solana remains a popular choice and is consistently a top 10 cryptocurrency by market cap.
Market capitalization: High
Liquidity: High, but outages are not uncommon
Adoption: Accepted across the majority of exchanges and with an evolving DeFi ecosystem
Tokenomics: Infinite supply with proposed inflation schedule
Development team: Experienced, but still struggling with outages
Security & transparency: Strong, but still struggling with a damaged reputation with some of the crypto community
All-time performance: Notable, but far below its ATH
Read next: What are the best Solana wallets?
Ripple
Ripple (XRP) markets itself as a payment settlement system. The network is focused on making making fast and easy to transfer internationally. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Ripple doesn't use mining or staking to confirm transactions quickly. Instead, it has its own process called the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA).
The clear use case has made XRP a popular investment throughout recent years. However, XRP has faced considerable scrutiny (potentially unduly) from authorities, particularly in the US. The SEC has been battling with the XRP creators in court about whether or not the coin should be considered a security - unsuccessfully so far.
Market capitalization: High
Liquidity: Good
Adoption: Accepted across the majority of exchanges and in a small number of outlets
Tokenomics: Maximum supply, released at a predetermined rate
Development team: Experienced, particularly in dealing with regulators
Security & transparency: Strong with an active community
All-time performance: Notable, with less volatility than many other altcoins historically
Read next: Does the SEC regulate crypto?
Cardano
Cardano is another blockchain that was developed in order to be more scalable and efficient than Ethereum, but with a strong focus on being environmentally friendly - and given the recent press that Bitcoin mining is taking up 2% of the US’s overall electricity use, it could be a smart investment.
Like Ethereum, Cardano is smart contract capable, with an evolving DeFi ecosystem. But the currency remains polarising in the crypto community after some harsh volatility initially.
Market capitalization: High
Liquidity: Good
Adoption: Widely tradable on exchanges and has its own developing ecosystem
Tokenomics: Maximum supply with a fixed supply schedule
Development team: Experienced and technology-focused
Security & transparency: Strong with an excellent governance structure
All-time performance: Volatile
Read next: Where can I stake Cardano?
Avalanche
Avalanche is a layer-one blockchain designed to tackle issues with scalability and interoperability that many other PoS blockchains face. It has a much higher throughput than many other blockchains like Ethereum thanks to a unique consensus protocol.
Much of Avalanche’s popularity is down to its ability to support subnets. These are dedicated blockchains for specific uses, like the DFK chain, a dedicated blockchain for the DeFi Kingdoms game.
Market capitalization: High
Liquidity: Good
Adoption: Widely accepted on centralized exchanges and supported on many dexes
Tokenomics: Maximum supply with users governing how fast new coins are minted
Development team: Innovative and technology-focused
Security & transparency: Strong, but smart contract vulnerabilities remain a concern as well as token distribution
All-time performance: Notable, but below ATH currently
Chainlink
Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network, which is a bit of a mouthful, but basically means it’s a network that's dedicated to providing real-world data to smart contracts on the blockchain that need it. The use case of Chainlink is strong and fairly unique, making it a very popular investment with plenty of room to grow.
While it’s a popular investment, the network isn’t without its criticisms, mainly that the network isn’t trustless and there’s no inbuilt governance.
Market capitalization: Top 20
Liquidity: Good
Adoption: Widely accepted on centralized exchanges and supported on many dexes
Tokenomics: Maximum supply with a fixed supply schedule
Development team: Technology focused
Security & transparency: Good, but concerns around governance remain
All-time performance: Good, but below ATH currently
Polkadot
Polkadot is a blockchain network focused on resolving interoperability between blockchains, helping them communicate and work together in a secure and functional way. It’s a strong use case and was one of the first to attempt this, although it’s not alone in its cause anymore.
Although the blockchain had great hype to begin with, some of that has dyed down in more brutal markets, but with steady performance compared to other altcoins.
Market capitalization: Top 20
Liquidity: Good
Adoption: Widely traded on centralized exchanges and supported on many dexes
Tokenomics: Infinite supply with a varied distribution system
Development team: Innovative with a decentralized treasury
Security & transparency: Good, with a strong governance structure
All-time performance: Volatile historically, but stable in recent years
Polygon
Polygon, formerly known as Matic Network, is a layer two blockchain, that lets developers build and deploy Ethereum-compatible apps on the Polygon network, which is more scalable and (generally) has lower fees. This low fee structure has made MATIC a popular investment, although the network is far from the only layer two blockchain available.
Although MATIC has faced stiff competition in the layer two space, developments like zkEVM have helped it remain a competitive investment.
Market capitalization: Top 20
Liquidity: Good
Adoption: Widely traded on centralized exchanges and supported on many dexes
Tokenomics: Max supply, with the rest distributed through staking
Development team: Competitive and innovative
Security & transparency: Good, with a decentralized governance structure recently introduced
All-time performance: Good, and relatively stable compared to many other altcoins historically
What factors should I consider before buying crypto?
Market size
Market size is the price per coin or token times the total number of coins or tokens available.
In crypto, we often talk about the current vs the fully diluted market size. The first one includes all available coins or tokens, while the second one also counts locked coins or tokens that will be released in the future, like through mining or staking.
If there's a big gap between these two values, the price could drop later because more tokens (supply) join the market (demand).
This is a big deal when figuring out if an investment is smart, but many folks overlook it when just looking at the price of one token. Even if a token's price is super low, like $0.00001, it could still have a huge market size if there are billions or trillions of tokens out there.
Trading volume
Lots of trading happening on an asset is usually a good sign. It means more people or bigger players are interested, and you can probably find it on multiple crypto exchanges.
Bitcoin, which many investors see as the top crypto, had its biggest trading day when it crashed in November 2022, with over $400 billion traded in a single day.
Liquidity
Liquidity and trading volume go hand in hand. High trading volume and low price swings usually mean high liquidity, but there are exceptions (sometimes on purpose).
Real liquidity is super important for investors, especially with decentralized exchanges.
Liquidity shows how easy it is to sell what you've got. That's often tricky with new coins or tokens.
If liquidity is really low, like less than 10 times what you've invested, selling at the current price is nearly impossible. So, only invest in low-liquidity stuff if you plan to hang onto it for a while and hope liquidity improves later.
Real-world use and adoption
Just like with any company and its product, there needs to be a real reason for a coin or token, or at least a good idea for one, plus paying customers bringing in money.
When you're checking out a coin or token, think about what it's actually for and if it's realistic that people will use it eventually.
Tokenomics
One of the most important questions to ask is: How does the token work?
Tokenomics is all about the economics of a token and can quickly show if it's a bad investment, even if the product and team seem great.
Supply and demand control token prices, so knowing how those will change and develop can show if an investment has potential. Think about:
Why do I need this token? Will people want it if the product succeeds?
Will new tokens be made in the future, and if so, how and when?
Are tokens locked for the team and early investors, and when do they unlock? They probably bought in cheaper and might sell once they can.
Can tokens be burned (destroyed), and if yes, what makes that happen?
Development team
Having a solid team behind a token project is super important in the digital age.
Lots of crypto teams share their work on GitHub, so you can see what they're up to.
If you're not sure how to check this stuff, it might be worth talking to someone who does before diving in.
Security and transparency
These two things can make or break a project and its value quickly if they're not handled well.
Security issues usually come from human error, like sloppy code or poor governance.
While security problems aren't usually on purpose, scams are. Being transparent makes it easier to spot shady stuff early on. Ask yourself:
Who can mess with the code, and what's the worst that could happen?
Is there one person who could mess everything up by themselves?
Is there stuff being kept secret that should be out in the open?
Performance
Past performance can give you a good idea of what to expect in the future, but it's not a guarantee. Projects that have done well might have a higher market size than new ones but are often less risky.
Especially in tough times like now, looking for projects with a good history that have recently lost value could be a smart move.
If a team has plenty of funding and is still working hard on their project when things are rough, they might be a good investment.
