In this article, we discuss 10 best cryptocurrencies to invest in for beginners in 2022 according to Reddit. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of these currencies, go directly to 5 Best Cryptocurrencies to Invest In For Beginners in 2022 According to Reddit.
2021 was a breakthrough year for “alternative coins”, a term used to refer to cryptocurrencies that have no link to Bitcoin. Over the past few months, crypto infrastructure developed enough for people to invest independently in coins and blockchains with specific purposes without the need for Bitcoin as an intermediary. This is one reason why Bitcoin only returned around 60% last year, while coins like Solana and Terra grew by 11,000% and 12,000% respectively. Other coins like Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash also managed triple-digits returns.
This shift in the crypto world from brand name to specific value and protocols represents a watershed moment for the industry that is still fighting for mainstream recognition. The emergence of non-fungible tokens and DeFi applications also indicates that people are moving away from Ethereum, the second most popular coin, towards alternatives that offer lower fees and better speeds. Ethereum is transferring from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism in the coming months that might tilt the market in its favor.
Despite these changes, the prices of cryptocurrencies remain volatile as governments weigh regulations on the industry. For beginners, investments in this sphere can often be boom or bust without proper information. For those who do not want direct exposure to digital coins, some of the top investments can be in companies heavily involved in the cryptoverse like NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG).
Our Methodology
These were picked from a careful assessment of comments published on different Reddit forums over the past twenty-four hours.
The details of each cryptocurrency are mentioned alongside a discussion around top companies working in the sector to provide readers with some context for their investment decisions.
Data from around 900 elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in Q3 2021 was used to identify the number of hedge funds that hold stakes in each firm.
Best Cryptocurrencies to Invest In For Beginners in 2022 According to Reddit
10. Polkadot
Polkadot is a cryptocurrency network that allows for distributed computing. This works as the Polkadot network consists of a central relay chain that coordinates parachains. The parachains allow developers to build chains for special purposes, for example social networking, fintech, and other tasks. These parachains are then linked to the central relay chain and can interact with one another. The Polkadot network also includes on-chain governance, allowing users more say in the future development of the network. The network also includes forkless updates.
The wider acceptance of coins like Polkadot has been facilitated by companies like Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), a California-based payments firm. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 143 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $26 billion in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V). The institutional trust in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) helps soothe investor concerns around crypto.
In addition to NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is one of the stocks that crypto investors are keeping their eye on.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“To make room for these new names with more attractive outlooks related to the reopening, we sold out of companies where the thesis is not playing out at the pace we expected including Visa Inc. (NYSE:V).”
9. Cardano
Cardano is a public blockchain ecosystem that just started offering smart contracts. Compared to other prominent coins that have had this ability for years, the Cardano network is a new player in the arena. Frederik Gregaard, the CEO of the Cardano Foundation, the Swiss body that governs the Cardano ecosystem, recently said that the foundation was focused on ensuring “maximum adoption and maximum utility” to reach people in developing countries. This means that Cardano is one of the first coins with a focus on specific needs of developing nations.
Along with Cardano, there are firms like Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) that are also working to solve the fintech needs of small businesses. Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter and one of the most prominent crypto bulls, leads Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ). Dorsey and his firm are endorsed by close to 100 hedge funds who hold stakes worth $8.8 billion in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) as of Q3 2021.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, RiverPark Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We established a position in leading Financial Technology provider Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) during the quarter. Through one integrated system, Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) is a hybrid of two businesses: its Seller Business (charging small and medium-sized businesses about 3% for transaction payment processing, plus other services such as instant funds access, and software for everything from customer engagement to payroll), and its Cash App (originally for person-to-person cash transfers and now a growing digital financial services provider for consumers).
The combined business has grown gross profit at a 37% CAGR over the past five years to $2.7 billion (due to pass through costs, gross profit is more reflective of top-line growth) and we believe that the company has an enormous long-term runway, as it has less than a 2% share of a more than $160 billion market. It is our view that the company’s Cash App (which has grown from nothing in 2015 to $1.2 billion gross profit last year) has a particularly large opportunity with its powerful ecosystem of digital financial services including digital wallets, direct deposits, stock trading, bitcoin trading, and business and tax services, which are all relatively new. The vast majority of Cash App’s more than 36 million users are younger and, importantly, are willing to replace their bank and other financial services accounts with the app.
We estimate that Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) can grow its gross profit more than 30% and EBITDA more than 50% annually for the foreseeable future, and while most of the company’s current profit is from its Seller Business, we believe most of Square’s future value will be from its Cash App business.”
8. Monero
Monero is one of the most popular “privacy coins” on the market. The network on which it operates essentially masks information like the amount in crypto wallets or the kind of transactions a user has been making on the blockchain, even if the address of that user is publicly available. Monero was founded in 2014. The Monero network uses ring signatures to encrypt sender information, making it nearly impossible to identify the original source from which funds have been sent.
Privacy coins like Monero are becoming more popular as payments firms like PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) back their adoption. The importance of this backing is evident from the hedge fund sentiment around PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL). At the end of September, 123 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey were long PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), with stakes worth $12.8 billion.
In its Q4 2020 investor letter, Polen Capital Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“For the full year 2020, one of the top performers was PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), which we purchased in 2019, the company continues to take market share in digital payments and has seen an acceleration in user adoption and engagement, especially within their “silver tech” or older user demographic. We expect many more years of ongoing double-digit growth from their various business segments and new initiatives.”
7. Litecoin
Litecoin is one of the most popular Bitcoin spinoffs. The Litecoin network is run by the Litecoin Foundation, a body led by Charlie Lee, a former Google and Coinbase employee. Lee has likened Litecoin as the “silver” to Bitcoin’s “gold”. The Litecoin network is similar to Bitcoin but different in terms of transaction speeds, block generation time, hashing algorithm, and the maximum number of coins. Lee has also called Litecoin the “layman’s Bitcoin”. Litecoin has a market cap of more than $8 billion.
The mainstreaming of coins like Litecoin has been made possible in large part by tech giants like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The Washington-based software firm has been very bullish on the future of the crypto revolution. Elite hedge funds back the prudence of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in this regard. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management holds 24.8 million shares worth more than $6.7 billion in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) as of September 2021.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Polen Capital, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We have written extensively about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in recent commentaries. It was our leading contributor last year and one of our largest weightings within the Portfolio. It continues to experience business momentum through several dominant, essential, and competitively advantaged businesses, like Office 365 and Azure. The markets it competes for are enormous, which gives the company the ability to compound at scale. In the past quarter alone, the company generated over $40 billion in revenue, representing a 17% growth rate. The inherent operating leverage in Microsoft’s business model continues and led to 34% earnings growth this past quarter. Despite the broad rotation we saw in the first quarter and Microsoft’s robust performance in 2020, we think its business fundamentals continue to exhibit strength, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock continues to reflect the fundamentals.”
6. Chainlink
Chainlink is the cryptocurrency used by the Chainlink network. The Chainlink network aims to streamline smart contracts by offering high quality and reliable data feeds to businesses so they can make use of that information to base contracts worth billions of trillions of dollars. These feeds can range from information about finance markets, to the weather, and even sports results. Smart contract applications within the blockchain world usually rely on different datasets for validation of real-world data and typically use Oracle networks for the purpose.
As the world goes digital, one of the most prominent backers of blockchain has been Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), the California-based “metaverse” play. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is one of the most popular stocks among hedge funds. At the end of September, 248 funds in the Insider Monkey database were long Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), with stakes worth $38 billion.
Just like NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is one of the stocks that crypto enthusiasts are talking about on different Reddit forums.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We continued to keep our learnings from 2020 in mind during the quarter as we sought to increase the up capture of the portfolio. We also made adjustments to the portfolio’s top 10 holdings to increase the participation of select stocks, including Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), while trimming our weighting to stable names, which now represent 47% of the portfolio. Our repositioning has been encouraging so far with the portfolio performing better on up days in the market while maintaining good down capture during more turbulent sessions.”
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Disclose. None. 10 Best Cryptocurrencies to Invest In For Beginners in 2022 According to Reddit is originally published on Insider Monkey.
