Despite the benchmark S&P 500 more than doubling up its average annual total return in 2021, relative to the past four decades, it’s the cryptocurrency market that again stole the show.
As of the time of this writing on Dec. 28, the aggregate value of all digital currencies was $2.25 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.com. That’s up a cool 191% from the beginning of 2021. Thanks to the consistent outperformance of the “Big Two” — Bitcoin ( CRYPTO:BTC ) and Ethereum ( CRYPTO:ETH ) — cryptocurrency investors are probably wealthier now than they were at this time last year.
And yet, in spite of extreme periods of volatility, opportunity is still knocking for investors to make money — assuming they stick to digital currency projects that offer differentiation and competitive advantages.
As we steam forward into a new year, here are seven cryptocurrencies that have the potential to triple your money in 2022. Image source: Getty Images. 1. Avalanche
Among the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, the one that excites me the most and has a realistic chance of tripling in value this year is Avalanche ( CRYPTO:AVAX ).
Avalanche is a smart contract-driven blockchain network that offers incredible speed and compatibility, which makes it a logical choice with which to develop decentralized applications (dApps). Smart contracts are the protocol that help with verifying, facilitating, and enforcing the negotiation of a contract between two parties.
According to Avalanche’s development team, the blockchain-based network can process north of 4,500 transactions per second (TPS), and it offers a block finality of less than two seconds. To put this into context, the two most popular blockchain networks, Bitcoin and Ethereum, can handle a respective 7 and 13 TPS, and they complete transactions in approximately 60 minutes and six minutes. That’s how much more efficient Avalanche is than the most popular cryptocurrencies.
But the real lure is the aforementioned compatibility. It’s no secret that dApp developers love utilizing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (i.e., the software that allows developers to create dApps on Ethereum). Avalanche has the Ethereum Virtual Machine operating on its blockchain . This means dApp developers have the opportunity to avoid the congestion, high fees, and processing lag associated with Ethereum’s blockchain and migrate their projects to Avalanche’s superior network. This should be a major selling point for Avalanche in 2022. Image source: Getty Images. 2. Qtum
If you want something a bit more off the radar, Qtum ( CRYPTO:QTUM ) (pronounced “Quantum”) is the cryptocurrency that could triple your money in 2022.
It’s relatively obvious, based on their market value dominance, that Bitcoin and Ethereum are loved by investors. However, these networks have their drawbacks. They’re slow, congested, and often come with high transaction fees attached.
Enter Qtum, which aims to combine the best aspects of both networks into a single blockchain project.
Qtum’s blockchain incorporates the highly secure UTXO transaction model from Bitcoin and combines it with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. The result is a secure network that can support smart contracts. In other words, Qtum can be used for sending payments, or could be a hub for dApp development, including decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. With low transaction fees and the ability to process 70 TPS, it’s another smart option for dApp developers.
What’s more, Qtum’s Account Abstraction Layer (AAL) provides differentiation from other platforms. Without getting overly technical, AAL is the component that allows Qtum’s engineers to continuously upgrade the smart contract component of the blockchain while always ensuring that, no matter how many upgrades are rolled out, it’ll remain compatible with the UTXO transaction model.
With a handful of key partnerships under its belt, Qtum is a solid bet to outperform. A physical representation of a Stellar Lumen. Image source: Getty Images. 3. Stellar
I’ll be the first to say it: Aside from Bitcoin, payment coin-based networks don’t get a lot of love in the crypto space. But if there’s one that should, it’s Stellar ( CRYPTO:XLM ), the 27th-largest digital currency by market value.
Imagine you have U.S. dollars in your pocket and you want to send money to a friend or family member in the U.K. Going through traditional banking routes, today’s existing infrastructure could take a full week to validate and settle this transaction.
Comparatively, if you were utilizing Stellar’s blockchain-based network, your U.S. dollars would be converted into Lumens (XLM, the protocol token of the network), sent to their destination, and converted to British pounds. The time to complete this transaction? About 4 to 5 seconds . That’s hitting the send button, validation, and settlement faster than […]
source 7 Cryptocurrencies That Can Triple Your Money in 2022
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