7 Cryptos on Robinhood: Should You Buy?

Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) is a commission-free stock trading app that also allows its users to trade cryptocurrencies. The app is very popular due to its simplicity and user-friendly design. Thus, it is often the go-to investment app for users that aren’t very familiar with advanced investment techniques. The app also allows users to invest in cryptocurrencies seamlessly, which helps those looking for cryptos on Robinhood.

In addition to that, Robinhood is also expanding its crypto-related services. Robinhood now has a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet which gives users total control over their crypto assets, and the company recently expanded its crypto offerings to 12.

With the expansion of crypto services, many Robinhood users are considering making a crypto investment for the first time. However, it is difficult for new crypto investors to choose which cryptos they should prioritize first. Therefore, I’ll be discussing the following top seven cryptos on Robinhood and if you should buy them or not.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is the most popular cryptocurrency and is the largest by market capitalization. BTC is a time-tested asset, and it is by far the most secure cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is the go-to asset if you wish to leave your investment in the cryptocurrency market for a long time.

The primary feature that makes Bitcoin unique and valuable is its scarcity. Bitcoin’s circulation is capped at 21 million, and the mining reward for Bitcoin is halved every four years. As a result of this “halving,” the crypto market usually has a bull market around every four years. Moreover, Bitcoin is very secure due to the number of miners contributing to the network. With that in mind, Bitcoin is a buy if you do not care about its short-term price.

Of course, things could be very different from here. The crypto market could experience a recession for the first time, and its effect on the prices of these assets is unknown due to their novelty. Thus, I would not recommend putting a significant portion of your portfolio into crypto.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum (ETH-USD) is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Ethereum could rival Bitcoin in the future, because its network is more advanced. Most blockchain development is currently happening on the Ethereum network, and its developers are working hard to scale Ethereum even more.

If you believe that the metaverse or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have a strong future, Ethereum should be your go-to choice. Most Web3 projects are based on Ethereum and need ETH to use the network. From deploying a smart contract to minting an NFT, ETH is required. Thus, it will likely be a very valuable asset in the future as these new and innovative blockchain technologies continue to be adopted.

Another thing to note is that Ethereum usually outperforms Bitcoin due to its smaller market cap, but it also has worse crashes. The standard deviation (SD) of Ethereum is a little higher, and if you wait for the price to drop a bit more, I believe the long-term return on investment could be much higher on ETH. Furthermore, a significant upgrade is coming to the Ethereum network called “the Merge,” and it will likely give ETH a short-term boost. Thus, I believe ETH is the best crypto if you wish to maximize profit.

Solana (SOL)

Solana (SOL-USD) is among the largest cryptocurrencies and is one of the fastest and most scalable cryptocurrencies. The project took off in mid-2021 due to its scalability. However, it has since declined by 86% due to lingering stability issues on the Solana blockchain.

Although the network may be fast, it is definitely not the most stable. The Solana blockchain has been shut down many times and is far less secure than Ethereum or Bitcoin. Moreover, the Ethereum network’s upgrades could also hamper Solana’s growth. As more and more Web3 developers choose to put their projects on Ethereum, Solana will have a more challenging time growing.

Nonetheless, Solana is innovating and is worth a buy as its developers have recently announced that they are building the world’s first Web3 phone. That could undoubtedly drive up the network’s value in the short term.

The Solana phone is expected to come with a $1000 price tag and has impressive specifications. However, it is unlikely to affect the price of SOL in the long term. In the meantime, I would not suggest putting too much of your crypto portfolio into Solana due to its network issues.

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) is the most popular meme coin in the crypto market. DOGE started gaining popularity in late 2020 before reaching its peak in May 2021. However, it has since declined by more than 90% from its peak.

Despite its decline, some people still buy Dogecoin due to Elon Musk promoting it. However, the hype for Dogecoin has died down, and Elon Musk’s popularity is not enough to sustain a long-term uptrend for DOGE. Elon Musk’s tweets about Dogecoin have had less and less of an effect on its price over time, which is likely to continue.

In addition, DOGE has almost no utility to add value to the asset, nor does it have a max supply cap. The network has a block time of 1 minute with a block reward of 10,000 Dogecoins, which also adds some inflationary pressure to the token. Moreover, even if Elon Musk lets people buy all his products with Dogecoin, it is still unlikely to aid in its growth unless there is a hefty discount. With that in mind, it is best not to buy Dogecoin for now.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Shiba Inu (SHIB-USD) is another meme coin that previously intended to profit off the Dogecoin hype. However, Elon Musk has publicly said he does not hold any Shiba Inu tokens, and the hype surrounding SHIB has decreased.

In addition, Shiba Inu is an ERC20 token which means it runs on the Ethereum network and does not have its own blockchain. Thus, SHIB transactions are costly, and the token cannot even be used as an exchange medium outside centralized spaces.

The lack of use and the high market cap of $5.7 billion makes SHIB a precarious investment. There is nothing particularly noteworthy about Shiba Inu that could help it sustain such a large market cap. It is destined to decline in the long term and isn’t worth an investment.

Polygon (MATIC)

Polygon (MATIC-USD) is a sophisticated project that seeks to make blockchains more interoperable and scalable. The project primarily focuses on the Ethereum network, and MATIC is an ERC20 token.

Unfortunately, Polygon will lose relevancy due to the frequent Ethereum upgrades that make it more scalable. In addition, blockchain interoperability will not add significant value to the token as the vast majority of Web3 projects are already on the Ethereum network.

Furthermore, the Ethereum network will be significantly faster in the future with sharding, allowing it to process around 100,000 transactions per second. With that sort of speed, the necessity of a network such as Polygon will be minimal. Therefore, I would discourage buying Polygon for the long term as it is pretty risky.

Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin (LTC-USD) is a copy of Bitcoin with slight changes in its tokenomics and a different algorithm. The Litecoin network is faster and cheaper than Bitcoin. However, it has not been able to outperform BTC due to a lack of demand.

Litecoin only slightly broke its 2017 peak in the current bull market and currently has no unique attributes to it. Even the recent MimbleWimble upgrade is nothing new, as privacy coins such as Monero (XMR-USD) already exist.

Bitcoin and Ethereum will continue to outperform LTC in the long term. Thus, you should prioritize them first before making any significant investments into LTC.

On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.