Digital Asset News » DigitalCryptoAssets

Top 5: Cryptocurrency to Watch in 2024

November 5, 2024 by Asif Rafique

Top 5 Cryptocurrencies

A list of five cryptocurrencies that are likely to grow or become more popular in 2024. This includes detail about what makes each one special and why they might be important in the coming year. In this post, we’ll talk about the top five cryptocurrencies to watch in 2024, elaborating on unique features, potential use cases, and market trends.

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

Overview

Bitcoin is the first and most known cryptocurrency. In 2009, an anonymous entity named Satoshi Nakamoto launched Bitcoin, which brought about the idea of decentralized currency.
Why Watch Bitcoin in 2024?

Institutional Adoption: Since institutional investors like Micro Strategy and Tesla start to use BTC more as part of the balance sheet, companies will continue making more stable and legitimate Bitcoin.
Halving Event: The next Bitcoin halving is scheduled for 2024, reducing the block reward from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC. Historically, halving events have been linked to significant price hikes; thus, this is a happening that investors should monitor.
Store of Value: Bitcoin is increasingly termed “digital gold” since it is increasingly being perceived more and more as an inflation hedge, especially during the global economic uncertainty.

Ethereum (ETH)
Summary

Ethereum is more than a cryptocurrency; it is a decentralized platform that allows developers to create and deploy smart contracts and dApps. Launched in 2015, Ethereum has become a leader in the DeFi and NFT spaces.
Why watch Ethereum in 2024?
Ethereum 2.0 Transition: This has been one of the biggest developments to this date: Ethereum 2.0 transition, which works with the proof-of-stake mechanism. It has brought forth transactions to be faster with lower fees, thus Ethereum appealing more to developers as well as users.
DeFi and NFTs: Ethereum is the biggest platform for DeFi projects and NFT marketplaces. As these sectors grow, Ethereum’s utility and demand should increase.
Interoperability: Ethereum is working on interoperability solutions with other blockchains that may expand its ecosystem and user base.

Cardano (ADA)
Overview

Cardano is the third-generation blockchain platform founded by Charles Hoskinson, one of the co-founders of Ethereum. Launched way back in 2017, Cardano is set to be more security-oriented and scalable concerning apps, smart contracts, and so on.
Why Watch Cardano in 2024?
•Concentration on Sustainability: The proof-of-stake consensus mechanism in Cardano is less energy-intensive, thus making it a good option for the environment-conscious investors.
Growing Ecosystem: Smart contracts, introduced on the Cardano platform, have witnessed a boom in projects, and partnerships are primarily seen in DeFi and NFT.
Global Partnerships: Cardano is trying its best to partner with governments and other organizations worldwide to ensure blockchain solutions are implemented and implemented in developing countries.

Solana (SOL)
Overview
Solana is a high-performance blockchain designed for decentralized applications and crypto projects. Solana was launched in 2020 as a fast-blockchain transaction speed and low fees-based platform.
Why Watch Solana in 2024?

Scalability: Solana’s unique architecture allows for processing thousands of transactions per second, making it one of the fastest blockchains available. Scalability positions Solana head-to-head with Ethereum.
Growing Popularity: The Solana network has acquired momentum with the passage of time as the number of projects being launched on its platform has increased, particularly in DeFi and gaming areas.
Community Backing: The Solana community boasts an influential group of developers and enthusiasts, hence continuous innovation and development.

Polkadot (DOT)
Introduction

Polkadot is a multi-chain platform. It allows different blockchains to interoperate and share information. Launched in 2020 by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood, the project aims to create a more connected and collaborative blockchain ecosystem.
Why Watch Polkadot in 2024?
•Interoperability: Polkadot’s unique architecture will allow seamless communication between other blockchains, hence becoming a very important player in the growing trend of blockchain interoperability.

Parachains: More scalability and customizability through the development of parachains, as it enables the development of specific blockchains for certain applications.
Ecosystem Growth: The Polkadot ecosystem is developing at a high speed; many projects and partnerships are currently underway, thereby improving its overall utility and market presence.
Conclusion
The cryptocurrency market will have some interesting things to offer moving into 2024. Among the numerous cryptocurrencies, the following five stand out from the rest: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot. These projects are worth watching for any seasoned investor or newcomer to the crypto space.

Altcoins performance Mid-2024

November 5, 2024July 9, 2024 by rohanizaz809@gmail.com

In the past week, many altcoins and also BTC have been performing bad except some of the top stablecoins. There was decrease in prices observed across the market. BTC dominance has been increasing in long-term since 2023 and currently stands at 53.31%. This means, Bitcoin has been performing relatively better than altcoins in long-term from start of 2023 to mid-2024. This is possible due to more capital flowing to BTC rather than altcoins or altcoin prices performing relatively worse which causes an increase in BTC share of crypto market. Evaluating the price trends and performance of altcoins in absolute terms also provides broader perspective of how they are performing against BTC.

Performance of Top Altcoins

During the first quarter of 2024, prices of many coins started increasing and many investors had positive sentiment about crypto prices. By the start of second quarter and summer-2024, downward trend has started. According to a report by Binance, in June, crypto market cap decreased by 11.4% which was caused by various factors. Crypto assets were being sold in large quantities which sustained downward trend. Most prominently, US and German governments transferred substantial amounts of BTC to centralized exchanges which caused selling pressure among crypto investors.

The altcoins with declined prices includes Ether, BNB, SOL, and Dogecoin. ETH has sustained upward price trend in initial months of current year, fuelled by halving event, announcement of ETH ETF approvals, and overall positive sentiment. Since the start of June to 9^th of July, ETH price experienced 18% decrease. Certain events along with reduced investor confidence contributed to this. The anticipated launch of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States on July 2 was expected to fuel a price rise for ETH. SEC has delayed this process. Furthermore, SEC has also increased regulatory crackdown mainly affecting Ethereum-based DeFi platforms.

ETH may to june 2024 — ETH price movements

BNB which has world’s 4^th largest market cap achieved its ATH on 7^th June reaching $710, but didn’t keep the upward trend and its price also has now decreased to $515. Regulatory crackdown on Binance by FCA is also behind this price decrease.

Solana’s network outage also caused SOL’s price to decrease. Currently, these major events contribute to negative market sentiment for the top altcoins. We also observe resilience in some cryptocurrencies like TON. Moreover, during the past week, ETH price also shown some resilience reaching $3079 after hitting $2832.

Interestingly, even Ether’s demand has decreased in recent month, its supply keeps increasing which may be due to Dencun upgrade. But this recent development in the blockchain reduced the transaction fees and is favourable for Ethereum-based DeFi procotols. The developments in the Ethereum blockchain empowers the DeFi ecosystem and can drive Ether’s price and adoption. This is also observed for SOL which is native coin of Solana blockchain. While blockchain upgrades boost coin’s adoption, the value of coin may still decrease due to regulatory crackdowns and fear among the investors which cause sell-offs.

Relative performance of Altcoins and BTC

Large-scale selling of specific cryptocurrency can shift investors’ interest to other cryptocurrencies. The halving of BTC which reduced miner reward from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC caused many miners to sell-off the coins in large quantities which reduced BTC price. While, large-scale selling also occurred for other coins, but cryptocurrencies like TON and SOL show better price performance than BTC in recent month. From June to July, TON’s price has gained back the upward trend after hitting lowest point of this month and had 2.6% increase. According to Binance’s report, BNB is top performer among exchange-related token. This is also because BNB reached its ATH in June. Binance’s events have sustained good demand for this coin.

The recent developments in Uniswap, the largest DeFi platform, and bullish trend of UNI token

June 23, 2024 by rohanizaz809@gmail.com

Uniswap Increasing Popularity and Growth

Uniswap being the largest decentralized exchange, has grown significantly in recent years. Its trade volume has increased significantly fuelled by increasing adoption of its DeFi services and UNI token. This DeFi platform built on Ethereum in 2018, has always been largest DEX in terms of trade volume. And recently, according to Uniswap Labs, this platform reached total of $2 trillion in trade volume which is a significant milestone.

The automated market maker (AMM) model that Uniswap introduced, made crypto trading easier while also providing opportunities for liquidity farming. Uniswap established strategic partnerships with platforms including Aave, Balancer, Chainlink, etc. which resulted in complex financial products and also increased adoption of Uniswap services. Yield optimization by using Uniswap and Aave allows users to earn trade fees from Uniswap and interest from Aave. The upgrades like Layer 2 integration by Uniswap to reduce gas fees and increase scalability, also contributed to increased trade activity in Uniswap.

Latest Developments

In the last quarter of 2023, Uniswap was deployed on Moonbeam network, which is a parachain built in Polkadot ecosystem. Through this integration, Uniswap community can enjoy benefits provided by interoperable environment of Polkadot. For example, option to choose from multiple fee tiers, ability to concentrate liquidity in specific price ranges and low transaction costs are major benefits.

Uniswap also developed a mobile wallet app for android users so they can swap tokens through their smartphones. Swap protection to counter sandwich attacks and frontrunning, and multi-chain swapping, are prominent features of this app.

In Q4 of 2023, Uniswap Labs also announced plans for Uniswap v4 which would have better functionalities compared to v3, aimed at improving platform’s efficiency. Later, many features were revealed including new types of smart contracts called hooks to enhance customizability of liquidity pools for developers, singleton contract model for reducing gas fees, flash accounting system for streamlining complex transactions, unlimited fee tiers for liquidity pools, and highly optimized smart contracts to improve transaction speed. The announcement of v4 played a crucial role in increasing UNI price.

Recently in Q1 of 2024, Uniswap also revealed its financial status which includes $41.41 million in fiat and stablecoins and 730,000 UNI tokens. According to Uniswap, these are designated for employee incentives, operational activities, and grants. The foundation is also preparing for a community vote on a new fee mechanism, with the aim to reallocate rewards from liquidity providers to token holders. Meanwhile, Uniswap faces regulatory challenges from the SEC, which issued a Wells Notice alleging violations of securities laws regarding UNI and LP tokens, a claim disputed by Uniswap Labs.

Price Surge of UNI Token

With the start of 2024, UNI price has increased significantly. From 26^th December 2023 to 7^th March 2024, price increased from $6.9 to $15.39 which is an increase of 123%. The major reason behind this surge was the increased investor confidence caused by announcement of v4. Other developments like integration of Uniswap with zkSync, a layer 2 solution, and increasing adoption of DeFi services also sustained long-term upward trend for UNI price. While price decreased to $7 in May and later reached $9 in June. These fluctuations may be caused by shift in investor sentiments, and broader crypto market movements influenced by regulations, and technology upgrades for blockchains like Ethereum.

Is UNI worthy for investment?

Given the increasing popularity of Uniswap fuelled by its strategic partnerships, expansion of services, and the its technology developments, Uniswap has always gained attention from large DeFi community. Many crypto users invest in UNI token to access the features provided by Uniswap and also to earn money through yield farming. Experts estimate a bullish trend for UNI, basing their prediction on large upgrades like v4 and also on the fact that Uniswap has sustained dominant position in DeFi. UNI token may also experience fluctuations as the charts reveal resistance levels at $10. Before doing investment in UNI token, you must take into account risk factor like fluctuations in price. Market research is necessary prior to investment.

What is the future of Ethereum in 2024?

November 5, 2024June 18, 2024 by rohanizaz809@gmail.com

Both 2022 and 2023 were not favourable for most of the cryptocurrencies. During this period, the prices of cryptocurrencies like ETH, BTC, and BNB reduced significantly. ETH which is the second largest crypto in terms of market capitalization had its ATH in 2021 at price of $4,800 driven by increased market confidence, increasing institutional adoption and rise of DeFi applications.

Major reasons for reduced price in 2022, included high interest rates, bankruptcy of FTX, and Celcius Network, Terra (LUNA) collapse, followed by increased regulatory oversight, reduced investor confidence and decreased DeFi activities in 2023. With the start of 2024, the price of ETH has increased significantly with major reason being the halving event which was scheduled for 2024. The growth of DeFi applications, increasing institutional adoption of ETH, and halving event played an important role in boosting the price of ETH. From 21^st May to 11^th June 2024, ETH price has remained between $3,600 and $3,800 with certain fluctuations and decreased to $3400 after that.

Currently, ETH/USDT pair is being traded at $3413. Ethereum 2.0 updates and continued growth of DeFi applications are also playing an important role in sustaining investor confidence. Also, recently, SEC has approved spot ETH ETFs although final approvals are pending. This could also be favourable to ETH price. Given that most of the market events are favourable for ETH price, its price may increase further in long term. Experts predict the market to be bullish in long-term.

From April to May 2024, ETH price decreased from $3500 to $3000 but it shown resilience and reached up to more than $3500 in June. In short-term, it experienced multiple bearish trends. The price struggled to surpass $3600 in last week but can certainly go beyond after this summer. Latest predictive research insights indicate Ethereum in 2024 may have a resistance level at $3823.15 and support at $2572.46. Some experts also have bullish sentiments on ETH price due to ETF approval, and continued market growth. Also, the Dencun upgrade which includes 9 Ethereum Improvement Proposals for Ethereum blockchain, which would reduce gas fees, improve scalability and security, can also boost the price. This update overall improves Ethereum network efficiency leading to more positive market sentiments and confidence in using DeFi applications. Currently, fear & greed index of overall crypto market is neutral according to Coinmarketcap. Crypto adoption may keep increasing due to rising popularity of decentralized applications.