A few short years ago and late 2021 Bitcoin (BTC-USD) briefly soared above $64,000. It was the culmination of a long period of quantitative easing that brought crypto into the greater public eye. Then things went South very quickly and Bitcoin lost roughly 75% of its value. Many pundits believed the crypto era was over and would have said that there were no stable crypto picks to be made for the long-term.
Even fewer would have suggested that Bitcoin would soar above $70,000 by early 2024. Yet, that’s where we are today. Bitcoin is approaching its fourth halving ever which will happen in April. Prices have again reached new all-time highs.
Some investors will obviously be solidifying their gains and will sell around that time. However, the greater future for crypto continues to brighten. That is why investors should consider the seven stable crypto picks below.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD)
Investors are so wrapped up in the upcoming Bitcoin housing that they have forgotten about the other catalysts from which it benefits.
I’m referring to the other recent big news around Bitcoin: the emergence of Bitcoin ETFs. The largest American banks recently began offering access to bitcoin ETFs through their brokerage divisions. Both Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) now offer access to those exchange-traded funds that are tied to the spot price of Bitcoin.
The point I’m trying to make here is twofold. First, Bitcoin continues to become a greater part of the financial system by the day. that implies a deepening sense of trust in crypto overall. In turn, more and more investors will place their capital behind it thus increasing market capitalization and liquidity.
Secondly, I do expect a lot of game harvesting around the fourth halving in April. As those holders sell the price of BTC will dip, perhaps substantially. I don’t think it will last long because BTC is only becoming more scarce. That truth, combined with its increasing Acceptance in the broader financial system, suggests it will continue to grow, meaning perhaps $100K is not that far away.
Ethereum (ETH-USD)
Ethereum (ETH-USD) is deeply connected to the movement of Bitcoin. The number one and number two most valuable cryptocurrencies tend to walk in relative lock step. Unsurprisingly, Ethereum has increased in price rapidly over the past few months.
Ethereum is also treated much the same as Bitcoin by the financial industry. The biggest news in that regard is the potential for Ethereum to trade as ETFs just as Bitcoin currently does. Investors should consider Etherium now because although it is muddled, it appears that Ethereum ETFs will prevail.
That said, investors are growing somewhat pessimistic that Ethereum ETFs will be approved on May 23 by the SEC. I believe that Ethereum will ultimately prevail for one simple reason: the SEC already implicitly stated that ETH is a commodity when it approved Ethereum Futures ETFs in October. Spot ETFs should be regulated by the same logic. For the SEC to greenlight futures ETFs and not spot ETFs would be a very big contradiction. It would also make it appear that the SEC is caving to political pressure from the left and would paint the commission as being biased. This makes it one of those stable crypto picks.
Solana (SOL-USD)
I was recently reading an article in TechCrunch that implicitly characterized Solana (SOL-USD) as a meme coin. The point of the article was that Solana’s price has risen above $160 which is a high since early 2022.
A lot of that price resurgence can be attributed to the rise of Bitcoin: It tends to pull everything in the crypto world higher as it rises.
The other point was that Solana has become the Blockchain of choice for developers to create meme coins. It has long been noted for its efficiency in terms of both transaction speed and price. Thus, it’s logical that developers choose it to create meme coins.
That’s particularly important because there is a sort of meme coin mania underfoot at present. Those coins are all so volatile and have been producing very strong rapid returns of late. that is likely to continue to occur in the approach to the Bitcoin having and also with presidential elections upcoming. meme coins should continue to be minted and Solana is, again, the chain of choice. That means there is likely to be more liquidity flowing into Solana in the coming weeks and months which could propel it even higher.
Cardano (ADA-USD)
Cardano (ADA-USD) is what I consider to be a very solid cryptocurrency overall. If you’ve ever read anything that I write about crypto, then you probably know that I really appreciate its strict adherence to an empirically based approach to development.
Yet, at the same time, Cardano continues to have trouble. It seems to be the one cryptocurrency that consistently suffers from a negative reputation. Crypto investors seem to either want to put their money behind Bitcoin and ethereum for their stability or meme coins, for their ability to provide super quick returns.
That has left Cardano out in the cold as it really isn’t either. In my opinion, that’s why Cardano is home to so many dead coins. It’s not that the ecosystem is bad but rather that those coins perform poorly because no one cares about Cardano in the short term. I believe that will change over the long-term. Cardano itself is still a solid, solid project. it is the proverbial tortoise and investors continue to only care about the hares, i.e. Shiba Inu (SHIB-USD) for example. It’s one of those stable crypto picks to consider.
Chainlink (LINK-USD)
Chainlink (LINK-USD) is one crypto among several notable cryptos all aiming to connect the blockchain universe. That grouping of cryptocurrencies also includes Polygon (MATIC-USD) and Polkadot (DOT-USD). They all have the same basic function which is to connect disparate blockchains thus facilitating the transfer of data. That means they are essentially acting as an internet of sorts for Web3.
There isn’t any great differentiator between the three that suggests one is strictly better than the other two. Therefore, it isn’t a bad idea to simply invest in all three. However, Chainlink does have a few factors that suggest it could do better over time. Number one, it is the highest priced of the three. Furthermore, its name says what it does.That may seem trivial but it does make it easier to remember Chainlink and its utility compared to Polygon and Polkadot.
The other simple truth is that the surge in Bitcoin’s price is increasing activity across blockchains of all sorts. That is a strong catalyst for Chainlink.
Tether (USDT-USD)
Tether (USDT-USD) provides stability in the form of liquidity. Even today, in 2024, crypto investors are hesitant to store the value of their digital currency outside of the Fiat system.
That’s where Tether comes in: It is the biggest Stablecoin and is essentially pegged to the US dollar at all times. Thus, Tether is the best choice for those looking to transfer their digital gains into fiat currency. It is not for investors who seek returns and instead is purely for utility. The reason that that matters in relation to the recent run-up in Bitcoin prices is that many more investors will be looking to cash out on price appreciation.
Basically, Tether is built on all of the leading blockchains which increases its utility as a transfer mechanism.It doesn’t have its own blockchain but it instead is overlaid on all of those popular blockchains. For those new to cryptocurrency and looking to transfer their games into fiat currency Tether is the best choice.
XRP (XRP-USD)
Allow me to outline one potential scenario in which XRP (XRP-USD) continues to thrive alongside Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is a globally popular cryptocurrency and it is undeniable that many of its investors will also have accounts overseas. That’s where XRP could potentially rise moving forward. Its primary utility is as an overseas remittance coin.
It is fast and allows transactions in three to five seconds. Equally importantly, it is cheap, allowing transactions at a cost of $0.0002. In short, investors who cash out on quick gains in the cryptocurrency market will be sending remittances through XRP.
There’s also reason to believe that there could be a spike in such action. The Bitcoin halving is approaching and that will lead to investors cashing out on their gains around that time. a certain percentage of those investors will be looking to send that profit overseas. You can see where I’m going with this and why XRP could logically rise in the coming weeks. It’s also one of those stable crypto picks.
On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
