For U.S. crypto investors, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) is often the top exchange of choice to buy and sell cryptos. Indeed, there are many reasons for this. Most often noted by investors is the platform’s ease of use, as well as its prominent token listings.
That said, choosing the best Coinbase cryptos to buy in this market isn’t as easy as many think. The market is down, making the valuations of many tokens more attractive. However, questions as to whether the market is truly rebounding, or more downside is ahead, makes investing in this market terrifying.
It should be. These assets are highly volatile, and that volatility works in both directions. However, when a bull market does materialize, we’ve seen what can happen to a small investment in one of the various high-flying tokens which took off last year.
Now, 2022 is a different beast. However, with the market turning around in July, perhaps August has more bullish momentum in store. Here are three tokens I think are noteworthy options for Coinbase investors to consider this month.
Best Coinbase Cryptos: Bitcoin (BTC-USD)
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Let’s start with the oldest and most established crypto, shall we?
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) really needs no introduction. This top token is the primary choice of most investors (retail or otherwise), with a market capitalization of around $450 billion at the time of writing.
Bitcoin has been able to achieve this valuation due in part to a flood of institutional capital into this sector. With a number of global funds tracking the price of Bitcoin already launched, and plans for more funds to be launched in the U.S., investors looking for alternative assets such as crypto are likely to flood into Bitcoin first. At least, that’s historically what’s happened.
Bitcoin, like the overall market, continues to remain well off its high of around $69,000 seen last year. Currently, this token trades around the $23,000 level, representing an upside of around 200%, if this token can get back to its previous high. Most long-term investors think that’s the case, leading to strong buying interest at these lower levels.
Now, like other altcoins and smaller projects, Bitcoin is still volatile. Many of the macro factors that have hit this market work against Bitcoin as well. However, this crypto’s size and prominence speaks for itself. Thus, those looking to ‘play it safe’ in the crypto game may want to look at Bitcoin before jumping into more speculative projects.
Ethereum (ETH-USD)
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The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum (ETH-USD) is a top pick of many investors. There are a number of reasons for this. However, it’s the blockchain’s smart contract platform that has spurred a whole world of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications that most get excited about.
Indeed, Ethereum is the undisputed backbone of the DeFi movement. Without Ethereum, we wouldn’t have half of the real-world use cases in this sector right now.
However, there’s a big catalyst on the horizon most investors are watching. That’s Ethereum’s upcoming merge.
This merge will combine Ethereum’s current blockchain with its proof-of-stake Beacon Chain. Thus, Ethereum miners will be no more. What will be left is a more efficient and (investors hope) more stable network to support the latest decentralized applications.
This merge is expected to happen in September, meaning August could be a huge month for price appreciation for this token. Accordingly, those looking to time the market (never a good idea really, but hey) may want to consider Ethereum, given its momentum of late.
Best Coinbase Cryptos: Solana (SOL-USD)
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Solana (SOL-USD) is a decentralized blockchain created to provide scalable and user-friendly applications. Solana’s network can reportedly process as many as 50,000 transactions per second, giving it the reputation of being an incredibly quick blockchain network. As a reference, Bitcoin processes 7 transactions per second while Ethereum can process 15 transactions per second. Outside of crypto, Visa is able to process 1,700 transactions per second.
That’s some incredible speed.
Solana is also very low-cost and has used this cost edge to its advantage. Via various recently announced vertical moves, Solana is quickly becoming a top player in the crypto space.
The first Solana Spaces shop opened in Hudson Yards, New York City. Even though this shop sells limited merchandise, it’s expected Solana Spaces could turn into a retail-as-a-service giant. Alongside Solana Pay and a recently-announced smartphone, there are a number of growth projects on the horizon hardcore crypto investors are bullish on.
Like the other cryptos on this list, Solana has been hammered of late. Some of this has to do with network outages due to congestion on its network and security issues. However, for those thinking long-term, assuming Solana can work out its kinks, this is a network with some serious upside potential.
On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald had positions in Ethereum and Solana. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.