Yahoo Finance The top 5 cryptocurrencies to keep your eye on in 2022
Cryptocurrencies have had a wild ride in 2021, with many records being broken and millions wiped off the market in a single day.
Despite the rollercoaster, it seems clear cryptocurrencies are here to stay.
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So which ones are set to make it big in 2022?
Ethereum
It’s really no secret that Ethereum (ETH-USD) takes the top spot. It's been the backbone of thousands of crypto projects, providing the nutrition they need to help them grow.
DeFi runs on the Ethereum blockchain. DeFi simply means 'decentralised finance' - a blockchain-based form of finance that doesn't rely on central financial intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks to offer traditional financial instruments.
If you're thinking about investing in Ethereum, do your research into the many DeFi projects that are backed by it.
The majority of these are booming and may help push Ethereum demand as well.
Many experts are adamant that Ethereum will surpass Bitcoin in the near future, and they are very trusting of this technology.
Uniswap
According to CoinMarketCap, Uniswap (UNI3-USD) is the second-largest decentralised exchange (DEX) project in terms of market value.
DeFi Pulse has reported that it is the second-largest DEX project when it comes to total value locked. And there’s a reason for this.
Uniswap is also completely open sourced, which means anyone can copy the code to create their own decentralised exchanges.
Normal centralised exchanges are profit-driven and charge very high fees to list new coins, so this alone is a notable difference.
At the time of writing, Uniswap was valued around the $19.75AUD mark. It’s price began in 2021 at around $5AUD. Therefore, Uniswap’s value increased 247 per cent from the beginning of the year.
Solana
Solana (CRYPTO:SOL) is easily one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies this year and has become a hot topic among crypto enthusiasts.
It has grown more than 15,000 per cent on a year-to-date basis. Named among the "top 10" cryptocurrency by market value, this coin has shocked many with its huge growth.
Any asset that expands from less than US$1 billion in market capitalisation to more than US$70 billion in a few months, should certainly be one to keep your eyes on.
Tether
Tether (Tether USD) is known as the world’s first ‘stable cryptocurrency’ and stands every chance to become one of the top altcoins set to explode in 2022.
This cryptocurrency is an ideal investment option for those who aren’t willing to take many risks in the volatile cryptocurrency market.
So, if you don’t have much money to spend and are afraid of taking bigger risks, then Tether is for you.
Polkadot
Polkadot's price started 2021 at $9.26AUD. At the time of writing, Polkadot (DOT1-USD) trades around $36.70AUD, hence the price increased by 214 per cent from the beginning of the year.
With a unique ability to integrate the many different blockchains by creating a cryptocurrency network that connects them to work simultaneously, Polkadot has grown considerably.
Many experts predict that Polkadot will climb to average about $66.01AUD by the end of 2022 and $146.80AUD by the end of 2025.
Industry experts believe that the same trend is likely to continue for the years ahead, thus making it one of the safer cryptocurrency investments.
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