7 of the Best Altcoins to Buy Now

Bitcoin isn’t the only crypto game in town.

Bitcoin (BTC) gets the lion’s share of cryptocurrency media coverage, and rightfully so. But in the years since the first Bitcoin transaction in 2009, thousands of additional cryptocurrencies have popped up, creating a confusing landscape for investors. Some of these altcoins feature major technical innovations that differentiate them from Bitcoin, while others have simply become popular digital currency brands and social media memes. Cryptocurrency investing remains an extremely speculative endeavor, but it can be lucrative for investors willing to risk painful losses in the hopes of big payouts. Here are seven of the best altcoins to buy today.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is the largest and oldest Bitcoin alternative, but the Ethereum network was built with an entirely different goal than Bitcoin. The Ethereum blockchain was the first to introduce smart contracts — code designed to run decentralized applications, or dApps. There are currently 2,921 dApps running on the Ethereum network, according to the website State of the dApps. The Ethereum network is home to dApps for gaming; gambling; socializing; decentralized finance, or DeFi; and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. The network’s functionality is one reason Ether, the native token of the Ethereum network, has significantly outperformed Bitcoin in recent years.

Ripple (XRP)

Ripple is a global, digital financial transaction network designed to facilitate transactions among banks and other financial institutions. Ripple is intended to be a faster, cheaper, more-secure alternative to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, system for money transfers. XRP is the native cryptocurrency designed for use on the Ripple network and XRP Ledger blockchain. The average XRP transaction takes only about five seconds and costs less than 1 cent in fees. XRP transactions are verified using a consensus protocol in which only transactions accepted as legitimate by a majority of validators are added to the ledger.

Solana (SOL)

Solana is a relative cryptocurrency newcomer that launched in March 2020. The coin has quickly amassed a large following and is now the sixth-most-valuable cryptocurrency in the world, excluding stablecoins, with a market capitalization of $31 billion. Like Ethereum, Solana supports dApps and NFTs, but it has far fewer total projects on its blockchain than Ethereum does. Solana’s unique combination of proof-of-history, or PoH, and proof-of-stake, or PoS, transaction verification gives it several advantages over Ethereum, including faster and cheaper transaction verification. Solana also requires far less energy than Bitcoin or Ethereum transactions, making it a much greener alternative.

Polkadot (DOT)

The Polkadot blockchain was launched in 2020 by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood. Polkadot operates a main network blockchain where transactions are permanently recorded. The technology’s unique feature is its parachains, which are user-created blockchains that can be customized while still benefiting from the same security measures as the main Polkadot chain. Users can customize different Polkadot parachains for different uses, but the network only requires enough computing resources to operate the main chain. In December, OTC-listed Deutsche Telekom AG (ticker: DTEGY) — Europe’s largest telecom company — bought some of Polkadot’s native DOT cryptocurrency as part of its initiative to integrate cryptocurrency into its accounting system.

Dogecoin (DOGE)

If you’ve followed cryptocurrency news at all, you’re already well aware of Dogecoin. The cryptocurrency that was created in 2013 as a parody of Bitcoin has become one of the most popular and valuable digital currency brands in the world, thanks in large part to its viral Shiba Inu mascot. Dogecoin’s meteoric rise has been fueled by influential Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CEO and Dogecoin investor Elon Musk, who recently urged McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) to begin accepting Dogecoin as payment. Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban is also a Dogecoin supporter and has called it the “strongest” cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange.

Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin was created in 2011 by former Google engineer Charlie Lee, who now works for Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN). Lee essentially created Litecoin to be to Bitcoin what silver is to gold. The biggest advantage Litecoin has over Bitcoin is its faster block generation rate, which allows for shorter transaction confirmation times. Litecoin got a boost in November when AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) announced that it planned to begin accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) at its theaters. Litecoin’s price has tripled in the past three years, but it has still lost significant market share to Bitcoin and Ethereum in that time.

FTX Token (FTT)

FTX Token is the utility token native to international cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX. In addition to allowing FTX users to reduce fees and earn interest, FTX Token has also been an excellent investment. As of Feb. 14, the price of FTX Token is up more than 100% year over year, compared to a 62% gain for Ethereum and a 12% loss for Bitcoin. While other cryptos have slumped, FTX Token’s momentum has continued. FTT is already up another 14% year to date, and FTX token was the only one of 23 cryptos Bank of America is tracking that gained value in January.

7 of the best altcoins to buy:

Ethereum (ETH) Ripple (XRP) Solana (SOL) Polkadot (DOT) Dogecoin (DOGE) Litecoin (LTC) FTX Token (FTT)

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7 of the Best Altcoins to Buy Now originally appeared on usnews.com

Update 02/14/22: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.