If you’re planning on investing in any cryptocurrencies, you might be wondering what the best crypto to invest in this year is. If so, you’ve come to the right place!Here are 10 cryptos that are worth investing in today, as well as some other considerations you should take into account before buying into any crypto (like whether it’s over-hyped or if there’s any bad news about it).With this guide and some research on your own, you’ll be able to make an informed decision about which cryptocurrency makes the most sense for your investment portfolio this year!
1) Bitcoin
Bitcoin, launched in 2009, is generally considered to be one of if not the first decentralized cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin utilizes blockchain technology to facilitate secure online transactions without any third-party intermediary.
Using cryptography that allows complex computations and records both on a public and private level, Bitcoin has been widely adopted for use in both peer-to-peer transactions as well as business purchases.
As of January 2018, over 100,000 merchants and vendors accept bitcoin as payment. The system has also seen its share of controversy with law enforcement agencies becoming involved in some of its uses.
2) Ethereum
Ethereum, another virtual currency and open software platform, is similar to Bitcoin.
There are some technical differences that make Ethereum more attractive, including its capability to execute smart contracts and its faster transaction time.
While it was originally developed for internal use by programmers working on software projects, it’s now being used as a currency and investment vehicle. Currently, like with Bitcoin, there are no rules around how to handle tax reporting when using Ethereum — so proceed with caution!
3) XRP
Short for Ripple, XRP is digital currency designed to be used primarily as a way to send money across borders. Unlike bitcoin, it’s backed by several large corporations, including American Express and Santander Bank.
Although Ripple has yet to catch on widely in the US, it is one of several cryptocurrencies – along with Litecoin and Dash – that recently jumped in value after being listed on popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
That may have been due in part to rumors that Amazon would soon use Ripple’s technology to facilitate payments between its various online platforms.
4) Monero
As a privacy coin, Monero is an excellent investment for those looking to protect their information.
It’s based on blockchain technology and because it isn’t controlled by any bank or government agency, your identity is protected.
Your transactions are untraceable and because they aren’t stored on a public ledger, no one can track your spending habits. There are even Monero ATMs popping up around major cities—and more are coming soon!
Overall, Monero is an amazing crypto that you should consider investing in if you want to make some serious money in 2018.
5) Litecoin
Launched in 2011, Litecoin is based on an open-source global payment network that is not controlled by any central authority and uses scrypt as a proof of work, which can be decoded with the help of CPUs of consumer grade.
It was a fork of Bitcoin (BTC) meant to offer a faster and cheaper alternative to BTC.
Transactions in Litecoin are about four times faster than bitcoin transactions. It has also attracted many users due to its fast confirmation time and lower transaction fees.
Currently trading at $80, it might get momentum if bitcoin fails to find a solution for its scaling issue. The number of merchants accepting Litecoin is growing exponentially as well.
6) Dash
Dash is one of today’s most-popular cryptocurrencies. It offers both private and public transactions, which makes it attractive to those who wish to stay anonymous as they use cryptocurrency.
Dash has a total market cap of about $4 billion, making it about 10 times smaller than Bitcoin’s $44 billion market cap (as of July 2018).
Dash also trades at a premium to Bitcoin; for example, one Dash is currently worth about 0.14 Bitcoins (as of July 2018).
7) Cardano
Launched in September 2017, Cardano is an open-source blockchain project that’s based on peer-reviewed academic research.
It aims to create a new decentralized blockchain protocol for smart contracts—one that’s more scalable and secure than previous protocols.
The team behind Cardano plans to start rolling out updates in 2018 and 2019, with a long-term goal of being able to do upgrades without needing hard forks or other major network disruptions.
They will also ensure their smart contract technology has easy-to-use security features that allow for auditing by third parties. All of these factors make Cardano worth keeping an eye on.
8) IOTA
IOTA, or Internet of Things Application, is a cryptocurrency for which every token—called a MIOTA—represents one iota, or one trillionth of an IOTA.
It was created in 2015 by David Sønstebø, Sergey Ivancheglo, Dominik Schiener and Dr. Serguei Popov as a more efficient way to make transactions on blockchain networks.
Due to its structure, it’s also referred to as Tangle Technology.
The core technology behind IOTA involves directed acyclic graph (DAG) technology instead of blockchain—which means each time a new transaction occurs, it must validate two previous transactions before confirming itself.
9) NEO
Neo, formerly known as Antshares, is a Chinese-based cryptocurrency project. It started in 2014 and was developed by Shanghai-based blockchain R&D company Onchain.
The goal of Neo is to provide a more flexible platform for commercial and non-commercial use cases alike by simplifying smart contracts.
The company has been referred to as Chinese Ethereum because it looks like Ethereum but with more flexibility. NEO uses digital identity technology to verify users without relying on centralized authorities like banks or governments.
Its two primary offerings are digital asset registration and management services, plus smart contract development and execution environment – think of these components as an operating system for your money that includes developer tools to make building on top of it simple.
10) NEM
NEM is a little bit different than most other cryptocurrencies. Instead of using proof-of-work to reach consensus, it uses proof-of-importance.
NEM has some strong believers in its blockchain technology and great potential for growth in 2018 and beyond. At press time, XEM was trading at $0.32 per coin with a market cap of about $2 billion.
Over time, however, I believe that we’ll see these numbers grow significantly as demand increases from investors and new projects get built on top of NEM’s platform.
It’s one of my favorite cryptocurrencies that you can buy today because it has an active development team behind it and a solid technology platform to build upon.