The best digital currencies to buy now.
Even though the bubble finally burst in early 2018, cryptocurrencies aren’t going away. And there’s still a lot of money to be made by finding the best cryptocurrencies to buy today. Former Google (Nasdaq: GOOG, GOOGL) chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt has publicly said digital currencies will be far more important 10 years from now than they are today, and many prominent technologists agree. But with hundreds of possible digital tokens to invest in, where do you begin? Among the best cryptocurrencies to buy today are a few no-brainers, but also some altcoins that have great promise of their own and — more importantly — can lower your risk through diversification.
Ethereum (ETH)
The crypto space very much resembles other nascent industries of yesteryear. Several frontrunners emerge early, followed by the rest of the pack. Over time, that head start often proves a vital advantage. Ethereum, the second-most valuable digital currency behind bitcoin, is easily one of the best cryptocurrencies to buy, simply because building a diversified portfolio of digital investments without it is downright negligent. Nobody knows what will emerge as the dominant cryptocurrency 20 or 30 years from now, but you’d be crazy not to own the favorites. It’s like buying both Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) in the 1990s, just to hedge your bets. Turned out pretty well.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
The name alone gives it cachet, and arguably some staying power. BCH has certainly shown its ability to handle volatility better than the average token, and that’s an important quality for investors in digital currencies to consider. In a highly volatile asset class, minimizing risk is a dramatically underrated part of security selection. Bitcoin Cash is also more functionally feasible than bitcoin, due to an increased block size limit that allows for more transactions on the public ledger, making its network more scalable. For these reasons, BCH is a shoo-in as one of the best cryptocurrencies to buy.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Among the best altcoins to buy in recent months, few have done as well as the Binance Coin (BNB). A child of the popular crypto asset exchange site Binance, the BNB coin has flourished as a token in its own right, as it’s used all over the world to convert digital currencies between one another. Helping the coin gain mainstream approval, the site gives users strong incentives to use BNB. Especially if you have some extra bitcoin you’re looking to diversify, BNB has proven itself as one of the best cryptocurrencies to buy with BTC, roughly tripling its value versus bitcoin this year, despite the broader severe sell-off in cryptocurrencies.
Dash (DASH)
Dash, which has been around since 2014, is one of the best cryptocurrencies to buy for very different reasons than the previous digital assets on this list. An easy-to-remember combination of the words “digital” and “cash,” the Dash network claims to be the first self-governing, self-funding protocol. Unlike bitcoin, Dash payments clear almost instantly, and are secured and validated on the blockchain. Dash’s unique design allows for a clever, democratic sort of self-governance to go on, with Dash owners able to submit different proposals — all aimed at growing Dash’s marketability and improving its development — that network participants can vote to fund.
Zcash (ZEC)
Cryptocurrencies aren’t well understood by the masses, as they remain a somewhat fringe asset class, and the blockchain ecosystem is clearly still in its early innings. One thing most Americans probably do know, however, is that part of the reason bitcoin and other digital currencies got popular was the veil of anonymity. Zcash offers even more privacy than that, with the option to totally conceal the sender, receiver and amount sent. You can question what kind of users need that level of privacy, but as long as there’s demand for a service like this, Zcash should benefit. Especially at levels of 0.02 BTC and below, ZEC looks like a steal.
Monero (XMR)
Anyone who puts much stock into technical analysis will probably tear their hair out looking at Monero’s price chart, at least at the time of this writing. It’s true that XMR was not immune from the bursting of the cryptomania bubble in early 2018, and that the longer-term trend since the January peak at $467 is decidedly bearish: prices dropped to less than $100 in August for the first time in nine months. But more important for investors holding a basket of the best cryptocurrencies is Monero’s price in bitcoin. If XMR, which rivals Dash in anonymity, gets as low as 0.011 BTC, it’s worth considering picking some up.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Last and in no way, shape or form least, bitcoin is easily one of the best cryptocurrencies to buy right now. On one hand, bitcoin being the posterchild of crypto highlighted its flaws: small block size, occasionally high fees, potential for very long transaction times and so on. On the other hand, aside from inspiring the creation and development of hundreds of other digital currencies, bitcoin’s fame established it as a market leader, and it’s entirely possible it will morph into the world’s de-facto non-governmental currency of the future. BTC is a must-own if you’re going to have any long-term exposure to cryptocurrencies.
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7 of the Best Cryptocurrencies to Buy originally appeared on usnews.com
