4 Cryptocurrencies That Turned $10,000 Into $1 Million (or More) in 2021

A $10,000 investment in these supercharged digital currencies would have made some folks millionaires, or even billionaires!

It’s been a good year for the stock market, with the broad-based S&P 500 up by roughly 25%, through Dec. 8. But it’s been a great year for the cryptocurrency space, with the aggregate value of digital currencies more than tripling to $2.37 trillion over the same span.

But for some well-known cryptocurrencies, a 200% year-to-date gain would represent a drop in the bucket. For each of the following four cryptocurrencies, a $10,000 investment at midnight on Jan. 1 would have easily made you a millionaire, if not billionaire, as of late evening on December 8. Image source: Getty Images. Shiba Inu: $5,024,657,500

In what may well be described as the most eye-popping single-year gain in history , meme coin Shiba Inu ( SHIB -1.74% ) has moonshot from an opening value of $0.000000000073 per SHIB on Jan. 1 to almost $0.000037 per token as of Dec. 8. In losing six zeroes, Shiba Inu has delivered a greater than 50,000,000% year-to-date gain. In context, a $10,000 investment would now be worth more than $5 billion!

As you might imagine, a lot of catalysts have played a role in pushing Shiba Inu to historic short-term gains. In no particular order: More cryptocurrency exchanges than ever are listing SHIB, which is improving liquidity and increasing awareness of the coin.

The launch of decentralized exchange ShibaSwap in July has also boosted liquidity, as well as lifted the average hold period for SHIB tokens (thanks to staking capabilities).

The fear of missing out (FOMO) has clearly played a role, with investors expecting more upside, even on the heels of life-altering gains.

Coin burn has reduced the supply of SHIB tokens, making each remaining coin scarcer.

But in spite of all these positives, a simple truth remains: Shiba Inu lacks competitive advantages, true differentiation, and meaningful utility. Fewer than 380 merchants accept SHIB as a form of payment, and nothing about it stands out as a lure that’ll drive businesses to accept it over a growing sea of other payment coins. Shiba Inu may have had a year to remember in 2021, but it could well be the worst-performing popular digital currency in 2022 . Image source: Getty Images. Axie Infinity: $2,177,500

Putting aside Shiba Inu’s outlier gain, the next best-performing cryptocurrency in 2021 has been Axie Infinity ( AXS -2.24% ). A $10,000 investment to begin the year in this relatively obscure token would now be worth almost $2.18 million.

Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn game built on the trusted Ethereum blockchain . The game allows users to collect, raise, and battle token-based monsters known as Axies (you’ll need at least three Axies to go to battle). As with traditional battle gaming, experience points are earned by the winner, which can be used to improve certain aspects of a users’ Axies.

Additionally, each of these Axie’s is a non-fungible token (NFT) that can be monetized. Users can buy or sell Axies in a marketplace, or they can be bred to create unique Axies that can be utilized in the game or sold later.

The reason Axie Infinity has likely done so well has to do with the revenue the game is generating. In August and September, Axie brought in $342 million and $220 million in revenue, respectively. That placed it second only to Ethereum among blockchain-based applications.

Perhaps the biggest concern, as we head into 2022, is whether Axie Infinity can remain popular. With so many other blockchain-based games in development, gaming interest can shift in the blink of an eye. Image source: Getty Images. The Sandbox: $1,434,500

Another cryptocurrency that wasn’t playing around in 2021 is The Sandbox ( SAND ). SAND, the primary protocol token of the platform, began the year below $0.04, but has since rallied to well over $5. This means a $10,000 investment on Jan. 1 would be worth over $1.4 million, as of Dec. 8.

The buzz surrounding The Sandbox is somewhat similar to what’s fueled Axie Infinity higher. The difference is The Sandbox is all about monetizing the metaverse — i.e., the next iteration of the internet that allows users to interact in a 3D virtual environment. This blockchain-based gaming platform rewards gamers for creating virtual worlds and interacting within their own or other worlds.

What’s particularly appealing about The Sandbox is that, unlike most games which are owned/developed by corporations, users retain full ownership of their virtual worlds as NFTs . These NFTs can be utilized […]

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