The aggressive upward trend of the world’s main cryptocurrency makes us think about the coming correction. It is not for nothing that analysts increasingly pay attention to Bitcoin’s competitors. The problem is that it is the dependence of altcoins on their Big Brother that shapes market trends.
What cryptocurrency to invest in 2021? Hi everyone, this is Alex, chief blockchain and cryptocurrency researcher at Artex Global. In this article, I will talk about promising cryptocurrencies to watch out for in 2021. We will not miss both veterans of the cryptocurrency market, as well as brand new players who have brightly declared themselves in 2020.
10. Bitcoin (BTC)
The main fact that determines the stability of the oldest cryptocurrency project is the recognition of Bitcoin as an official payment system by the United States and other states. In addition, in favor of long-term investing in BTC is evidenced by the following:
- The token is listed on all cryptocurrency exchanges.
- All settlements within the international trading platforms are made with regard to BTC.
- Exchange players are guided by the behavior of BTC: if the value of the digital asset is falling, it is followed by a decrease in the value of other Coins, and vice versa.
External factors include rising inflation, unsatisfactory monetary policy of global financial institutions. This motivates major players (such as Elon Musk, who placed $1.5 billion in BTC, triggering a momentum of token growth that was picked up by other investors) to look for an alternative in the form of Bitcoin.
9. Ethereum (ETH)
Over the past two years, the currency has grown by 1000%, experts say that the growth will continue in 2021. This currency is relevant all over the world. The peculiarity of the base is that it was created by a team of professionals, who regularly modernize the platform, so that you can mine coins much faster than before.
There is an opinion that this is the only currency that can seriously compete with the sensational Bitcoin and exceed its rate. The reasons to put capital in ETH are the following:
- Support for Uniswap (UNI), Maker (MKR) and Aave (AAVE) projects active in the DeFi ecosystem, which can give independence from centralized financial institutions to insurance, credit, savings projects.
- Total investment in DeFi is $13 billion (2020), $10 billion more than last year. At the same time, 98% of financial transactions are carried out with ETH as the dominant coin in this sector.
8. Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin was created to solve Big Brother’s problems with the speed of transaction processing and the resulting high commissions. With Litecoin, the issue will be higher and transactions can be made faster. Despite the relatively low rate, the currency has a high popularity. Miners even call it silver in the digital sphere.The currency has many similarities to Bitcoin:
- The way coins are mined is similar; you need a powerful technique to mine it.
- There is no centralization of management.
- Issuance is very limited.
- Once a transaction has been initiated, it cannot be reversed.
- The system maintains the anonymity of its users.
- A miner, as in the case of Bitcoin, receives digital coins if the transaction is performed correctly.
7. Binance Coin (BNB)
The owner of BNB receives a number of privileges within the trading platform, because transactions with this coin are less expensive than financial transactions with other altcoins. In favor of the prospects of investing in BNB, the statistics of the previous year – the digital coin has added $ 8 (went from $ 7 to $ 15 in 12 months).
No expert doubts that the value of the cryptocurrency will grow. This trend is facilitated by the steadily growing trading volume of altcoin, which today is equivalent to $ 2.7 billion/day.
6. Uniswap (UNI)
The leader in the niche of decentralized exchanges is Uniswap. The number of users has grown more than ten times in the last year from less than 100,000 to more than 1 million. In September 2020, the exchange created and issued its own management token UNI. The current rate of UNI: $5.29. The total blockchain value (TVL) is $1.47 billion. Users have already created 600,000,000 addresses related to DeFi.
5. Cardano (ADA)
Cardano (ADA) is another ambitious project. Its goal is to provide the tools necessary for creators, innovators and dreamers to change the world for the better. Cardano wants to redistribute power, taking it away from faceless centralized structures and placing it in the hands of individuals willing to create a safe, transparent and just society.
The ADA project’s native token has been around for three years. At its dawn, in late 2017, it saw parabolic growth, pushing the price to an all-time high of $1.33. ADA’s dynamics in 2020 give the token every reason to confidently rank among the projects with the highest market capitalization and return on investment (ROI).
4. TEZOS (XTZ)
Tezos (XTZ) created its own blockchain network for smart contracts. The project aims to avoid the mistakes of Ethereum and Bitcoin. Tezos applications could also include NFT, video games and the film industry. The main advantages are:
- adaptability
- open structure
- The influence of validators on the network.
The token reached its all-time high of $4.44 in August 2020. However, there was a deep correction later, and the asset now trades at $3.17.
3. Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot is an open-source, sharding-based protocol that allows data and tokens to be transferred between different blockchains. The DOT project’s native token performs several functions at once. It is a management token, an operational token, and also provides for the creation of parallel circuits (so-called parachains).
The inclusion of the token in the listing of most leading cryptocurrency exchanges pushed the DOT price to an all-time high of $6.84 in early September. Despite the subsequent correction, the token has stabilized and accelerated its growth rate. This potentially bodes well for its positive momentum in 2021.
2. VeChain (VET)
Project VeChain (VET) has occupied a niche in the blockchain technology ecosystem focused on decentralized business applications, supply chain management and the Internet of Things. The VET token rate pushed back from its March low and marked an all-time high of $0.023 in August. The price rose 1,478%, but was followed by a correction of about 63%.
According to analysts, investments in VET between March and December 2020 showed a record return on investment (ROI), second only to the LINK token. If VET maintains its recent momentum in the new year, it stands a good chance of renewing its all-time high in 2021 and starting parabolic growth again.
1. Chainlink (LINK)
The most famous and popular decentralized network of oracles is attracting more and more attention from large companies and projects. It’s worth noting that four years ago during the booming market, the coin did not show its potential. The stellar moment for LINK came in 2020 in the form of an impressive and prolonged rally with the achievement of a price high of $19.85 in August. The coin is now trading at $25.
The benefits of the token are that the system has blockchain features and smart contracts, but remains decentralized. Information from external resources is verified for authenticity and validity, and the security and reliability of transactions are guaranteed by oracles.
Final Notes
Any cryptocurrency investment other than Bitcoin is bogged down by the rigid dependence of the entire market on its headliner. And that is not surprising. It’s impossible to give a long-term accurate prediction, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying.
Artex Global is in the business of helping more and more people start to understand blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency world. Every week we publish content to help readers delve deeper into the topic. If you liked this article, you will also be interested in our other materials, such as the best New Zealand cryptocurrency exchanges or Bisq cryptocurrency exchange review.

I have been studying cryptocurrency for over 5 years. I have accounts in every exchange and I test everything on myself.
I want this market to be more understandable for everyone.