Investors thinking about putting some capital to work in the cryptocurrency sector have thousands of tokens to choose from. With plenty of innovation to invest in, and a range of different networks with unique operating models to choose from, the task of adding some higher-growth exposure to one’s portfolio in the digital assets realm can be a daunting one.
That said, I’ve reduced my watch list down to about 20 top tokens I’m watching closely right now. Of this group, there are three that stand out to me as buying opportunities, particularly for investors with a long-term investing time horizon.
I should not that investing in any digital asset is a far from risk-less exercise. These are highly volatile assets that can surge (and plunge) very dramatically in short amounts of time. As such, I still believe that allocating a small portion of one’s portfolio to these tokens is the best long-term strategy.
But for those looking to do just that, here are three of my top picks right now.
Solana (SOL)
One of the most efficient blockchains available to investors, Solana (CRYPTO:SOL) is one network I continue to think will be the backbone of where most decentralized finance (DeFi) applications are built over the long-term.
That’s mostly due to the sheer technological superiority of Solana’s underlying blockchain technology. With the ability to support more than 10,000 transactions per second and a rock-bottom cost of typically just a few pennies per transaction, developers and users have flocked to this platform as the place to trade decentralized assets (from derivatives to NFTs or other tokens via Solana-backed decentralized exchanges). As this transaction volume continues to increases, the company’s network effects will continue to improve, and its valuation should follow suit.
That’s been the case historically, at least.
The other two key catalysts I’d focus on besides impressive user growth is Solana’s impressive TVL/ecosystem growth, as well as surging institutional and developer adoption. In terms of ecosystem growth, Solana’s nearly $3.5 million in daily fees from more than $265 million in spot trading volume seen over a number of 24-hour periods is impressive, as is the company’s recent total value locked (TVL) record of $12.2 billion.
Institutional investors and developers also appear keen to focus their efforts on Solana, with a number of recent partnerships within the crypto ecosystem (and from outside) continuing to bolster this token. Solana remains a long-term buy in my books.
Ondo (ONDO)
For investors bullish about the future of tokenization, Ondo (CRYPTO:ONDO) is a great option to consider right now.
What Ondo is intent on creating is a world in which real world assets are able to be tokenized and traded on-chain. Utilizing blockchain technology to sell a house, a piece of a business, or some other key real-world asset may seem farfetched. But such deals are already taking place on blockchains like Ondo, and there are trillions of dollars of assets that can potentially flow into these vehicles over time.
Unlike using traditional real estate agents and other money managers to put deals together, the idea is that large transactions can take place with much greater efficiency, less friction, and also importantly at a much lower cost than using other middlemen. This is one of the key areas of utility I think is important to focus on, and is what drives my bullish long-term thesis around Ondo.
In terms of transaction volume, Ondo’s on-chain trading volume has recent seen a 46% surge, coinciding with rather robust price appreciation before this recent dip. I think as the project continues to integrate more in the way of stocks and ETFs to its trading platform, this will become one of the go-to options for those looking to successfully bridge the worlds of traditional and decentralized finance.
Finally, I think it’s important for investors to consider Ondo’s resilience in past market cycles. Rising more than 1,000% in this past bull market rally following the so-called “crypto winter” in 2022 from peak to trough, Ondo has seen olid momentum during past bull market rallies. I think that’s likely to be the case moving forward.
Hyperliquid (HYPE)
I’ve covered Hyperliquid (CRYPTO:HYPE) a few times now, and the bullish thesis I have around Hyperliquid really sounds quite similar to my thoughts around Ondo.
As a leading next-generation decentralized perpetual futures exchange, Hyperliquid enables traders, speculators and long-term investors like you and I to either hedge out positions or add exposure to certain tokens with smaller up-front capital outlays.
Whether you like derivatives or not, they’re an integral piece of the financial plumbing we take for granted in the world of traditional finance. Those looking to hedge key earnings events for a particular company, or hedge market-related risks, may go to the options market to do so. In the world of DeFi, it’s a lot harder – but that’s where Hyperliquid comes in.
The project’s non-cyclical revenue model includes a range of products, from perpetual futures to a treasury platform, allowing much more resiliency in terms of income streams over time.
And with a number of strategic partnerships under way, thanks to the protocol’s treasury, I think there’s plenty of upside for investors banking on continued integration between traditional finance and blockchain projects like Hyperliquid.
