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Introducing the top 7 altcoins set to make waves in December 2023 and beyond! As the crypto market continues its dynamic journey, these selected altcoins stand out amidst the bustling landscape. Discover the potential gems in the crypto world that could shape the month ahead, from promising developments to significant price movements. Join us as we delve into the key factors driving these altcoins and explore why they’re catching the attention of investors and enthusiasts alike.
So Why Do We Need Altcoins?
The reason behind that is pretty simple – Bitcoin, the grandfather of all cryptos, was good at some things, like becoming a store of value. However, it doesn’t work as a good means of transferring value or a payment system. Also, Bitcoin wasn’t built to be programmable.
Ethereum, for example – also referred to as the second generation of cryptos – introduced programmable money in the form of smart contracts. But even Ethereum had a few issues with gas fees and scalability thus, a bunch of other blockchains were launched, like Solana, Polygon, and the like.
With that idea out of the way, let’s discuss the next crucial aspect – which cryptos to invest in? An investor can go about in many ways to choose cryptos and find the best one to invest in – it could be researching the problem the project is trying to solve, or it could be as simple as a passive look at the top cryptos by market cap. Both these and other methods have their pros and cons, and investors need to be aware of them.
In this article, we have compiled a list of the top altcoins by market cap that you need to watch in 2023 and beyond. These coins have a strong background, are technically sound, are backed by many investors, and are led by a competent team of developers. When put together, these cryptos form a well-balanced portfolio that may give decent returns over the long term. These coins have varied use cases and utilities that reduce downside risk posed by any one particular token, thus maximizing returns over the long term.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is the market’s second-largest crypto and the most prominent altcoin equipped for smart contracts. On April 12, 2023, Ethereum underwent a significant overhaul termed the Ethereum Shanghai Capella upgrade. This enhancement introduced vital improvements to scalability, security, and usability. Notably, the upgrade unveiled EIP-4895, enabling the unstaking feature for staked ETH tokens on the Beacon Chain, marking the first instance since December 2020 that validators could withdraw rewards from the PoS chain.
The Capella upgrade also focused on refining security protocols, optimizing network performance, and enhancing user interaction. These advancements were geared towards reinforcing Ethereum’s status as a leading smart contract platform, empowering developers to create decentralized applications (DApps) and deploy smart contracts more securely.
Recently, Ethereum revealed its forthcoming major upgrade, the Ethereum Cancun Deneb Upgrade. This comprehensive upgrade spans improvements in both the execution layer (Cancun) and the consensus layer (Deneb) of the Ethereum network. These synchronized upgrades fortify scalability, security, and usability, forming a more resilient infrastructure for DApps and smart contracts. The Dencun initiative by Ethereum aims to spur innovation and hasten blockchain technology adoption by establishing a strong foundation for future advancements.
Current Price | $2260 |
Market Cap | $272 billion |
Circulating Supply | 120.22 million ETH |
Max Supply | N/A |
Vol (24H) | $11.1 billion |
Change (YTD) | +89% |
Founder | Vitalik Buterin, Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio and Joseph Lubin |
- Throughout October-November 2023, the Ethereum price surged, mirroring the Bitcoin price rise, ultimately crossing the $2000 threshold.
- Reaching above $2000 for the first time since April 2023, the resurgence of Ethereum’s price signals a lasting bullish trend. Currently, it is trading just shy of the $2300 mark.
- Overcoming resistance levels marked by Fibonacci pivot points, Ethereum price is exploring higher grounds, highlighting its upward drive and potentially attempting to touch $2400 before the end of the year.
- Analysis indicates that the Ethereum price trajectory aims for the $2300 to $2350 range, illustrated by R2 and R3 on the Fibonacci pivot points.
- Ethereum price is expected to find strong support within the $1990 to $2000 range once a notable resistance has become a reliable support zone and aligned with the P level of Fibonacci pivot points.
- Presently, Ethereum maintains positions above its 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages. Further, both the EMAs have undergone a bullish crossover too, providing bullish support to ETH price.
Read more: Top meme coins 2023
Ripple (XRP)
Ripply Labs is a company that is working towards building and solidifying a decentralized technology that acts as a crypto and digital payment network for financial transactions. Hence, Ripple is an open-source protocol specifically designed to enable extremely fast and cheap peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions between two parties, removing the need for a centralized intermediary. Ripple was released in 2012 and co-founded by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto.
With these suites of products and services, Ripple has grown to serve large global payment networks amongst its customers, including major financial institutions and international banks. One thing to note is that the Ripple Network does not run on either the PoW (Proof of Work) or PoS (Proof of Stake) system. Instead, it applies a consensus protocol to validate the financial transactions and settle account balances, The biggest benefit of the XRP ledger is that a transaction is confirmed within 5-7 seconds with a minimum transaction fee of 0.00001 XRP.
Current Price | $0.64 |
Market Cap | $34.9 billion |
Circulating Supply | 53.88 billion XRP |
Max Supply | 100 billion XRP |
Vol (24H) | $1.38 billion |
Change (YTD) | +90.5% |
Founder | Chris Larsen, Jed McCaleb |
- XRP price journey in 2023 took a notable turn on July 13 with a significant event: the US District Court for the Southern District of New York declared XRP not a security. This ruling led to a surge, reflected by a substantial price increase of over 74%.
- Despite the initial surge, the upward momentum of the XRP price was short-lived. Following the court ruling, XRP took a downward trajectory, returning to levels seen prior to the legal victory after about two months.
- During “Uptober,” the broader crypto market’s optimism lifted XRP price by over 25% from its October lows.
- Like other cryptos, XRP price breached its 50- and 200-day EMAs, witnessing a bullish golden crossover. However, since the second week of November, XRP has retraced, finding support around the 50-day EMA.
- XRP price trades slightly below the P level of the Fibonacci pivot points, as indicated on the chart. A breakout above $0.65 could set sights on future targets at $0.71 and eventually $0.75, marking a potential 23% increase from current levels.
- Conversely, the S1 level of the Fibonacci pivot points is expected to support the token in case of a downside movement.
Know More: Top Metaverse Crypto Projects
Solana (SOL)
Solana, the high-throughput blockchain platform known for its speed and scalability, continues to hold its ground as one of the hottest altcoins even amidst recent market downturns. This resilience can be attributed to significant developments in the past months, showcasing Solana’s dedication to innovation and growth.
The Breakpoint 2023 event first solidified Solana’s commitment to interoperability and user experience. Announcements included integrating Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, streamlining developer access and bolstering infrastructure. Additionally, the Hyperledger Solang bridge’s launch opens Solana to the vast Ethereum developer community, further enriching its ecosystem.
Furthermore, migrating Render Network, a leading decentralized compute platform, to Solana further validates its scalability and real-world use cases. This integration demonstrates Solana’s ability to handle high-demand applications, paving the way for further adoption in decentralized computing.
On the DeFi front, the launch of EUROe, the first Euro-pegged stablecoin on Solana, eliminates conversion fees and simplifies access to DeFi opportunities for European users. This marks a significant step towards broader DeFi adoption and increased liquidity within the Solana ecosystem.
Finally, collaborations with tech giants like Google and Amazon are enhancing accessibility and empowering developers. Solana data integration with Google Cloud BigQuery provides powerful analytics tools, while the release of Solana blockchain node development blueprints on AWS simplifies deployment and fosters further innovation.
Current Price | $63.3 |
Market Cap | $26.9 billion |
Circulating Supply | 425.9 million SOL |
Max Supply | N/A |
Vol (24H) | $2.3 billion |
Change (YTD) | +539% |
Founder | Anatoly Yakovenko |
- Solana’s SOL price exhibited a notable upward trend earlier this year, surging from under $20 to nearly breaching the $60 mark at the time of writing, marking a substantial increase in value.
- Between February and May 2023, SOL maintained stability above the crucial $20 support level on the price charts. However, a market downturn in June 2023 led to SOL price decline to $14, altering the previous scenario.
- After this decline, Solana’s price showed a robust recovery compared to other top 10 cryptos. It rebounded from $14, briefly peaking at $30, and stabilized around $18 in September before initiating another rally starting September 28, 2023.
- This upward momentum continued through “Uptober” and November, rising from around $24 to just over $63 as of writing, marking a 230% surge in the last 60 days.
- In a positive scenario, watch for levels around $67 and $73, which are significant as key resistance levels and psychological barriers.
- Conversely, the $55 region is expected to serve as a support area for SOL price in the near term, aligning with the P level of the Fibonacci pivot levels.
Read More Top Solana Ecosystem Tokens
Cardano(ADA)
Cardano, also popularly hailed as the ‘third generation of cryptos’ (with Bitcoin being the first and Ethereum being the second), is the most up-and-coming crypto project in the industry. It is also quite talked about in the space as it is the most developed crypto project. Thanks to the innovative way in which it was created – it is one of the most peer-reviewed and carefully designed blockchain platforms in the marketplace. Thanks to these extensive peer-review processes and systems, this proof-of-stake (PoS) token truly has the potential to beat Ethereum too.
While the year 2022 hasn’t been kind to Cardano’s native crypto token ADA, in terms of price action – thanks to its strong development team and the vision of its leaders that it has still continued to build and create a platform that is unique and provides features that could help it overtake Ethereum. This is especially true thanks to the now-concluded Cardano’s Vasil Hark Fork that went live on September 22, 2023. This is the reason why Cardano is next in the list of top altcoins in November 2022 by market cap.
Current Price | $0.44 |
Market Cap | $15.7 billion |
Circulating Supply | 35.3 billion ADA |
Max Supply | 45 billion ADA |
Vol (24H) | $761 million |
Change (YTD) | +80.6% |
Founder | Charles Hoskinson |
- Once again, in line with the broader resurgence of the crypto market, propelled by Bitcoin price performance, ADA price has displayed a strong bullish recovery and is currently trading just above $0.44.
- November witnessed a significant surge in ADA price, climbing from below $0.3 to nearly $0.4, stabilizing around $0.44 at the time of writing.
- ADA price surpassed both the 50-day and 200-day EMAs early in November, with these two indicators also signaling a bullish golden crossover by November 15 – bringing in further positivity in the altcoin’s price trajectory.
- ADA price targets on the upside include $0.48 to $0.5 which coincide with the R3 of the Fibonacci pivot points. Also, $0.5 is a crucial psychological resistance level that would need to be breached.
- Conversely, the $0.35 threshold is anticipated to function as a support level for ADA’s price, aligning with the P level of the Fibonacci pivot points.
Know More: Top Meme Tokens
Polygon (POL)
Polygon, formerly known as Matic Network, has risen as a prominent layer-2 scaling solution dedicated to addressing Ethereum’s scalability issues and the associated high transaction expenses. Its primary objective revolves around constructing and interlinking scalable blockchain networks, positioning it as an appealing crypto asset for potential investment in 2023. Polygon’s value proposition focuses on optimizing Ethereum’s decentralized application (DApp) efficiency and functionality, garnering popularity due to its features like low fees and swift confirmation times.
A recent milestone for Polygon involves achieving record-breaking transaction volumes with its zkEVM. The shift from MATIC to POL also signifies a crucial upgrade for Polygon, offering governance rights to POL holders. This empowers them to propose and vote on network upgrades, fostering a decentralized ecosystem. The POL Token significantly reduces transaction fees, enhancing the network’s cost-efficiency and attracting more developers and users.
Moreover, it emphasizes liquidity provision, interoperability, and improved security, foreseeing increased adoption among developers and applications within the Polygon 2.0 ecosystem. With the transition from MATIC to POL, Polygon strives to cultivate innovation and adoption, creating a secure, user-friendly environment that caters to the diverse needs of its user base. This reflects Polygon’s unwavering dedication to delivering an advanced blockchain network and an enhanced ecosystem.
Read more: Ethereum vs Polygon vs Solana
Current Price | $0.86 |
Market Cap | $59 million |
Circulating Supply | 70.9 million POL |
Max Supply | 10 billion POL (targeted) |
Vol (24H) | $341K |
Change (YTD) | +27% |
Founder | Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, Anurag Arjun, and Mihailo Bjelic |
- Amid the market recovery, POL price performance lags behind other cryptos.
- Polygon’s 2023 journey faced significant challenges, especially regarding its primary token, POL, which experienced a notable decline early in the year followed by continued downward movement.
- Within the last month, POL saw a 24% upsurge, positioning Polygon’s price slightly above both the 50-day and 200-day EMAs. Both EMAs also underwent a bullish crossover, echoing trends seen in several other tokens throughout November.
- Although Polygon’s price has started deviating from its downtrend, evident from breaking the blue trendline on the chart, it still encounters resistance levels that need surpassing for it to establish as a compelling bullish opportunity. Immediate targets lie at $0.92 and $1.01.
Chainlink (LINK)
Chainlink is next on this list of top altcoins you need to keep your eye out for in 2023. Chainlink is yet another blockchain network that was built with a very unique purpose in mind. Chainlink is a crypto network that has the objective of incentivizing a global network of computers to provide reliable, real-world data to smart contracts running on top of other blockchain networks.
The need for this blockchain is extremely relevant, and many use cases exist. So, smart contracts from various blockchain networks tend to require data and information from outside its native network. These data points can include anything from asset prices to weather and interest rates for any smart contract. That’s where Chainlink’s oracle network comes in – it provides a method to bring these external data points to smart contracts in a truly 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.
Chainlink devised a very interesting solution to this problem – it created a network by incentivizing data providers (or oracles, as it is better known) to act as a bridge between the blockchain smart contracts at the relevant external data sources.
Additional Read: Top Crypto Price Predictions
Current Price | $15.45 |
Market Cap | $8.6 billion |
Circulating Supply | 556 million LINK |
Max Supply | 1 billion LINK |
Vol (24H) | $556 million |
Change (YTD) | +177% |
Founder | Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis |
- LINK experienced a substantial 57% surge in October, and a near 180% rally in 2023 so far, joining the wider crypto market recovery.
- Following Bitcoin price lead in the market resurgence, LINK price showed a strong bullish trend, touching $16.5 in mid-November before settling just below $15.5 at present.
- Holding around $7 in October, LINK price initiated a remarkable 57% upswing, sustaining this rally into November with an additional 32% surge.
- Like other bullish assets, LINK price maintains positions well above both the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, with both exhibiting a golden crossover, reinforcing positive sentiment.
- Critical price levels greatly influence LINK price trajectory. The immediate target stands at $16.5, followed by a significant milestone at $17.6, suggesting an approximate 20% rise from current levels.
- On the downside, LINK price might find support near $13.8, aligning with the Fibonacci pivot points’ P level.
Uniswap (UNI)
Uniswap has been one of the biggest and the most dominant players in the world of decentralized finance, especially so in its sector of decentralized exchanges (DEX). Uniswap is one of the most popular and widely used decentralized trading protocols well-known for facilitating automated trading of DeFi tokens without any centralized body. It also has its own automated market maker (AMM), launched in 2018 by Hayden Adams and has garnered a lot of attention since its inception. It gained much traction, especially in 2021 when the crypto space saw the DeFi boom.
To add to that further, Uniswap is run by its own decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that is governed using its native governance token, UNI. This was undertaken to enhance the users’ ability and profitability to shape its future. It limits the risks and reduces costs for all parties involved by automating the procedure of market-making. This mechanism also does away with the identity requirements for its users and lets anyone create a liquidity pool for any pair of tokens.
Current Price | $6.1 |
Market Cap | $3.6 billion |
Circulating Supply | 588 million UNI |
Max Supply | 1 billion UNI |
Vol (24H) | $556 million |
Change (YTD) | +19% |
Founder | Hayden Adams |
- Uniswap is also an altcoin that has been one of the poorer performers in 2023’s broader crypto market bullish trajectory but stands to make a strong recovery soon, thanks to its unique use cases and applications.
- UNI price is currently exhibiting a rounding bottom price pattern on the chart, as depicted above – and thus a breakout above $6.5, which also roughly coincides with the R1 of the Fibonacci pivot points, would bode very well for the altcoin.
- UNI price is also trading above both its 50-day and 200-day EMAs and those two EMAs have undergone a bullish crossover too, further lending weight to the bullish projection.
- If we see a breakout beyond $6.5, then we can potentially see a run-up all the way to $7.1 and eventually $8.1 in the near future, marking a 33% rally from the current UNI price.
- On the downside, $5.5 at the P level of the Fibonacci pivot points should serve as a reliable support zone going forward.
Conclusion
This is a comprehensive list of some of the most unique projects you can invest in 2023 and beyond, especially as we are seeing some broad-base recovery amongst major crypto assets in the market. However, investors should do their own research as the crypto market tends to be extremely volatile. Thus, further research would bring about more understanding and conviction before investing your hard-earned money into these cryptos.
So, How Can You Invest in these Projects?
Today, investing in these crypto projects is extremely simple with the CoinDCX App! Download the CoinDCX crypto investing app, enter the required details, and wait for your profile to be verified. Once done, fund your wallet and buy any of the coins of your choice!
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