In early 2024, as interest in cryptocurrency grows, these alternative coins are ready to increase in value significantly if Bitcoin starts a new upward trend.
- Ethereum (ETH-USD): It’s the main platform for smart contracts in the crypto world because a lot of people use it.
- Kaspa (KAS-USD): It has a special design to handle more transactions, which could make its network grow a lot.
- Polygon (MATIC-USD): It offers a flexible tool to help Ethereum handle more activity.
Bitcoin has been doing really well recently! After a calm 2023, it has suddenly become very active in the past week. Bitcoin’s value has increased by more than 13% in just one week, passing the important $50,000 mark for each coin.
The recent increase suggests we might be starting a new period of rising cryptocurrency prices. The last big jump in Bitcoin’s value began in late 2020 when Bitcoin went through its every-four-years halving event. Prices went up fast until they peaked in November 2021.
This time, the increase in interest probably comes more from a lot of big investors putting their money in, rather than the expected reduction in Bitcoin rewards. Since 11 Bitcoin funds were allowed last month, a huge amount of new money is moving into the cryptocurrency area. Also, with the next reduction in Bitcoin rewards expected in April 2024, it looks like there will be even bigger increases in value this time around.
When Bitcoin’s value goes up, often many other cryptocurrencies increase in value too. Here are three to watch before they start to rise.
Ethereum (ETH-USD)
Ethereum (ETH-USD) is the second biggest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. It often moves in the same direction as Bitcoin. When Bitcoin’s value goes up, Ethereum usually does too. Usually, Ethereum’s increases are even bigger than Bitcoin’s, giving investors more profit.
I think Ethereum will do better than Bitcoin in the next big increase in crypto market prices. Ethereum’s market value is smaller than Bitcoin’s, which means it has a greater chance to increase in value. Also, Ethereum is now using a system that decreases the number of its tokens over time, making them rarer. This is because of its new method for validating transactions and the burning of tokens, leading to about a 2% decrease in tokens every year.
Ethereum is a better investment than Bitcoin because it is the main network for smart contracts. This means it supports many apps and Web 3.0 features, like NFTs and DeFi, leading the way in new blockchain technology. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is mainly used to save money.
Ethereum has done better than Bitcoin in every strong market period. I think this will keep happening as more people create things on Ethereum and more investors see its advantages over other systems. If Bitcoin keeps doing well, Ethereum could see huge increases in value.
Kaspa (KAS-USD)
Kaspa (KAS-USD) has grown a lot in the last year and has become an exciting layer-1 blockchain of medium size. Now, with its value over $3.1 billion, both people who make apps and those who invest money are starting to notice it.
As I mentioned before, Kaspa is special because it uses a unique setup called GHOSTDAG, which changes the typical blockchain into a directed acyclic graph. This change helps Kaspa handle a lot more transactions at once and do it faster.
The system makes sure it’s safe and keeps track of transactions by telling apart “blue blocks,” which are made by good users, from possibly harmful “red blocks.” It looks for the biggest group of connected blocks that can’t go back on itself to pick which blocks are safe to trust. This stops bad actions like spending money twice or undoing transactions. I believe Kaspa could be worth more than $10 billion if its technology proves reliable over time.
Polygon (MATIC-USD)
Polygon (MATIC-USD) looks ready to benefit from any increase in Ethereum’s value because it helps Ethereum work faster and more cheaply. It started as a support chain but quickly grew into a more flexible network that makes Ethereum transactions quicker and less expensive.
Polygon is now made up of two main parts – Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM. Polygon PoS works alongside Ethereum to support its smart contracts, acting like a helper chain. Polygon zkEVM copies the Ethereum system but uses special cryptography to keep transactions private.
This approach tries to keep Ethereum safe and uncensored, and at the same time, make it handle more transactions quickly and cheaply. Polygon wants to give developers all the good things about Ethereum, but with faster and less expensive transactions.
Polygon has big plans, like improving its system to use a more advanced technology and starting new projects. There’s a lot of potential for its network and the value of its digital currency to grow. If the cryptocurrency market does really well again, Polygon could be among the best performers.
As of the time this article was published, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not own any shares mentioned in this article, either directly or through someone else. The views in this article are the author’s own and follow the rules of InvestorPlace.com.
Omor Ibne Ehsan writes for InvestorPlace. He taught himself about investing, liking to choose stocks that grow and do well over time because they’re solid and valuable. He also likes to invest in things that are very risky but can make a lot of money, like digital money and cheap stocks. You can find him on LinkedIn.
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