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Best cryptocurrencies in terms of year-to-date performance: 9 major cryptocurrencies
2024 has been an exciting year for cryptocurrencywith Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high of over $70,000 in March.
Bitcoin may be the largest cryptocurrency of market capitalizationbut it is not the best cryptocurrency this year in terms of performance.
And the strongest artists are not alone meme coins — there is a growing selection of established cryptocurrencies with long-term track records.
The 9 best cryptocurrencies based on year-to-date performance
Below is a list of the nine best-performing cryptocurrencies with market capitalizations above $10 billion (a number chosen to eliminate less established coins) sorted by year-to-date performance.
Source: CoinMarketCap.com. The data is current as of May 22, 2024 and is intended for informational purposes only. |
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Is cryptocurrency a good long-term investment?
Malcolm Ethridge, a financial advisor at CIC Wealth, a Maryland-based registered investment advisor, said in an email interview that a small investment in cryptocurrencies, while not “absolutely necessary,” can help provide some diversification to a long-term portfolio, as long as investors top it with some reasonable barriers and limit their exposure.
“I think investors could limit their allocation to cryptocurrencies to 5% and, in the long term, they would still be able to reap the benefits of exposure to the asset class if it rises 10x as its biggest proponents hope, but they would reduce also the chances of being wiped out if the asset class goes to zero tomorrow, which is also possible,” Ethridge said.
What is the best cryptocurrency to buy right now?
The best cryptocurrency to buy now for a particular investor will depend on their circumstances and goals. If you use extra money to speculate on cryptocurrencies for fun, you may be inclined to look for small, high-volatility stocks altcoins.
But if you’re looking to make a long-term cryptocurrency investment for diversification purposes, you may be more interested in mature coins like Bitcoin and Bitcoin. Ethereumwhich boast longer track records, higher market capitalizations and greater adoption by major financial institutions.
When looking at the coins in the table above, it’s important to remember that yield isn’t everything. Many of the cryptocurrencies that are outperforming Bitcoin this year have significantly more limited use cases.
Toncoin (TON), for example, is a spin-off of a defunct blockchain-based web hosting scheme (“The Open Network” or “TON”) originally developed by the social media app Telegram. Dogecoin (DOGE) AND Shiba Inu (SHIB) they are meme coins: jokey altcoins that represent internet memes. And BNB (BNB) is the native coin of the struggling cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
These types of coins can sometimes post triple-digit returns in a matter of months, but investors should keep in mind that they are considerably smaller, less mature, more specialized, and more volatile than “blue chip” cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
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How to add cryptocurrency to your wallet
According to Ethridge, investors should focus on Bitcoin or look for a diversified investment Cryptocurrency ETFs.
“I think investors looking to gain exposure here should either own bitcoin exclusively, as it is the largest and most mature crypto currency by a wide margin, or they should invest via a crypto ETF that owns the 10-20 legitimate, established tokens for y’all in one place,” Ethridge said.
“This approach will help simplify trading and tracking, as well as help keep costs down, as these things are very expensive to trade,” he said.
The author owned Bitcoin at the time of publication.