It’s an exciting time when you have a bit of extra cash lying around that you’re not entirely sure what to do with. You could go out to that new fancy restaurant in town, or you could invest it for the future. After all, unless you’ve been living on a remote island for the past handful of years, you know that investing in cryptocurrency is all the rage now.

This article aims to help you make a smart decision when it comes to what to do with that extra money. For now, let’s skip the duck confit and instead look at the top cryptocurrency picks worth considering.

First, a quick explainer on crypto.

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is digital money that isn’t controlled by a government. Instead, it’s based on blockchain technology, which is a system where each transaction is recorded. Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency, and there are currently over 19,000 of them available.

While cryptocurrency is being used more and more to make purchases, most people treat it as a short- or long-term investment. Cryptocurrency is risky to invest in because its value can go up and down a lot, especially over a short period of time. This most recent drop in value shows how volatile it can be. So, it’s important to know what you’re getting into before you buy in.

Here are some of our top cryptocurrency picks.

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

Without a doubt, the biggest and most well-known cryptocurrency is Bitcoin (BTC). Bitcoin was created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto and is the original cryptocurrency. Like most cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin runs on a blockchain. A blockchain is a ledger that keeps track of all the Bitcoin transactions that have taken place. This ledger is distributed across many different computers, which makes it difficult for people to tamper with it. In order to add new transactions to the blockchain, someone has to solve a cryptographic puzzle. This type of security is very appealing to many and is one of the prime reasons cryptocurrencies have gained in popularity over the years.

Bitcoin is a digital currency that has become more and more popular in recent years. Its value has skyrocketed, with one Bitcoin costing around $29,000 as of May 23, 2022. That’s a growth of more than 5,700%. In November 2021, Bitcoin was at its highest cost, hovering around $68,000. Unfortunately, those who bought during that time have seen their profits decrease mightily. But, if you’ve been a long-term investor, you are still enjoying quite the ride!

How to Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

Fortunately, today, if you’re interested in Bitcoin (and many other cryptos), it’s become much easier to invest than it was just a few years ago. Several companies offer crypto exchanges, where you simply sign up for a cryptocurrency account and wallet and connect it to your banking accounts for easy transactions.

For Bitcoin, you can check out:

• Coinbase (the most popular crypto exchange)
• Voyager
• BlockFi
• Uphold
• Kraken
• eToro
• Crypto.com

There are plenty of others, but those are some of the most well-known exchanges. Even Robinhood.com allows cryptocurrency trading on top of their more traditional trade offerings.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is a cryptocurrency and blockchain platform that is popular with program developers because of its potential applications, like so-called smart contracts that automatically execute when conditions are met and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). While there is a large gap between Ethereum and the #1 coin–Bitcoin, there is an even larger gap between Ethereum and every other cryptocurrency.

Ethereum is currently the most popular blockchain. Ethereum could gain even more ground once an upcoming upgrade called “The Merge” is deployed this year. The upgrade will shift Ethereum to a proof-of-stake-based consensus that will reduce the number of coins and make mining obsolete. It’s expected also to reduce energy consumption currently required by Ethereum.

Ethereum has grown tremendously. It started at $11 in April 2016 and then went up to $2,000 by the beginning of May 2022. That’s an increase of almost 18,000%. Similar to other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum has decreased from its all-time price high, which was $4,812 in 2021.

How to Buy Ethereum (ETH)

Because of its popularity, Ethereum can be purchased or sold at most cryptocurrency exchanges. This includes:

• Coinbase
• Gemini
• eToro

And more. You can also purchase Ethereum through Venmo or PayPal.

3. Tether (USDT)

What’s unique about Tether is that it was the world’s first “stablecoin.” This means that the coin is backed by fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar or the Euro. It’s designed to keep the equal 1:1 value of its chosen currency. Basically, instead of the ups and downs you get from any investment, it’s a “stable” cryptocurrency.

These coins are preferred by those concerned with the volatility of the crypto market but who also want to have a stake in that market. Long term, the goal of Tether is to become a widely used currency for everyday transactions in the future.

How to Buy Tether (USDT)

As Bitcoin showed us, being first to market has its advantages. Tether is another widely popular coin and can be traded on many cryptocurrency exchanges.

Including:

• Coinbase
• Crypto.com
• Binance
• Kraken

And many more.

4. Binance Coin (BNB)

Binance Coin is a type of cryptocurrency that you can use when trading on Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world.

Since its launch in 2017, Binance Coin has grown to become more than just a way to trade on the Binance exchange. It can now be used for trading, payment processing, or booking travel arrangements. It can also be exchanged for other forms of cryptocurrency, such as Ethereum or Bitcoin.

Binance Coin surged in price in early 2021. Starting at around $38 on January 1st, it reached an all-time high of $683 by May.

Binance Coin has been one of the more stable investment options compared to many other cryptocurrencies. Because of this, it’s a preferred option for those seeking less volatility. Of course, it’s important to state that Binance is still considered a highly volatile investment.
BNB’s price in 2017 was just $0.10. By early May 2022, its price had risen to around $279, a gain of approximately 280,000%.

How to Buy Binance Coin (BNB)

The top place to buy Binance Coin is the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. But, you can also trade Binance Coin on eToro and Crypto.com.

5. Cardano (ADA)

Cardano is notable because, while it’s a more recently developed coin, it was one of the first cryptocurrencies to use proof-of-stake validation. This makes it faster to process transactions and lowers the environmental impact by removing the competitive problem-solving aspect of transaction verification. Cardano also works like Ethereum to enable smart contracts and decentralized applications, which are powered by ADA, its native coin.

The smaller footprint of the Cardano network is appealing to investors for several reasons. It takes less energy to complete a transaction on Cardano than on a larger network like Bitcoin. This means transactions are faster and cheaper. Cardano also launched a “hard fork,” an upgrade that increased functionality. Specifically, it enabled smart contract deployment.
Cardano is designed to be more adaptable and more secure. It is constantly improving its security features to stay ahead of hackers.

The ADA token from Cardano has had modest growth when compared to other major cryptocurrencies. In 2017, the price for ADA was $0.02. As of May 12, 2022, the price for ADA was at $0.50–an increase of 2,400%.

How to Buy Cardano (ADA)

Cardano can be purchased and traded on almost any cryptocurrency exchange, including:

• Coinbase
• Binance
• Gemini
• Kraken
• Bitfinex

And many more.

6. Polygon (MATIC)

Polygon was created by a development team that made significant contributions to the Ethereum blockchain platform, specifically in improving transaction and verification speeds. Polygon is designed for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development, according to CoinMarketCap.

Its token, MATIC, is used for payment services, transaction fees, and as a settlement currency.
One of the most exciting things that could happen to help prices for MATIC is if Zo World, a decentralized travel project, launches its founder non-fungible token and other digital assets on Polygon. People who buy those assets will also own Zo Metaverse real estate.

Unfortunately, there was an exploit discovered late last year that cost Polygon about $1.4 million from hackers.

How to Buy Polygon

You can trade Polygon (MATIC) on the major crypto exchange networks, including:

• Robinhood
• Coinbase
• eToro
• Webull
• Binance
• Uphold

7. U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC)

USD Coin (USDC) is a stablecoin, meaning it is backed by U.S. dollars. USDC is powered by Ethereum, which means you can use USDC to complete global transactions.

How to Buy U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC)

The best way to buy USDC is through Coinbase. But you can also buy it at other crypto exchange marketplaces.

8. XRP (XRP)

XRP was created by some of the same founders as Ripple–a digital technology and payment processing company. According to Ripple, XRP was built to be “the most practical cryptocurrency for applications across the financial services space.” It’s used to facilitate exchanges of different currency types.

At the start of 2017, the price of XRP was $0.006. As of May 2022, it reached $0.39–an increase of more than 6,400%.

How to Buy XRP (XRP)

You can trade XRP on a wide variety of exchanges, including:

• Binance
• eToro
• Uphold
• Bitstamp
• Bitfinex
• Huobi Global
• FTX

And more.

9. Avalanche (AVAX)

Avalanche is a new blockchain that was founded by computer scientists from Cornell University and Ava Labs. Avalanche is designed to improve the scalability of the system, as described by Binance. Emin Gün Sirer, a veteran in cryptographic research, is one of the founders of Avalanche.

Avalanche can handle more transactions than Ethereum because it has three different blockchains that work independently. This makes it more scalable so it can handle large amounts of transactions at the same time. Avalanche is becoming more popular among Ethereum projects because of this.

Trading for AVAX began in 2020 as a 24-hour coin offering. Its price has fluctuated from a low of $9.34 to a high of $146.22 over the past year. It currently trades for around $28.

Where to Buy Avalanche (AVAX)

The best place to buy avalanche is eToro. You can also purchase it on a number of other exchanges, including crypto.com, Binance, and Coinbase.

10. Solana (SOL)

Solana was created as a high-performance blockchain to support builders around the world create quick-scaling crypto apps. It does this by running on unique hybrid proof-of-stake and proof-of-history mechanisms. SOL is the native token that powers the Solana platform.

It launched in 2020 at $0.77. Today, in May 2022, its price is around $48, a gain of more than 6,200%.

Where to Buy Solana (SOL)

Some of the best places to purchase Solana (SOL) include:

• eToro
• Crypto.com
• Coinbase
• Binance

11. Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin was created as a joke in 2013 based on a popular meme featuring a Shiba Inu (a Japanese breed of dog) but quickly became a popular cryptocurrency because of its dedicated community and creative memes. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, there is no limit on the number of Dogecoins that can be created, which leaves the currency susceptible to devaluation as the number of coins in circulation increases.

Dogecoin’s price in 2017 was $0.0002. In May 2022, its price was at $0.08, up almost 40,000%.

Where to Buy Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin is traded on Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken. You can also access the coin on Robinhood, SoFi, and Webull.

12. Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink is a company that uses a decentralized oracle network to help different blockchains interact with other data, events, and payment methods. The developers hope this will allow smart contracts to become the primary way people pay for things online.

One advantage that Chainlink has is a strategic partnership with Google. As part of this agreement, Google uses Chainlink’s protocol to connect users to its cloud services. The project also has some impressive advisors, including former Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt, DocuSign co-founder Tom Gonser, and former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner.

Chainlink is being used to create a new inflation index. This new index will be more accurate and resistant to censorship than the CPI. The CPI uses survey data, but the Truflation index will use price data.

Where to Buy Chainlink (LINK)

You can purchase Chainlink (LINK) at Coinbase, Bitstamp, Uphold, Binance, and others.

Conclusion

We hope this list helped you learn more about cryptocurrencies and which ones are on the market today. The truth is there are now hundreds of coins available, some unique and others experimental. Which you should invest in is entirely up to you and what you believe is best for your financial goals.