With the cryptocurrency markets still in an uncertain position, many crypto investors are wondering if it’s time to sell in order to secure their profits, or continue to hold, or even accumulate, to benefit from a potential price rally that could be in the store in the short to medium term.
Even though the crypto markets have always recovered from their bearish periods so far, every bear market has its “casualties” that never make a strong recovery. Therefore, it’s important to choose quality crypto projects that have a good chance of surviving the bear market and thriving in the future.
We’ve analyzed 200 of the top cryptocurrencies based on their liquidity and availability, technology, sector leadership, tokenomics and more key factors. You can read more about our criteria a bit further down in the article.
By doing so, we’ve narrowed the list down to a dozen cryptocurrencies that present the most compelling opportunities at the moment. The top three coins on our list are updated weekly to reflect the most up-to-date developments in the crypto and blockchain sector.
LIST OF THE BEST CRYPTOCURRENCIES TO INVEST IN JULY 2024:
- Bitcoin – Decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency
- Toncoin – A blockchain closely integrated with the Telegram messenger
- Cardano – One of the leading Ethereum competitors
- Maker – A key decentralized finance project
- Ethereum – The leading blockchain for smart contracts
- Solana – High-performance blockchain platform for smart contracts
- Kaspa – Scalable layer1 blockchain based on BlockDAG architecture
- BNB – A popular cryptocurrency utilized in the Binance ecosystem
- XRP – Highly efficient digital currency
- Uniswap – The biggest DEX on Ethereum
- Notcoin – A TON Blockchain ecosystem project that started as a viral clicker game
- Shiba Inu – The second-largest meme coin on the market
Examining the best cryptos to buy right now
Let’s start off by highlighting three cryptocurrency projects that have seen important developments recently or have big events coming up in the near future. We update these highlighted coins on a weekly basis to reflect the latest developments in the world of crypto and blockchain.
Before we dive into our list of the best cryptos to buy, we should note that choosing which crypto to buy is only the first step in your crypto investment journey. It's also important to choose the right platform to buy crypto, and you also have to decide how you will be storing your cryptocurrency.
In our opinion, the best way to invest in crypto is to transfer your coins to a hardware wallet after you buy it on an exchange. A great starting point is to buy cryptocurrency on KuCoin and store it in a Ledger hardware wallet.
1. Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that was initially described in 2008 and launched in early 2009. Bitcoin was invented by a person using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity is still unknown.
Bitcoin introduced the concept of a blockchain and provides a fully decentralized digital currency that’s extremely secure. It implements Proof-of-Work to make it very difficult to alter the history of transactions or double spend coins. The network is secured by miners, who are rewarded with BTC coins for adding blocks to the Bitcoin blockchain.
BTC can be sent anywhere in the world on a 24/7 basis, and transactions cannot be blocked by any intermediaries. By holding their own private keys, users can self-custody their Bitcoin without requiring institutions such as banks.
Even though countless cryptocurrencies and blockchain platforms have been released after Bitcoin, BTC is still easily the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Why Bitcoin?
Bitcoin has displayed a 22% surge against the US dollar in the last 14 days, leading a broader crypto market rally. BTC’s price increase came amidst heightened uncertainty in U.S. politics, as an attempted assasination of former U.S. President Donald Trump shocked the country.
Many analysts have noted that the attempted assassination improves Donald Trump’s chances of winning the presidential election in November, and the odds of Trump’s victory on the blockchain-based prediction market Polymarket have increased up to 71% from roughly 60% before the assassination attempt. After the initial surge, Trump’s odds for victory sit at 64% against the field headlined by Kamala Harris and Michelle Obama.
The BTC markets have reacted favorably to Donald Trump’s improved chances of becoming the next U.S. President since Trump is thought to have a much more favorable stance towards Bitcoin and crypto than his competitor and current U.S. President, Joe Biden.
Trump’s presidency would likely spell the end of Garry Gensler’s tenure as the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could easily be characterized as very hawkish against crypto. His successor will likely be more open to blockchain-based financial products.
Trump, who said in 2019 that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were “not money” as well as “highly volatile and based on thin air,” has since shifted his rhetoric surrounding crypto to a much more positive tone. In June, Trump wrote, “We want all the remaining bitcoin to be MADE IN THE USA!!!” and that “Bitcoin mining may be our last line of defence against a central bank digital currency.”
Trump even has an appearance scheduled at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, which will be taking place in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 27.
Another factor supporting a bullish outlook for BTC is the increase in Bitcoin spot ETF net flows. While daily net flows were mostly negative between the second week of June and the second week of July, we’ve seen more than $2.8 billion in net inflows since then. This could indicate that institutional investors perceive buying BTC at current price levels as a good investment opportunity. At the time of writing, BTC is trading just 8% removed from its all-time high.
2. Toncoin
Toncoin is a blockchain project that’s continuing the development of a blockchain platform that was initially designed by the team behind the Telegram messenger. While Telegram was forced to abandon the project due to legal trouble with securities regulators in the United States, community members saw potential in Telegram’s blockchain vision and resumed development under the name Toncoin.
The development of Toncoin is led by an organization called the TON Foundation, which has no formal association with Telegram. However, the Telegram team is integrating various solutions powered by the Toncoin blockchain into their messenger. For example, the Telegram app now allows users to access the TON Space wallet.
From a technical perspective, Toncoin is a scalable blockchain with smart contracts functionality and a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. However, the initial distribution of TON was performed through a Proof-of-Work model to ensure a fair launch.
Why Toncoin?
Telegram founder Paul Durov announced on July 19 that an in-app decentralized application (dApp) store and a Web3 browser will launch on Telegram. “We will also step up our efforts to fight the scammers seeking to defraud new entrants into the crypto realm,” Durov noted.
Toncoin has been one of the fastest-growing blockchain ecosystems in the world, currently sitting as the 10th largest blockchain by total volume locked, according to DeFi Llama. At the time of writing, TON Network’s TVL stands at $768 million, up from just $13 million at the start of the year.
There are two major reasons that can be credited for this impressive growth. The first is the popularity of of the Telegram messenger (900+ million users worldwide) and its close integration with The Open Network. The second is the many incentive programs that the team ran over the course of the past couple of months, from Play-to-Earn (P2E) focused airdrops to high staking rewards for USDT users on the TON blockchain.
What could fuel this growth is the upcoming Hamster Kombat airdrop that is expected to take place before the end of the month. Hamster Kombat is the most popular crypto game of all time and one of the fastest-growing digital services in the world, having accumulated over 250 million users between March and July. The clicker game has managed to reach beyond the confines of crypto and into the mainstream, attracting over 12 million followers on Twitter and 34 million subscribers on YouTube.
We could easily see the hype surrounding the launch of the app store, the Web3 browser, and Hamster Kombat’s native token fuel the next leg up in TON’s price.
3. Cardano
Cardano is a decentralized blockchain platform that aims to create a more secure and scalable infrastructure for the development and execution of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded by Charles Hoskinson, a co-founder of Ethereum, Cardano was launched in 2017. It utilizes a unique proof-of-stake consensus mechanism called Ouroboros, which is designed to be more energy-efficient and secure compared to traditional proof-of-work systems.
The platform's native cryptocurrency, ADA, is used to facilitate transactions and operations within the network. Cardano's development is heavily grounded in academic research and peer-reviewed studies, striving for a scientifically robust blockchain ecosystem. Its layered architecture separates the ledger of account values from the reason why values are moved, thereby improving the system's flexibility and security.
Why Cardano?
Earlier this month, the Cardano team unveiled a fresh update for its validator node software, Node 9.0. Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, noted that this update marks the last step on the roadmap before the forthcoming Chang hard fork. For the hard fork to commence, 70% of the nodes must upgrade to the 9.0 version. Presently, 29% of the nodes have adopted the 9.0 version, indicating that it may take a couple of weeks to reach the 70% target.
The Chang hard fork represents a significant upcoming enhancement for the Cardano mainnet, introducing decentralized governance to the blockchain ecosystem. It will also mark the onset of the Age of Voltaire, the final phase in Cardano’s roadmap.
According to Cardano’s CIP-1964, a comprehensive proposal that initially outlined the project’s decentralized governance model in 2022, the new governance framework will include three distinct bodies: a constitutional committee, a delegation of representatives (DReps), and stake pool operators (SPOs). Any governance action must be approved by at least two of these three entities to be implemented on-chain.
The proposal also addresses various deficiencies of the current Shelley governance model by enhancing transparency and oversight over treasury transactions. The new system will reportedly provide more layers of control and ensure that every ADA holder has a say in the governance process.
Following the Node 9.0 update, Cardano experienced notable positive price movement. ADA outperformed all other top 15 cryptocurrencies in the time period between July 8 and July 16, gaining 26%. Since then, the price has stabilized around the $0.436 mark.
It’s worth noting that ADA is currently showing “just” 38% year-over-year gains, while other major cryptos like Bitcoin (+125%), Ethereum (+88%), BNB (+146%), and Solana (+626%) recorded much higher upswings. That could indicate that ADA has more room for growth going forward.
4. Maker
Maker is a decentralized finance protocol on the Ethereum blockchain that issues and manages Dai, a decentralized stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Users that hold assets that are supported as collateral (for example, ETH) can lock their coins into Maker’s smart contracts in order to issue Dai.
The system is overcollateralized—in order to mint Dai, users need to provide collateral that exceeds the value of minted Dai, and users are required to monitor the value of their collateral in order to avoid liquidation.
The MKR token is used as the governance token for the MakerDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization that oversees the Maker protocol.
MakerDAO was founded in 2014 by Rune Christensen, and the Dai stablecoin was launched in late 2017. Initially, the Maker protocol only supported ETH as collateral. With the launch of Multi-Collateral Dai in 2019, it also became possible to use other forms of collateral. Today, Dai is backed by a diverse range of assets, including ETH, (wrapped) BTC, USDC, USDP, and many others.
Why Maker?
MakerDAO has announced the Spark Tokenization Grand Prix, an open competition in which $1 billion will be invested into tokenized RWAs (real-world assets) through the Maker platform. More specifically, the campaign is being organized by Spark, a lending platform that operates a smaller sub-DAO within MakerDAO.
According to reports, numerous significant players are lining up to participate in the program, including BUIDL, a tokenized treasury fund launched by asset management giant BlackRock. Other likely participants include Superstate and Ondo Finance.
Carlos Domingo, the CEO of tokenization platform Securitize, which serves as the issuance partner for BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, had the following to say:
“We think this is a very good move from MakerDAO and we are excited to participate with Blackrock's BUIDL. As the leading tokenized treasury issuer, we will certainly apply.”
5. Ethereum
Ethereum is a blockchain that supports smart contracts, enabling more complex use cases such as decentralized lending protocols and non-fungible tokens. The Ethereum project was founded by Vitalik Buterin, who published the Ethereum whitepaper in late 2013. The Ethereum blockchain launched in July 2015.
One of the first use cases enabled by Ethereum that gained a lot of traction was the ability to issue custom tokens that could be transacted over the Ethereum blockchain. This feature was utilized by many projects to conduct fundraising through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and other types of token sales.
Today, Ethereum has an extremely vibrant ecosystem of decentralized applications – including decentralized financial services, NFT marketplaces, publishing platforms, decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges, and more – which makes it a good investment in 2023, in our opinion.
ETH is the native asset of the Ethereum blockchain, providing an incentive for users to secure the network. The Ethereum network originally implemented a Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism but switched over to Proof-of-Stake in September of 2022.
Why Ethereum?
With Ethereum ETFs expected to start trading in the US market soon, ETH is certainly among the most interesting crypto assets to keep an eye on in the short term.
After the SEC’s approval of 19b-4 filings from exchanges that are looking to list Ethereum ETFs, ETH saw a substantial rally that took the ETH price to roughly $3,900. Since then, the price has dipped into the $3,000 range. However, once ETFs actually start trading, we could see another doze of bullish activity take over the ETH markets.
Remember that the first Bitcoin spot ETFs started trading in the US just earlier this year. When they first launched, BTC was trading at about $45,000. However, in the days and weeks following the launch, BTC shot up all the way to a new all-time high above $73,600.
While it’s impossible to say whether spot ETFs will have the same outsized impact on ETH as they did on BTC, it’s difficult not to be at least somewhat optimistic about the whole thing. According to the latest news coming from Bloomberg analysts, the SEC could approve Ethereum spot ETFs for trading on July 15th.
6. Solana
Solana is a smart contracts platform with a unique architecture that allows it to process thousands of transactions per second while keeping costs extremely low. Solana achieves this by utilizing a unique Proof-of-History algorithm and a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. SOL is among the cheapest cryptos to transfer on the market, as users pay less than $0.001 per transaction on average.
Solana was founded in 2018 by Anatoly Yakovenko. The platform’s mainnet launched in March 2020 and saw a huge boost in adoption in 2021. While SOL has lost a lot of its value in the 2022 bear market, Solana still has one of the most impressive ecosystems in the cryptocurrency sector and is potentially still one of the next cryptos to explode.
Why Solana?
There have been two separate applications to launch a spot Solana ETF in the United States, coming from asset management firms VanEck and 21Shares. Both applications are seeking to get the products listed on the CBOE BZX exchange.
21Shares plans to use Coinbase as the fund’s SOL custodian, with the funds being stored in segregated wallets on the Solana blockchain. Notably, the fund will not be staking SOL, likely due to regulatory requirements.
Outside of the United States, 21Shares already offers an ETP (exchange-traded product) that is 100% physically backed by SOL. The product also gives holders access to staking yields. The product, which has the ticker ASOL, trades on the SIX Swiss Exchange, Boerse Stuttgart, and Euronext Amsterdam stock exchanges.
While the fact that there are now active Solana ETF applications is bullish for SOL overall, the path to a Solana ETF might be more difficult than what we’ve seen with the recently approved Ethereum ETFs.
It’s important to note here that U.S. securities regulator SEC has already claimed that SOL is an unregistered security in at least two lawsuits. Meanwhile, U.S. regulators largely treat Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities. Another factor to consider is that, unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, there is no regulated Solana futures market in the United States.
7. Kaspa
Kaspa is a decentralized cryptocurrency project focused on high scalability and fast transactions. Utilizing a blockDAG rather than a traditional blockchain, Kaspa aims to offer fast block confirmations for a more efficient and user-friendly experience.
Marathon cited Kaspa’s “fair launch, technology and strong market position” as the main reasons why they decided to start mining it in addition to Bitcoin. The company also said that diversification of its digital assets portfolio was a key reason for launching Kaspa mining operations. It's worth noting that KAS is the most profitable crypto to mine as of July.
Marathon Digital’s chief growth officer Adam Swick stated:
“Integrating Kaspa into our digital asset compute portfolio enables us to diversify our revenue streams and improve our profitability per kilowatt-hour. Bitcoin is Bitcoin, and nothing will ever take away its unique value proposition. However, Kaspa's innovative technology and dedicated community present a valuable opportunity for us to support and nurture proof-of-work innovation.”
8. BNB
BNB is a token that was launched by the Binance cryptocurrency exchange in 2017. BNB serves two primary functions. Holders of the token get access to special benefits when using Binance – this includes lower trading fees, access the exchange’s Launchpad and Launchpool programs, cashback on Binance Visa card purchases, and more.
The token is also used as the native asset of the BNB Chain blockchain. BNB Chain is a variant of Ethereum that offers significantly lower transaction fees to users, and it allows developers to easily deploy EVM-compatible decentralized applications. Previously known as Binance Coin, BNB has now gone through an extensive rebranding.
Why BNB?
The Binance cryptocurrency exchange recently announced a new initiative called “HODLer Airdrops”, which will provide airdrops to users who have their BNB tokens in Binance’s Simple Earn lending products.
According to Binance, the tokens that will be airdropped through HODLer Airdrops will be sourced from projects that already have a large circulating token supply and will soon be listed on Binance. The exchange says it will be prioritizing “small to medium projects with strong fundamentals, a large circulating supply, and strong and organic communities”.
HODLer Airdrops will apply to BNB holders who have their tokens in Simple Earn products, including flexible and locked lending products. The airdrop allocations will be determine according to each user’s hourly average balance in Simple Earn, and Binance will also be taking historical snapshots of users’ Simple Earn BNB balances at randomly selected intervals.
The HODLer Airdrops initiative is yet another incentive for users to hold BNB tokens, as BNB tokens committed to Simple Earn products will also be eligible for other benefits such as Launchpool and Megadrop initiatives, as well as Binance’s VIP program.
9. XRP
XRP is a cryptocurrency that was launched in June of 2012. It was developed by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto, who started a company called OpenCoin together with Chris Larsen. 80% of the XRP supply was gifted to the company by the developers of XRP. OpenCoin has since been renamed to Ripple, and the company has put the majority of its XRP holdings into escrow.
XRP provides very fast and low-cost transfers, making it suitable for use-cases like remittances. It uses neither Proof-of-Work nor Proof-of-Stake, but instead implements the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol. Every participant in the XRP network can choose a set of validators that they trust to behave honestly.
Ripple has implemented the XRP cryptocurrency into its products, most notably On-Demand Liquidity (ODL). ODL works in partnership with cryptocurrency exchanges uses XRP to provide efficient cross-border money transfers.
Why XRP?
US fintech firm Ripple, which is the key player in the XRP Ledger ecosystem, has announced that they will be launching a new dollar-pegged stablecoin on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum platforms. The stablecoin will follow the traditional model of full backing using USD deposits, (short-term) US government treasuries and other cash equivalents.
To increase transparency, Ripple aims to publish monthly attestations conducted by a third-party accounting firm to demonstrate that the stablecoin is fully backed.
David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO and one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, said that a USD-backed stablecoin on the XRP Ledger platform will be a “gamechanger” for both users and developers.
XRP investors can look forward to the stablecoin potentially boosting liquidity on the XRP Ledger’s built-in decentralized exchange functionality and introduce new cases for the XRP Ledger platform, which could certainly also benefit XRP as an asset.
10. Uniswap
Uniswap is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange that introduced and popularized the AMM (automated market maker) model. This unique design removes the need for order books, providing an elegant way for swapping between different tokens directly on the blockchain without relying on intermediaries.
The Uniswap protocol is decentralized, and anyone can create liquidity pools for any token. This means that the newest crypto assets are often traded on Uniswap before they make their way on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges.
The model introduced by Uniswap has been adopted by many decentralized exchanges on different blockchain platforms. However, Uniswap remains the most active decentralized exchange in terms of trading volume.
Uniswap is governed by holders of the UNI token, who can submit and vote for proposals. UNI was distributed to past users of the Uniswap protocol via an airdrop in 2020, and the token is now available for purchase on a variety of both decentralized and centralized trading platforms.
Why Uniswap?
Uniswap’s governance token UNI has been the best performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies in the past week, recording a +12% price 12. This surge has helped UNI reach a new multi-week high during a period where the overwhelming majority of cryptocurrencies lost value.
On-chain data reveals that UNI's price increase coincided with promising market trends. The open interest for UNI peaked at $168 million earlier in June, up from $85 million a month ago, indicating growing investor interest. While this does not guarantee that UNI will continue to rise in value, it suggests that investors are optimistic about its prospects.
On June 14, Uniswap announced support for ZKsync, enabling trades on the highly efficient Ethereum layer 2 network. This integration promises lower fees and faster transaction times for Uniswap users, potentially contributing to the recent positive sentiment around UNI.
11. Notcoin
Notcoin first became known to the public as an extremely simple clicker game that could be played as a Mini App within the Telegram messenger. By repeatedly tapping on an image of a shiny coin, players could earn points. Players also had the ability to activate bonuses which increased the rate at which points could be earned.
The Notcoin Mini App had basic social functionalities, as users could create "Squads" with their friends and compete with other Squads on leaderboards. This helped the game go viral, as Notcoin quickly reached millions of users.
Now, the Notcoin team is launching an actual token on the TON Blockchain platform. The token has the ticker NOT, and is designed to function as a community token that enables users to earn rewards while discovering the web3 ecosystem, playing games, or adding value to the ecosystem.
Why Notcoin?
Notcoin has partnered with DeFi project 1inch and on-chain attestation project Sign to establish a startup accelerator for teams working on the TON Blockchain. The accelerator is dubbed Triangle and aims ot support teams that are improving the TON Blockchain user experience and creating consumer apps that help bridge the gap between web2 and web3.
Through the six-week program, Triangle will support projects through various means, including go-to market services, investments, and mentorship. Projects will receive access to the TokenTable token management platform, and will be able to use Sign Protocol to prevent unwanted behaviour in their token sale or token claim processes. In addition, 1inch will provide opportunities for DeFi integrations.
The inaugural cohort of the Triangle accelerator will include mentors such as Sign co-founder and CEO Xin Yan, 1inch co-founder Anton Bukov, Notcoin founder Sasha Plotvinov, and many other significant contributors in the crypto ecosystem
12. Shiba Inu
Shiba Inu is a meme cryptocurrency that was launched in 2020 by a person using the pseudonym “Ryoshi”. The project is heavily inspired by the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, and also features the Shiba Inu dog breed in its branding. In contrast to Dogecoin, which has its own blockchain, Shiba Inu is issued on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token.
During the SHIB token launch, half of the supply was sent to Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin (who is not involved with the project in any way). The project framed this as a token burn. Buterin did eventually burn the vast majority of his SHIB holdings and sold the rest of his tokens to fund charitable donations.
SHIB saw a significant spike in popularity in 2021 and became the second-largest meme coin by market cap, second only to Dogecoin. In addition, SHIB is one of the most popular penny cryptos at the moment.
Why Shiba Inu?
The Shiba Inu project has raised $12 million in funding by selling TREAT tokens. This funding was provided by a group of international venture capital firms, including Mechanism Capital, Big Brain Holdings, and others.
TREAT, which is designed to be the final token introduced in the Shiba Inu ecosystem, and it will be used as the utility and governance token of a new blockchain which is designed to improve the privacy of blockchain transactions.
The Shiba Inu ecosystem’s new blockchain will take advantage of Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) technology provided by Zama. The blockchain will function as a layer 3, built on top of the Shibarium platform.
Shytoshi Kusama, the lead developer of the Shiba Inu project, had the following to say about the funding round:
