If you’re interested in cryptocurrency investment this 2022, there are a wide variety of altcoins that you can consider. Indeed, according to CoinMarketCap, there are over 16,700 coins available for everyone. In this article, we’ll evaluate some of the altcoins that deserve our attention during 2022.

Besides Bitcoin, altcoins also have a lot to offer for users and investors: smart contracts, cross-chain transactions, gaming, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and more are waiting for us. The future is near, and it could be very bright for crypto in 2022. Let’s check it out.

Solana (SOL)

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We start with a cryptocurrency that currently holds more than $40 billion in market cap and ranks #6 by that metric. Solana (SOL) has been one of the cryptoassets making the biggest splash in the smart contracts industry over the past year. In 2021, its performance was better compared to competing networks like Binance Smart Chain (BNB), Avalanche (AVAX), and Polygon (MATIC).

The growth of this cryptocurrency since May 2021 has been more than 26,000% [CoinMarketCap]. It attracted the attention of institutional investors and had a private token sale in June for $314 million. In addition, they had an $18 million fundraising in September for Solana’s DEX Orca project. Thanks to all this and its expanding ecosystem, on November 6 it had an All-Time-High (ATH) of $260 per token.

Although at the time of writing the cryptocurrency’s price dropped to $147, influenced by the current market downturn, its performance for this 2022 points to be favorable. Its users haven’t stopped growing during the whole of 2021. This is probably because it offers a similar infrastructure to Ethereum, but with higher speed and lower fees.

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Currently, Solana’s leading Dapp is Raydium, a DEX with 252k users in the last 30 days and a volume of $42 billion. This one is closely followed by the NFT Marketplace Magic Eden, with over 192k users. The NFTs are very popular in Solana, to the point where their marketplaces have even surpassed some Ethereum-based ones.

Similarly, as of December, Solana’s futures marketplace was the third largest, surpassed only by Binance Coin (BNB) and Terra (LUNA). For Wallet Investor, the cryptocurrency could stand at $445 in one year, and reach $1,656 in 5 years.

Polkadot (DOT)

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The second of the altcoins to watch this 2022 stands #10 in market capitalization, with $25 billion. Its last ATH was on November 4, when it reached $54.98 per coin, and it currently sits at $26 [CoinMarketCap]. Compared to August 2021, when it was valued at $2.70, the growth of Polkadot has been over 790% to date.

Polkadot’s main proposal is based on parachains (customized, standalone blockchains integrated into its main chain) and their interoperability. On November 18, 2021, auctions began to connect next March the first parachains of this network: Acala Network, Moonbeam, Astar, Parallel, and Clover Finance.

Analysts from Price Prediction consider that, by 2022, this cryptocurrency will reach $45. By 2031, this price could increase to $1,305 per token.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

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Shiba Inu, which ranks 14th in capitalization with $14 billion, was one of the cryptocurrencies that had several ATH a bit before most of the market turned bullish in November. It was trading at $0.00008616 in October and currently sits at $0.00002699 — down 68.8% since then. It might seem like an unfavorable outlook, but in November 2020 this altcoin was worth just $0.000000000056, which means an increase in value of 47,693,389.2% so far.

Born as a memecoin, this altcoin plans to implement a whole ecosystem that includes a DeFi platform on Ethereum, an NFT Marketplace, and even a charity initiative. For this purpose, it will rely not only on the SHIB token, but also on Doge Killer (LEASH), BONE, and probably other tokens in the future.

Many users consider it a disadvantage that the original supply of Shiba is so large: 1 quadrillion (equal to 1,000 trillion). This would make it impossible for the price per coin to become high. However, by October 2021, around 41% of this supply was already burned (put out of circulation). And this process continues, with several individual and corporate users burning the supply to increase the value per coin in the long term.

Probably the last example is from Bigger Entertainment, the company that burned 1.14 billion Shiba to end the year. Besides, they’re providing the option to burn Shiba while listening to music.

According to Price Prediction, this cryptocurrency will reach half of its ATH in one year: $0.00004744. By 2025, its price would be $0.00014033 per token. More optimistic estimates position the cryptocurrency at around $0.0042 after a large token-burning event.

Enjin (ENJ)

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Next on the list is Enjin (ENJ). This metaverse cryptocurrency ranks 62nd in capitalization with over $2 billion. Enjin Network started in 2009 as a gaming community to become the social gaming platform that it’s today.

2021 was characterized by a considerable increase of interest in the Play-To-Earn scheme. Therefore, 2022 could mean that many related projects will mature and consolidate in the market. Among these is the ENJ altcoin, as it’s used to mint the NFTs that developers will implement in their video games. This token also allows users to sell, buy, and exchange the rewards obtained by playing.

In January 2021, ENJ reached a price of $0.13, and on November 25 it was worth $4.82. This way, its price increase was over 2,300% in the last year. Now, its price is at $2.3 with bullish perspectives. According to Wallet Investor, the prediction for this cryptocurrency in one year is $4.36, and $12.54 in five years. For Price Prediction, the coin can even reach $120 in 2031.

Terra (LUNA)

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Living up to its name, Terra went all the way to the moon (LUNA) with its ATH last December 27. The altcoin is ranked #9 in market capitalization this 2022, with $28 billion. It’s currently worth $79 per coin. Since March 2020, when it was worth $0.121798, Terra’s value has not stopped growing.

In 2021, its growth exceeded 14,000%. According to Wallet Investor, the price of this token will be $194 by the end of 2022. In five years, it could be at $673 per token.

Terra is an issuer of algorithm-based stablecoins and promises a lot for 2022. Indeed, this first week of January, it announced a proposal that would allocate $139 million in UST and LUNA for DeFi projects in Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon over the next six months.

Internet Computer (ICP)

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Internet Computer (ICP) is, along with Shiba Inu, one of the altcoins that revolutionized 2021 and perhaps will do so in 2022 as well. ICP launched in May 2021 and quickly reached the top 10 in capitalization. By that time, it reached its ATH at $700. At the time of writing, it’s ranked #30 with over $6 billion and a price of $31.

This project was launched to create a public network that would be the world’s first blockchain “computer”. It would run at the speed of Web3 and provide unlimited capacity. Through smart contracts, users would have the opportunity to create, run and install software or websites without using the centralized servers of large Internet companies.

With the development of Web3 leading to the decentralization of the Internet, this project becomes important. That’s why Price Prediction places the value of this altcoin at $61.92 by 2022 and $202 by 2025. Although, of course, it could surprise us with more, given its previous ATH.

Avalanche (AVAX)

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With a market cap of nearly $22 billion, the last of the altcoins on our list for 2022 ranks 12th in market cap. Its current price is $89, which represents a 2,974.3% increase from December 2020, when it was at barely $2.80.

For Wallet Investor, this altcoin is a great investment for 2022, as it can close the year at $242. In 5 years, it would grow to $855. One of the most recent announcements at Avalanche is the integration of Circle into the platform. This will allow users of the USDC stablecoin to benefit from one of the largest validation networks in the crypto world. Thanks to this, users will be able to verify their transactions faster and easier. For Circle, Avalanche has a “truly” decentralized infrastructure with limitless scalability.

Although the start of 2022 has been bearish for almost all altcoins, this implies an even greater cryptocurrency investment opportunity. Altcoins acquired during this period could have a significant upside leading to high gains in the medium term. However, as always, we remind you to do your own research (DYOR) before investing in any asset.


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Author

I'm a literature professional in the crypto world since 2016. It doesn't sound very compatible, but I've been learning and teaching about blockchain and cryptos for international portals since then. After hundreds of articles and diverse content about the topic, now you can find me here on Alfacash, working for more decentralization.

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