The 12 best cryptocurrency and blockchain stocks to buy make good investments due to their direct involvement in the currently booming cryptocurrency market and because their products and services have tangential use in a new market whose future is uncertain. In the second case, the companies represent good investments because they allow some exposure to the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, but don’t carry the entire risk associated with it, as they are well-established companies.
While most of us have heard only about a handful of cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum, there are in fact over 900 of them out there, most of which were developed from 2014 onwards. The most popular cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, which was the first one introduced, in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Ethereum is another well-known cryptocurrency, which enjoys corporate support due to its smart contract capabilities.
However, Bitcoin, which is followed closely and serves as a benchmark for the cryptocurrency industry, continues to be the 7 Most Profitable Cryptocurrencies and Coins to Mine in 2017. It has been making waves lately, as its price has surged to over $7,450, before retreating to around $7,390. The total value of all Bitcoins currently stands at around $123.17 billion based on some 16.66 million coins in circulation. Bitcoin also amasses the bulk of the total cryptocurrency market, which stands at slightly over $200 billion. On the second spot is Ethereum, which has a total value of $28.66 billion with 95.53 million in supply, while on the third spot is Bitcoin Cash, a spin-off of Bitcoin formed on August 1 after bitcoin miners couldn’t agree on how to increase Bitcoin’s popularity. Total Bitcoin Cash in circulation stands at 16.76 million coins with a total value of $10.50 billion.
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The rapid growth of cryptocurrencies, particularly the most popular ones, has prompted many companies to take notice and tap into the new market by developing products and services designed specifically for cryptocurrencies. Some hardware makers released graphics cards and chipsets, while cloud providers have introduced Blockchain-as-a-Service. Many investors also took notice of cryptocurrencies, with some even considering it as an emerging asset class. Marc Andreessen, Mike Novogratz, and Chamath Palihapitiya are among the 7 Largest Well Known Bitcoin Investors in the World.
Another investor that is betting on cryptocurrencies is Murray Stahl of Horizon Kinetics. In its third-quarter commentary, Horizon explained that it believes that Bitcoin has a big growth opportunity, because it can be a good store of value, similar to cash, which has a much higher value based on the money supply.
“Specifically, the U.S. money supply, a measure known as M2, is $13.7 trillion5, while as of Saturday, October 14th, the market value of bitcoin was about $94.6 billion6. In order to fulfill that much demand, the value of bitcoin would have to rise to $13.7 trillion. That would be a 145-fold increase. If the same sentiment were shared by the citizens of just the Euro Area countries ($9.2 trillion of M2) and Japan ($8.6 trillion of M2), bitcoin would appreciate 333x. This doesn’t include demand from any other nations, nor the trillions of dollars of sovereign debt worldwide that trade at zero or negative yields, nor the demand that owners of gold might represent, and so on,” Horizon said.
Of course, Horizon’s comparison was just a “thought experiment” as they put it, because it’s highly unlikely that Bitcoin will rise that high. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency has a lot of potential and the recent recognition of Bitcoin by some central banks is a sign of that.
“I call it an emerging, historically and sociologically unique asset class that, if accepted, will change society, and before it does that, will be enormously valuable, and which could also act as a hedge against index-based systemic risks that concern me very much,” the commentary added.
With this in mind, let’s proceed to take a look at the 12 best cryptocurrency and blockchain stocks to buy, starting on the next page.
12. Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:GBTC)
Let’s start our list of the best cryptocurrency and blockchain stocks to buy with Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:GBTC), as it is the easiest way to get exposure to Bitcoin. The company was set up specifically to track the price of Bitcoin. Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:GBTC) invests in Bitcoin and recently announced a distribution of Bitcoin Cash to shareholders (around 0.09258 coins per share). The stock is also up by over 644% since the beginning of the year. Horizon Kinetics has invested in Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:GBTC), holding around 0.5% of the company’s stock.
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11. FRMO Corp. (OTCMKTS:FRMO)
FRMO Corp. (OTCMKTS:FRMO) is Murray Stahl’s company, where he serves as Chairman and CEO. FRMO Corp. (OTCMKTS:FRMO) is a holding company that has many traditional investments, but in line with Stahl’s convictions, it also invests in many cryptocurrency companies such as Digital Currency Group, Genesis, Grayscale, and Coinbase.
10. Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT)
Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) is a biotech company that has decided to change its direction and focus on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT)’s stock has surged by over 75% since the beginning of the year, most of the gains coming in September, when the company announced its rebranding.
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9. ARK Web x.0 ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKW)
What makes ARK Web x.0 ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKW) one of the best cryptocurrency and blockchain stocks to buy is that it’s an ETF, which means that it offers investors exposure to a basket of stocks. ARK Web x.0 ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKW)’s portfolio consists mainly of big tech names, like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), which represents its largest holding. However, on the second spot in its portfolio is Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:GBTC), followed by NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which also has exposure to the cryptocurrency market.
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8. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a good stock to invest in that isn’t directly correlated to cryptocurrencies. However, the tech giant has some exposure to the blockchain industry through its AWS cloud platform. Last year, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) unveiled Blockchain-as-a-Service Sandbox, which was developed in collaboration with Digital Currency Group. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s blockchain solution acts as a ledger that allows quick and efficient financial transactions and is aimed at financial companies.
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7. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) operates the second-most popular cloud platform after AWS, so it also went into developing its own Blockchain-as-a-Service solution in partnership with R3, a consortium of 43 banks. Earlier this year, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced Enterprise Smart Contracts on its Azure cloud platform, which is a solution that allows users to build contracts using the distributed ledger (blockchain) technology.
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6. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is also on the forefront of blockchain technology, and poised to benefit from the BaaS market that is estimated to reach $20 billion in sales in the next decade. Among its recent developments, International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) has been working on a cross-border payment system that uses blockchain and has been working with Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), Kroger Co (NYSE:KR), Nestle and other companies to use blockchain technology in order to improve the food supply chain.
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5. Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:TSM)
On the fifth spot on the list of the 12 best cryptocurrency and blockchain stocks to buy is Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:TSM), as the company makes equipment that is used in cryptocurrency mining. During the third-quarter, Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:TSM) said its revenue increased by 17.9% and credited the demand for mining equipment as one of the factors driving this growth.
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4. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is another hardware manufacturer that stands to benefit from the increased popularity of cryptocurrencies. One of the main components of mining rigs (computer systems that mine Bitcoins) is memory and Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is one of the leaders in this market.
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3. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is the leading processor company and even though cryptocurrency miners are currently more skewed towards Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)’s processors, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has potential to capture more market share among miners, as it plans to release its Core i9 processor. In addition, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has partnered with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to develop a blockchain framework, called the Coco Framework.
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2. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has gained popularity among gamers due to its graphics cards and now miners are turning their attention to the company’s products as well. Given that Graphics Processing Units represent over 60% of mining costs, the demand for graphics cards should grow alongside the growth of rig miners, which could result in a substantial sales growth given NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s dominant market position.
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1. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)
What puts Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) atop the list of the best cryptocurrency and blockchain stocks to buy is that its brand is the absolute favorite among miners, which have recently exhausted the stock of its Radeon graphics cards. In addition, miners prefer Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)’s processors over Intel’s and the company is well aware of its position, having addressed it in earnings calls. It has also recently released a software package developed specifically for cryptocurrency mining.
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These are the 12 best cryptocurrency and blockchain stocks to buy. Some of the companies offer direct exposure to cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related technology, but tech giants are taking advantage of the new blockchain technology and are finding ways to use it in order to improve day-to-day operations. At the same time, hardware makers stand to benefit from the increased demand in mining rigs, which require more and more computing power as the supply of Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies is becoming depleted.
Disclosure: None
