Top 5 Altcoins to Watch Out for in 2023

The month of October 2022 has been a decently good one for investors. The overall crypto market capitalisation gained about 11% in the month of October, thus staying true to the promise of ‘Uptober’. But with the month of November beginning with a crash led by the FTT token, we’re looking at a crypto market that has fallen down below the $900 billion market cap level for the first time since January 2021.

Before moving onto the top altcoins in November 2022 by market cap, let us understand what altcoins are. Very simply, an ‘altcoin’ refers to any crypto other than Bitcoin. So by that definition, Ethereum is the most popular altcoin followed by Binance Coin and the likes.

Now the question that arises is why do we need so many altcoins? Well, that is because Bitcoin, the grandfather of all cryptos, was good at some things but missed out on some very crucial elements of a value transferring system. Ethereum, the most popular altcoin – also known as the second generation of cryptos – introduced programmable money in the forms of smart contracts. But even Ethereum had a few issues with gas fees and scalability thus a bunch of other blockchains were introduced like Solana and the likes.

With that concept cleared up, let us move forward to the next crucial aspect for an investor – which ones should I buy? There are many ways to actually go about choosing your own collection of cryptos – it could be simply by looking at the market cap and picking the biggest ones out there. Of course, that is a viable strategy but could result in drawdowns too.

However, this blog will list out five of the top altcoins in November 2022 by market cap that, when put together, forms a well balanced and hedged crypto portfolio that can provide great returns over the long term. These coins have different use cases and utilities that bring about that sense of hedge against downside risk in any one particular token, thus maximizing returns over the long term. So here are the top altcoins to watch out for in 2023

Altcoins 2022	Launch	Founder	Native Token	Market Cap	Token Type	Circulating Supply	Max Supply	2022 YoY Performance
ETHEREUM	July 2015	Vitalik Buterin	ETH	$154 billion	Platform Token	122 million ETH	N/A	-68%
BINANCE COIN	July 2017	Changpeng Zhao	BNB	$46 billion	Utility Token	159 million BNB	200 million BNB	-49%
CARDANO	2017	Charles Hoskinson	ADA	$11 billion	Platform Token	34.4 billion ADA	42 Billion ADA	-78%
POLYGON	2017	Sandeep Nailwal	MATIC	$8 billion	Platform token	8.7 billion MATIC	10 billion MATIC	-68%
CHAINLINK	May 2019	Sergey Nazarov	LINK	$3.6 billion	Utility Token	507 million LINK	1 Billion LINK	-66%

Prices as of 7 December, 2022

Additional Read: Top companies using blockchain technology

Now, let’s dive a little deeper, shall we?

1. ETHEREUM (ETH)

Well, practically everybody knows about this coin, and is popularly known as the altcoin king. Anyone who is even faintly aware of what crypto is in today’s day and age, knows what Ethereum is. However, what many wouldn’t know the secret behind how it became the second largest crypto by market cap. This token was built by Vitalik Buterin and launched in July, 2015.

According to definitions, Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain platform that works on a peer-to-peer network that securely executes and verifies application code, called smart contracts. In fact, Ethereum was the first smart contract platform in the crypto world, and is heralded as the ‘second generation’ of cryptos.

So smart contracts are the reason why this token features on the list of top altcoins by market cap. Smart contract is basically a functionality of a blockchain network that allows participants to transact with each other without a trusted central authority in accordance to a few pre-established rules. Transaction records are immutable, verifiable, and securely distributed across the network, giving participants full ownership and visibility into transaction data – as is with all blockchain networks.

And we finalized!

Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 15, 2022

About a month and a half ago, on 15 September, 2022 – Ethereum successfully underwent the Ethereum Merge and since then has been on a falling trajectory. It had touched near $2000 levels in the middle of August but has now fallen back down. Recently the coin managed to rally up above the psychological $1500 barrier before falling back down below $1200 after the market wide crash led by the FTT token. It is currently ranked #2 on CoinMarketCap according to its market cap and forms a definitive part of the list of top altcoins in November 2022 to watch out for.

Additional read: Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade

Key features:

• Largest altcoin by market cap.
• Some of the largest dApps and blockchain games are built on Ethereum.
• Ethereum, post Merge is the largest proof-of-stake blockchain out there.
• Also known as a second generation of cryptos.
• Has one of the largest developer community on the blockchain.

Ethereum development activity

Ethereum’s development activity has been on the rise all through the year, especially in the couple of months in run-up to the Ethereum Merge, and understandably so. It was one of the most significant moments in the history of the altcoin king. Since then, it recorded a slump but the development activity has since picked up momentum once again from around the end of October all the way into December.

Development activity is a decently good indicator of a project’s activity in terms of innovating product creation and solving real world problems. It is measured by the number of GitHub repository commits made by the respective developers and this is a metric we will be looking at for all the tokens mentioned in this article.

Ethereum Price Performance in 2022

Ethereum’s price performance all through the year has been full of tops and turns. But the fact of the matter is that the year of 2022 was a major bear run and almost every coin was hit badly. Ethereum, which is the largest altcoin by market cap was hit pretty bad too. Since the beginning of the year, ETH price is down about 68% as of writing and things look positively weak, despite the multitude of developments the project has undertaken and successfully pulled off, like the Ethereum Merge. However, it is still better than the king coin, Bitcoin in terms of performance as it is still off the YTD lows and thus is in a slightly better position. YTD highs for ETH stands at about $3480 from the month of April while YTD lows of $849 back in June.

Additional Read: Ethereum Price Prediction

2.  BINANCE COIN

Listed as #3 according to its market capitalization, Binance coin is a crypto issued by the Binance crypto exchange, founded by Changing Zhao, who is also more popularly known as CZ. Initially it was built on the Ethereum network, it has now shifted to its own blockchain known as Binance Smart Chain where it provides a host of features and functionalities.

It was built with the objective of being an utility token for discounted trading feed back in 2017 on the Binance exchange, but over time its use-cases have expanded greatly to include payments for transaction fees on BSC and also real world payments for travel, entertainment, online services and the likes. It also uses a fifth of its profits to repurchase and permanently destroy BNB tokens, also known as the burn protocol. These coins are burnt from its own treasury to reduce the tokens from circulation and in effect increase its demand and, thus, its value.

Binance also came into the news recently as its founder, CZ recently announced his intent to acquire the once formidable competitor but now struggling crypto exchange FTX which was built by Sam Bankman-Fried. This took place early on 9 November, 2022 – soon after news broke of over-leveraged positions on the tokens issued by the company itself – the FTT crypto.

This afternoon, FTX asked for our help. There is a significant liquidity crunch. To protect users, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to fully acquire https://t.co/BGtFlCmLXB and help cover the liquidity crunch. We will be conducting a full DD in the coming days.

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 8, 2022

Now, with a major competitor slated to come under its own wing, while the market will move more towards a duopoly on the scale, for Binance itself – it would immediately result in increased trading volumes, greater revenues and better future prospects. 

Read more: FTX Collapse Explained

Binance Development Activity

BNB token’s development activity has been somewhat lackluster, given how popular it is and the purposes it serves. The beginning of the year of 2022 saw a lot of traction in the development of the token but since then, the activity has been more of a sporadic nature than a consistent plan of action. However, BNB is a token that is already very good at what it does and hence development would be needed only if there is a significantly large underlying change or improvement that is required.

Binance Coin Price Performance in 2022

Binance coin has been one of the best performers in terms of price in this entire list of cryptos. BNB price has lost only about 49% as of writing from the beginning of the year, thus has been able to cope with the bear market far better than most other coins on this list. It has been instrumental in expanding its range of utilities apart from being a simple exchange coin and Binance itself has also grown as an exchange amid the fall of FTX and various other crypto firms as investors and traders flocked to them. YTD highs for BNB stands at about $540 from the month of January while YTD lows of $180 back in June.

Read more: Binance Coin Price Prediction 

3. CARDANO (ADA)

Cardano is one of the most up-and-coming crypto projects out there.  It is also well-known because Cardano is currently the most developed and popular proof-of-stake crypto out there right now. Nobody in the crypto space can deny that Cardano is definitely one of the most peer-reviewed and carefully designed blockchain platforms. That is a title few, if any, other cryptos can claim. Thanks to the extensive peer-review processes and systems, this proof-of-stake token truly has the potential to beat Ethereum too.

Cardano is widely referred to as the third generation of crypto, with Bitcoin being the first and Ethereum being the second generation. However, from a crypto price point of view, 2022 definitely hasn’t been kind to ADA price. However, things can quickly change, with Cardano’s Vasil Hark Fork successfully underway on 22 September. This is why Cardano is next in the list of top altcoins in November 2022 by market cap.

🎊 #Vasil deployed!!

Thank you to @CardanoStiftung, @InputOutputHK, #SPOs, and everyone in the #Cardano ecosystem that made it happen! 🎉#CardanoCommunity pic.twitter.com/p4oK2T9FMa

— Cardano Foundation (@Cardano_CF) September 22, 2022

Technically, Cardano’s native crypto token ADA price has broken down below a descending triangle pattern on the charts. That doesn’t bode too well for the crypto. However, despite that – thanks to its continuous dedication of developing the ecosystem and making it more and more conducive for development of Web3 applications, this has a huge potential to grow in the future.

Key features:

• Most extensively developed crypto blockchain network in the entire industry.
• It is known as the third generation of crypto, with Bitcoin being the first and Ethereum being the second.
• Very recently, Cardano’s Vasil Hark Fork went live on the network, becoming the first step to improve network scalability and reduce costs.

Cardano Development Activity

Cardano has been another project that has been at the top of its game in terms of its development activity. In fact, Cardano has been one of the most developed crypto projects out there according to data from GitHub!

GitHub Daily Development Activity:

#1: 598 Cardano
#2: 494 Everscale
#3: 494 Wrapped Everscale
#4: 419 Ethereum
#5: 394 Polkadot / Kusama
#6: 362 Decentraland
#7: 361 Status
#8: 361 Internet Computer
#9: 344 Filecoin
#10: 338 Hedera pic.twitter.com/KnuyoaM4Jz

— ProofofGitHub (@ProofofGitHub) December 3, 2022

This also presents a very promising picture for the future of the third generation of crypto, and its native token, ADA. And thanks to this, Cardano holds its spot well in the top 5 altcoins to watch out for in 2023, despite its poor price performance.

Additional read: What is holding back ADA price despite positive developments?

Cardano Price Performance in 2022

Cardano has to be probably one of the worst faring coins in this list. This is a coin that has been hit by the bear market the worst, and in terms of price has lost over 78% of market capitalization since the beginning of the year. However, despite that, as mentioned earlier – Cardano has remained one of the most developed crypto project out there and that is definitely going to play out for the better in the future, as and when the market sentiment improves. YTD highs for ADA stands at about $1.6 from the month of January while YTD lows of $0.28, which was touched as recently as November, 2022.

Additional Read: Cardano Price Prediction

4. POLYGON (MATIC)

Polygon, earlier known as the MATIC network was founded by Sandeep Nailwal back in 2017. It is an Ethereum (ERC-20) token that powers the Polygon network, which is essentially a scaling solution for Ethereum. Polygon network was built with the objective of providing means for significantly faster and cheaper transactions but with the security of the Ethereum blockchain, by using layer-2 sidechains.

In this network, users are enabled to deposit ETH tokens to a Polygon smart contract, interact using them within the Polygon ecosystem and then later be able to withdraw them back to the Ethereum main chain. The MATIC token is used to pay transaction fees and participate in proof-of-stake consensus. Of late, it has become very popular in the crypto space and even managed to become the only blockchain company to be selected for the Disney Accelerator Program 2022. It is also quickly becoming the home to some very popular NFT collections and projects from all over the world.

Recently, Polygon unveiled its latest event to tap into the Web3 ecosystem in India, by launching the Web3 Made in India Roadshow.

Polygon is excited to meet the next generation of entrepreneurs during the #Web3MadeinIndia Roadshow 🌍

Find your tribe🫱🏾‍🫲🏽https://t.co/4RydrRpWTu

Join us as we travel throughout India. Our first two stops were Kochi and Jaipur.

JOIN US ON THE ROAD🚙 🧵👇🏽

— Polygon (@0xPolygon) November 7, 2022

Polygon Development Activity

As is clearly evident from the chart above, Polygon – the largest layer 2 scaling solution on the Ethereum network definitely becomes a worthy component of this list. It has had a steady incline in its development activity, according to data from Santiment. The past year has also been very fruitful for the project, despite the bear market thanks to a series of stellar partnerships with various firms – biggest of which was its selection into Disney’s Accelerator Program 2022. That combined with its continued solution building to real world problems will definitely prop up the project and the value of its native token as and when the market recovers. 

Polygon Price Performance in 2022

Polygon is another project, which is quite similar to Cardano in terms of the development activity, while on the other hand has been able to perform slightly better in terms of price. MATIC price, on a YoY basis has lost about 68% of market capitalization – quite similar to that of Ethereum’s in this case. Other than that, as depicted by the chart above, Polygon has been on a roll when it comes to development activity and thus they have been very strong in terms of partnerships and the likes too. YTD highs for MATIC stands at about $2.5 from the month of January while YTD lows of $0.3 back in June, 2022.

Read more: MATIC Price Prediction

5. CHAINLINK (LINK)

This is yet another blockchain network that was built with a very unique purpose in mind. Chainlink is a crypto that aims to incentivise a global network of computers to provide reliable, real-world data to smart contracts running on top of other blockchain networks.

Simply put, smart contracts on blockchains tend to need information from outside the network. These data items can include prices of assets, weather, interest rates and the likes – for any kind of smart contract. That’s where these oracle networks come in, to basically become a conduit of information into the smart contract in a decentralized manner. For example, smart contracts seeking to replicate bonds or insurance agreements may need access to APIs reporting on market prices or Internet of Things data.

So to solve this problem, Chainlink was created – to create a network by incentivising data providers – also known as oracles – to act as a bridge between the blockchain smart contracts and external data sources.

So far, it has been one of the poorer performers out of this lot, having rallied hardly 30% in the recovery that happened all through the month of July 2022. However, that doesn’t indicate any possible reason that the token isn’t good or isn’t being valued. This is definitely a token that will receive investor interest going forward as the recovery continues and can provide healthy returns thanks to its near monopoly in the sector it is operating in.

This features on the top altcoins by market cap at #22 on CMC by market cap and is a part of this list of top altcoins in November 2022 thanks to the critical use case this particular project is trying to solve.

Key features:

• It is a network that provides outside data to different smart contracts in a decentralized manner
• This token is a near monopoly in the blockchain space, its nearest competitors are far behind in terms of market cap
• This network incentivises computers to provide data to particular smart contracts
• These ‘oracles; act as a bridge between the blockchain smart contracts and external data sources
• Most unique utility based token amongst the top ranked cryptos by market cap

Chainlink Development Activity

Chainlink is one of the most unique projects that feature on this list. While its development activity hasn’t been as stellar as Polygon or Cardano – it is still holding its ground well and the oracle solution it provides will definitely prove to be a big part of the overall global DeFi ecosystem and hence the project is well placed to capture and jump into the river and ride it up the stream.

Chainlink Price Performance in 2022

As highlighted earlier, Chainlink continues to be one of the most innovative crypto products in out there with their nearest competitor miles behind them. They have a headstart which is incredible and rightfully so! While their development activity has been sombre this past year – it isn’t too much of a concern. In terms of YoY price performance, LINK price has fallen about 66% since the beginning of the year, pretty much along the lines for most of the top cryptos out there and thus stands to gain quickly as and when the overall market recovers. YTD highs for LINK stands at about $28 from the month of January while YTD lows of $5.5 which was touched as recently as November, 2022.

Additional Read: Chainlink Price Prediction

SO, HOW CAN YOU INVEST IN ALTCOINS?

Today investing in the list of top altcoins in November 2022 to watch out for is extremely simple with the CoinDCX App! Just download the CoinDCX App crypto investing app, enter the details required and wait for your profile to get verified. Once done, fund your wallet and buy any of the coins of your choice.

Read more: Top 10 Cryptos with Low Transaction Fees