The cryptocurrency market gained a fresh breath of life last year, and 2024 has seen the industry propel to new heights on the back of Bitcoin setting all-time highs. The market’s bullish performance and the widespread mainstream demand for digital assets have investors asking “What are the best cryptocurrencies to invest in right now?”.
We have listed some of the top crypto tokens you can currently buy in 2024. So let us get started.
Top 10 Cryptocurrencies in 2024
| Cryptocurrency | Market Cap | Current Price (As of Press Time) |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $1.39 Trillion | $70,689 |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $436.3 Billion | $3,633 |
| Binance Coin (BNB) | $91.1 Billion | $592 |
| Solana (SOL) | $86.6 Billion | $194 |
| Ripple (XRP) | $35.2 Billion | $0.644 |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $26.5 Billion | $0.185 |
| Cardano (ADA) | $23.9 Billion | $0.679 |
| Chainlink (LINK) | $12.06 Billion | $20.55 |
| Avalanche (AVAX) | $21.9 Billion | $58.03 |
| Polygon (MATIC) | $9.8 Billion | $1.07 |
1. Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is the oldest and most popular of all cryptocurrencies. In the 15 years since its inception, the apex cryptocurrency has shown tremendous growth and gained the attention of investors, media, and corporates.
Today, Bitcoin has evolved from a “fraud” or “pet rock” to an asset with a clear use case and purpose. In 2024, it became the first crypto asset to have an SEC-approved spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). The introduction of the spot Bitcoin ETFs has only helped add more credibility to the cryptocurrency, increasing its adoption by many folds and making it a must-have in everyone’s crypto portfolio.
2. Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization after Bitcoin. The blockchain was the first to introduce smart contract functionality, which allowed developers to build out several key features and applications that we use today.
Ethereum is considered to be the leading blockchain for decentralized applications (DApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi). Although it’s expensive and slow, multiple Layer-2 scaling solutions running on the network aim to solve these issues.
The blockchain just recently underwent a hard fork, codenamed ‘Duncan’, which will reduce transaction costs and improve its scalability. There are also moves being made in the market to launch a spot Ethereum ETF.
3. Binance Coin (BNB)
Binance Coin has evolved from simply a native token of the crypto exchange Binance to powering its blockchain. It began as a token to provide special benefits to Binance users, such as lower fees, exclusive access to initial coin offerings, and cashback.
Today the BNB Chain ecosystem offers more use cases, like support for Cosmos and Ethereum virtual machines, higher transaction speeds, and lower costs that place it in direct competition with Ethereum.
However, one important thing to note about BNB is that at its core, the blockchain and the token are built on a very centralized foundation.
4. Solana (SOL)
Solana is a decentralized blockchain whose primary purpose is to become highly scalable. It is considered to be one of the fastest blockchains on the market, delivering 65,000 transactions per second.
SOL is said to be one of the best tokens to be staked. Recently, the blockchain managed to surpass Ethereum in transaction volume and toppled Binance Coin to briefly be ranked the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Solana suffered quite a lot because of its connection to disgraced former billionaire and conman Sam Bankman-Fried, who was the founder of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX and a supporter of the blockchain. If Solana manages to rid itself of some existing technical issues and deliver on the promise of great usability, it could honor its name as the “Ethereum Killer”.
Last year Solana released the world’s first blockchain-powered smartphone called the Saga Phone. In 2024, we could see a second iteration of the device.
5. Ripple (XRP)
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Ripple is focused on creating blockchain-based payment solutions for traditional banks and financial institutions. The protocol aims to solve the problems with the SWIFT network for international settlements.
Ripple has made traditional finance much more accessible for users through blockchain. Transactions that would require several hours or days to be completed are finalized in a matter of seconds with XRP.
6. Dogecoin (DOGE)
Dogecoin is an internet sensation. The dog-themed meme token that started life as a joke on the Bitcoin blockchain has garnered a passionate and active community following. DOGE assigns its value to the popular internet meme “Doge”.
The project has been endorsed by several prominent figures in the crypto sphere like Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Although it is widely popular, there is no intrinsic value to DOGE, except for the strong community.
There are reports that DOGE could be used as a transaction token on X (formerly Twitter), which was acquired by Musk in October 2022.
7. Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is a smart contract-powered blockchain that is designed to provide a more efficient, sustainable, and interoperable platform for building and running decentralized applications.
The blockchain is famous for taking a slow but calculated approach and maintaining robust security measures to address the issues of scalability, interoperability, and sustainability that have plagued other prominent blockchains.
8. Chainlink (LINK)
At its core, Chainlink is a decentralized protocol that is designed to enhance the security and decentralization of smart contracts on various other blockchains. The way the network achieves this is by providing reliable, tamper-proof data feeds, off-chain computations, and end-to-end decentralization.
2023 saw the LINK token make impressive gains. It has the potential to become the backbone of the Web3 infrastructure and, likely, the overall growth of the crypto market in 2024 will also impact Chainlink. Demand for Chainlink’s various services is also set to go high as time goes by.
9. Avalanche (AVAX)
Avalanche is a blockchain-based, decentralized transaction protocol that offers faster transaction processing times while facilitating thousands of transactions per second in a trustless manner.
The network empowers developers by providing versatile support for various blockchain initiatives that help them create diverse applications and projects within the Avalanche ecosystem.
10. Polygon (MATIC)
Polygon, formerly known as Matic Network, is a layer-2 scaling blockchain for Ethereum that provides a more scalable and interoperable infrastructure for building decentralized applications (DApps).
As a scaling solution for Ethereum, Polygon allows developers to build and deploy DApps compatible with Ethereum on its blockchain. The project has seen massive adoption by many prominent real-world projects due to its low-cost structure.
How to Choose the Cryptocurrency that Fits You?
There are thousands of cryptocurrencies for you to choose from. However, there are certain criteria that you need to be aware of before choosing the best one for you.
- Market Capitalization
Market capitalization refers to the price per token multiplied by the total number of coins in circulation. This is often used as a way to estimate the value of a company when it comes to stocks, and the total value of the available coins when it comes to the crypto market.
While the market cap on its own does not guarantee a cryptocurrency’s value as an investment, it can be an indicator of its stability and success. For instance, Bitcoin is the largest crypto token by market cap, and while it certainly experiences volatility and price drops, it has also experienced significant price rises.
- Security
When investing in cryptocurrencies, it is of utmost importance to consider their security aspects. This is because crypto assets are a common target for scammers and also don’t offer the same protections as securities in the traditional stock market, or those offered to fiat currency through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), credit and debit card protections, etc.
While it is hard to know for sure which cryptocurrencies are the most secure, you may be able to learn more by looking into past issues faced by the assets or the blockchains on which they were issued.
- Accessibility
Accessibility is a key factor when it comes to determining which cryptocurrency to buy. Not all crypto assets are available on all crypto exchanges or even in all jurisdictions.
If you are used to one crypto exchange, then it is better to focus on tokens that are listed on the platform. If you like to explore other exchanges, then you may have more options to choose from.
- Liquidity
Liquidity refers to how easy it is to convert a particular cryptocurrency into cash by selling it. The higher a token’s liquidity, the easier it will be for you to sell it immediately, or whenever you want to.
Trading volume is a good indicator of a token’s liquidity. Exchanges show each token’s liquidity based on the dollar amount it was traded against. Tokens like BTC, ETH, and Tether (USDT) have the largest trading volumes, meaning it is easier to sell them.
- Use Cases
Not everyone buys cryptocurrencies to sell them. Some use the tokens as a currency to sell to others or to buy and sell goods and services. Meanwhile, other investors buy cryptocurrencies as a long-term investment, similar to stocks and bonds.
You can compare the price of your preferred cryptocurrency with others and find out if their use cases are the best fit for your portfolio.
