An Altcoin is any cryptocurrency outside of Bitcoin. Crypto coins and tokens such as Ethereum, Cardano, and Skale all fall under this category. They’ve gotten a lot of attention due to their ability to rise in price exponentially. Many traders and short-term investors will only hold Altcoins for as long as they think the Altcoin project is hot. That timeframe may be 1 week to 3 months. But some altcoins may prove to be long-term winners in the crypto race for market share. However, the highly volatile nature of alt-coins means they are very risky to invest in, meaning you could lose all that you put in overtime when you purchase these coins.
If you are interested in purchasing or investing in Altcoins, the easiest place to start is by getting an account on a crypto exchange such as Coinbase and Binance. These exchanges work for most US residents, but they don’t have operations in all 50 states. If you are not a fan of Altcoins, and prefer Bitcoin as a store of value, you may want to consider dollar-cost-averaging into Bitcoin using Swan Bitcoin which allows you to set up easy weekly buys and Swan gives you $10 in Bitcoin for opening an account.
Altcoins vs. Bitcoin
Bitcoin started as a digital currency with the potential to use in transactions, though it later became a store of value. Altcoins came along to innovate on top of Bitcoin or on top of the premise of Bitcoin. There are currently over 10,000 altcoins, the vast majority are worthless, but some show utility and promise. Distinguishing between Altcoins with promise and those that may fade away quickly is not easy. We recommend you do plenty of research to better understand what you are buying. If you make a poor investment choice, you could lose your money. But if you make the right choice, you could be in for a windfall. To be clear, we don’t know what the right choice is, we just know a handful of altcoins that we think show promise.
Best Altcoins to Investments for 2023
With everything said, here are some of the altcoins you might consider buying and holding for 2023 and beyond. Though all of these are speculative, we’re listing them in order from most promising to most speculative.
Many of these coin and tokens are priced under $1 at the time of writing (May 3, 2022) and some are classified as penny crypto. We do not endorse any of these coins. We do not develop or work for the backers of these coins. We are not node operators of any of these coins. We do not mine any of these coins. Also, we are not investment advisors, so do not treat this information as investment advice. Altcoins are highly speculative, and while you can make profits, you can also lose what you invest.
Here’s our list of altcoins that you might consider for a buy and hold strategy (but do your own research before investing):
1. ADA – Cardano
Cardano is a blockchain platform with a dedicated cryptocurrency called ADA. The Cardano platform can handle many types of transactions, but its long-term goal is to become the main blockchain platform that we all use for decentralized applications and smart contracts. To that end, it’s creating an ecosystem that allows seamless interchangeability between different blockchains. Cardona was founded by Charles Hoskinson, a co-founder of Ethereum. His approach is intensively research-driven, and because of this many updates to the protocol are a bit slow, but they are consistent and well thought out. Cardano runs on the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Thus, it can provide fast, efficient, and low-cost transactions. This can position it as one of the most important networks in the ecosystem. Further, it makes the network more scalable.
Two drawbacks to Cardano that you should know are 1) they are built on the Haskell language and there’s not a big community of devs using this language, so developer uptake on the network might be slow. 2) The Cardono team is scientific about which technologies to roll out. The downside of this approach is that they move slowly while the rest of the crypto world iterates quickly.
ADA price on May 3, 2022 – $0.78
See https://cardano.org/ to learn more.
2. SKL – SKALE
SKALE is a Web 3.0 platform that gives developers the ability to easily create configurable decentralized chains that are native to Ethereum. It deploys and rents sidechains, acts as a validator, and provides access to resources of the Ethereum blockchain. Sidechains operate as independent blockchains that integrate with a parent network or main chain. SKALE can also reduce latency in crypto payments and make them more affordable. Developers use SLK tokens to pay for Elastic Sidechain subscriptions, while validators earn tokens by validating the network and its transactions. SKALE is solving Ethereum’s scaling problem. Because it connects with Ethereum ultimately with lesser gas fees and native DApps (Decentralized applications), it can grow side-by-side with Ethereum. Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility makes it easy to develop and deploy DApps on it. SKALE can simultaneously deploy multiple, highly configurable elastic sidechains, and allows users to select their chain’s size, consensus protocol, virtual machine, parent blockchain, and additional security measures. This flexibility may catapult it to the forefront of cryptocurrencies.
SKL price on May 3, 2022 – $0.14
See more information at https://skale.network/
3. SOL – Solana
Solana is a public, open-source blockchain that supports smart contracts, NFTs and decentralized applications. The SOL token is used on the Solana blockchain to provide network security through staking as well as a means of storing or transferring value. As a secure blockchain, Solana hopes to pave the way for global adoption. It can process up to 50,000 transactions per second (Visa can process 64,000 transactions per second). Both are significantly faster than Bitcoin which can process 7 transactions per second. Currently, the protocol helps facilitate DApp creation while maintaining a hybrid consensus. Solana has a different consensus mechanism called Proof of History (PoH) which enables fast transactions. It reduces the work of validators as they do not need to communicate with each other. The network is building its ecosystem of DApps. Currently, it is the 5th largest chain by TVL (total value locked, is the sum of all staked crypto assets that are earning rewards). This speaks volumes about user confidence in the project. Currently, the TVL stands at $6.46 billion.
SOL price on May 3, 2022 – $85.48
Learn more at https://solana.com/
4. ALGO – Algorand
Algorand is a cryptocurrency and blockchain protocol that aims to solve the cryptocurrency trilemma by being highly scalable, secure, and decentralized all at once. To tackle the trilemma, MIT professor Silvio Micali, who is also a Turing award-winning computer scientist, created a robust payment-focused blockchain–the Algorand. Launched in 2019, it was the first protocol to introduce the Pure Proof of Stake (PPoS) consensus. (In PPoS each user’s influence is proportional to his/her number of staked tokens. ALGO is the currency used on the Algorand protocol. You can also use this blockchain to create NFTs, smart contracts and develop scalable and secure applications. Algorand boasts speeds of 1,300 transactions per second (TPS) and is expected to hit 3,000 TPS soon. It has also plans of adding immediate transaction finality, meaning all transactions on the ledger are immutable. They can never be contradicted, modified, or reversed. This also prevents the network from forking.
ALGO price on May 3, 2022 – $0.68
Learn more at https://www.algorand.com/
5. DOT – Polkadot
Polkadot is a multichain project that allows blockchains to be interoperable. Said another way, Polkadot is a protocol that connects different blockchains to each other so that people can trade coins and tokens between chains. For example, one user can trade Bitcoin for another user’s Ethereum, these were previously incompatible networks. Polkadot’s lead promoter is Gavin Wood, one of the cofounders of Ethereum. Polkadot’s ambitions are to become the internet of blockchains. The developers designed it as a foundation to create Web 3.0 or the decentralized blockchain internet. It is fast, scalable, and open-source, allowing users to develop new applications and services on it. The DOT token is used for staking and governance. Currently, its operating parachain auctions and it hopes that its parachain ecosystem will create true interoperability of blockchains.
DOT price on May 3, 2022 – $14.91
Find more information at https://polkadot.network/
6. BAT – Basic Attention Token
The Basic Attention Token (BAT) is a blockchain-based system for tracking your time and attention on websites using the Brave web browser. Brave is touted to be one of the most secure and privacy-protecting browsers. Brave has turned the tables as advertisers, charging the BAT tokens to place ads, and giving a portion of those tokens to you when you view the ads. It’s a cost-efficient process as there are no intermediaries involved to charge advertisers fees. You can also reward content creators with BAT.
BAT price on May 3, 2022 – $0.58
For more information see https://basicattentiontoken.org/
7. MATIC – Polygon
Polygon is a service that helps solve scalability issues with Ethereum through its interface and an easy-to-use suite of tools. It allows Ethereum to gain multichain access similar to other blockchains. Coinbase and Binance back this project. Polygon has acquired many projects and technologies such as plasma chain, and rollups (Rollups perform transaction execution outside Ethereum and then the data is posted to the Ethereum blockchain where consensus is reached. Polygon is Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible which means that Ethereum native DApps can deploy on it seamlessly. Polygon has emerged as a quick, efficient, and affordable alternative for Ethereum. Such is the impact that Uniswap voted to deploy on Polygon. The MATIC token is used to govern and secure the Polygon network and to pay network transaction fees.
MATIC price on May 3, 2022 – $1.07
See this website to seek more information https://polygon.technology/
8. XLM – Stellar Lumens
XLM is the currency, or token, of the Stellar network. XLM is meant to be a medium of exchange. The Stellar network is a cross-border payment platform…a peer-to-peer system that connects individuals to payment systems and banks. The goal of the network is to provide more financial options for those who don’t have access to banks. Stellar aims for any digital asset to be traded for any other digital asset on its network. The network focuses on supporting simple and smaller transactions. Thus, it might be used for everyday transactions in the future. With mass support, the token might be a sought-after investment.
XLM price on May 3, 2022 – $0.17
See more at https://www.stellar.org/
9. CRO – Crypto.com Coin
Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency exchange that supports trading, investing, staking, wallets, and NFTs. The Cronos (CRO) token facilitates the payment services of crypto.com. Specifically, the CRO token is used in place of fiat currency for transaction fees on the network. The network has another token MCO, which is used to earn rewards on the network. The Crypto.com Chain was built to enable transactions between customers and merchants worldwide. The platform utilizes the Cosmos SDK and Tendermint Core’s Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus mechanism. Tendermint’s consensus mechanism was chosen because of its exceptional performance, flexibility, use-case applicability, and track record of adoption by industry leaders.
CRO price on May 3, 2022 – $0.29
Learn more at https://crypto.com/
10. MANA – Decentraland
Decentraland is a metaverse where you can buy and sell digital real estate, create digital art and play casino games while interacting with other users in the virtual world. MANA is the token used to transact in the game. The metaverse is touted as the next step in the evolution of the internet and social media. With advancements in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, people will soon have a more immersive virtual simulation of the real world in the metaverse. Many events are now held only on metaverse such as concerts, meetups, conferences, etc. Decentraland is one of the premier metaverses as of now. But let’s also remember that Alta Vista and Yahoo were once the premier search engines. Nonetheless, MANA should be on your list if you are bullish on metaverse and you like to take a gamble now and then.
MANA price on May 3, 2022 – $1.47
For more information see https://decentraland.org/
11. STORJ – Storj
Storj is an open-source decentralized cloud storage platform. When your files are stored with Storj they are encrypted, split into pieces, and distributed among a global network. The developers aim to provide a compatible and affordable option for those developing in the space. Developers can purchase cloud storage services with the STORJ token. Owners of network computers can earn STORJ tokens in return for providing unused hard drive space and bandwidth to the network. The vision of the protocol is to eliminate the need for a centrally controlled cloud and allows users to store and share data without reliance on a third-party storage provider.
STORJ is built on top of Ethereum in accordance with the ERC20 standard for tokens. Its supply of STORJ tokens is fixed at 425 million. The demand for data storage and privacy is bound to grow in the coming years, which makes STORJ a promising crypto to invest in for the long term.
STORJ price on May 3, 2022 – $0.86
If you are interested in this project, here’s where you can find more information on https://www.storj.io/
12. RVN – Raven Coin
Ravencoin is something like the common people’s Bitcoin. It’s a digital currency created on a fork of the original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. It employs much of the same technology, with a slight variation that allows Ravencoin to be mined on any old average computer. People around the world are putting old PCs to use mining the currency of Raven Coin, RVN. One item to note: there is zero marketing done for Ravencoin, so it’s not splashy, nor does it generate much attention. It’s just a grassroots coin.
The mining algorithm of the Ravencoin project is called X16R. It resists the application-specific integrated circuit chips (ASICs). Another difference from Bitcoin is the consensus mechanism. The Ravencoin block reward is 5,000 RVN, whereas Bitcoin’s is 6.25 BTC (as of 2021). Its block time is 1 minute versus Bitcoin’s 10 minutes, and the total supply of RVN is 21 billion in contrast with Bitcoin’s 21 million. The project is seen as an alternative to smart contract platforms such as Ethereum as it can be used to build DApps, NFTs, etc.
RVN price on May 3, 2022 – $0.0429
Learn more about the Ravencoin project at https://ravencoin.org/
13. MDT – Measurable Data Token
MDT is an Ethereum token that powers the Measurable Data Token ecosystem for anonymously sharing and monetizing consumer data. Businesses on decentralized data exchanges pay users in MDT to share their data, but the users retain privacy as the data is anonymous.
As they say, data is the new oil, as a Web3, MDT tries to leverage the opportunity by providing data services. MDT links users, data providers, and data buyers and determines the data’s value when traded. The era of data privacy just might be ushered in by MDT or by a similar technology. As governments and users become more conscious of the privacy implications, projects like MDT are expected to see massive growth.
MDT price on May 3, 2022 – $0.0480
Learn more about the project at https://mdt.io/
14. AMP – Flexa Network
Amp is a digital collateral token that can add assurance to any blockchain transaction. AMP works with multiple assets to quickly guarantee transactions. It is the native token of the Flexa Network blockchain which uses AMP to enable crypto-collateralized payments at brick and mortar vendors. AMP crypto-payments are collateralized while they are confirmed on the respective digital asset networks and finally the payment is settled in fiat currency to the recipient. AMP is an ERC-20 token, so it uses the Ethereum infrastructure. Crypto payment platforms have seen a rise in the past couple of years. If the present trend continues, AMP will be in demand.
AMP price on May 3, 2022 – $0.0181
Learn more about AMP at https://amptoken.org/
15. ANKR – Ankr
Ankr is a Node-as-a-Service platform for the deployment of blockchain nodes. With Ankr you can deploy nodes on Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchains, stake the PoS tokens, and access decentralized finance (DeFi) applications all at a low cost, and all quite easily. Node operators use the ANKR coin to pay monthly fees to Ankr in return for the various services the platform provides. Users can deploy dedicated validator and developer nodes, access the application programming interface (API), and participate in staking on Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain.
Ankr is non-custodial and has notable partners such as Avalanche, Binance, Blockstack, Compound, Covalent, Celo, Curve, Elrond, Harmony, Oasis, Polygon, Skale, and many more. As Web3 adoption grows, so will the demand for this kind of infrastructure. ANKR may see its usage increase in the future.
ANKR price on May 3, 2022 – $0.0609
Learn more at https://www.ankr.com/
16. VET- VeChain
VeChain envisions solving real-world economic problems. The project’s consensus mechanism is Proof of Authority. Master node operators, with an aligned interest in the development of the VeChain ecosystem, maintain the VeChain Thor protocol according to the Foundation’s governance policy. Here the reputation of players is at stake. Their identities are leveraged to keep the protocol safe. The VeChain protocol was purpose-built supports high-speed transfers. The founders of VeChain believe that blockchains will soon support other technologies such as IoT, AR, VR, AI, and 5G. Once these technologies hit the blockchain, companies could use VeChain’s blockchain as a service (BAAS). VeChain success is thus contingent upon how these other technologies adopt the blockchain.
VET price on May 3, 2022 – $0.0473
Learn more about VeChain at https://www.vechain.org/
17. SHIB – Shiba Inu
SHIB is a meme coin. Like DOGE, it was launched as a parody or inside joke rather than as a digital product that has some utility. And yet, SHIB has already found utility in the form of a large donation for Covid relief. The coin has developed a large following. Shiba Inu may have begun as a joke but it is starting to find various real-world use cases and has a dedicated community. It has its own decentralized exchange and is also developing its metaverse. With strong community support and initiatives such as its incubator, Shiba could become a lucrative investment. More initiatives could line up in the future which may drive up its price.
SHIB price on May 3, 2022 – $0.000020
Learn more about Shiba at https://shibatoken.com/