In this article, we discuss 5 best cryptocurrencies to invest in for beginners according to Reddit. If you want to see more crypto options for beginners, check out 11 Best Cryptocurrencies To Invest In For Beginners According To Reddit.
5. Polygon
Polygon, formerly known as Matic Network, is a platform that simplifies Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development, making it the first user-friendly, well-structured platform of its kind. Its core module is the Polygon SDK, which is a versatile and flexible framework that can support building multiple types of applications. By using Polygon, Ethereum is effectively transformed into a multi-chain system, also known as the Internet of Blockchains, similar to other systems such as Polkadot, Cosmos, and Avalanche. Polygon leverages Ethereum’s security, active ecosystem, and transparency. The $MATIC token will remain in circulation and will play an increasingly important role in securing the system and facilitating governance.
Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) is a multinational fintech company that caters to various industries, including financial services, mobile payments, and point of sale. Its Cash App offers a convenient way for users to invest in both stocks and Bitcoin. It is one of the best cryptocurrency stocks to consider.
On March 1, Baird analyst David Koning stated that he would not be shocked if the price hikes on three of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)’s products result in at least $60 million added to the Square segment annualized gross profit. This would equate to a 2% or more increase to the segment gross profit and roughly a 1% increase to the total company gross profit. The analyst maintained an Outperform rating and a $92 price target on Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ).
According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 70 hedge funds were long Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ), compared to 75 funds in the preceding quarter. Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management is the leading stakeholder of the company, with 9 million shares worth $565.7 million.
In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Baron Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) provides point-of-sale technology to small businesses and operates the Cash App ecosystem of financial services for individuals. Shares fell due to mixed quarterly results with more modest growth in the Seller business offsetting strength in Cash App. While integration of recently acquired Afterpay is progressing well and credit metrics remain healthy, the buy-now-pay-later business slowed due to greater competitive intensity. We continue to own the stock due to Block’s long runway for growth, sustainable competitive advantages, and unique corporate culture.”
Given this cash-generation power, we are naturally drawn to what we believe are strong and profitable financial institutions when the price is right. Presently, we believe the valuations of our financial holdings are not only reasonable, but extremely compelling, and our portfolio composition reflects this view. Representative financial holdings in the Fund include Wells Fargo.”
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Follow Block Inc. (NYSE:SQ)
4. Shiba Inu
SHIB is called the “DOGECOIN KILLER” and is traded on ShibaSwap, a DEX created by Shiba Inu. Shiba Inu coin was launched by an anonymous person called “Ryoshi” in August 2020. Shiba Inu intends to be the Ethereum-based alternative to Dogecoin, which uses a Scrypt-based mining algorithm. Shiba Inu is one of several dog-themed cryptocurrencies, including Baby Dogecoin (BabyDoge), Dogecoin (DOGE), JINDO INU (JIND), Alaska Inu (LAS), and Alaskan Malamute Token (LASM). This meme coin quickly gained popularity and value as a community of investors was drawn in by the cute appeal of the coin, as well as endorsements from notable figures like Elon Musk and Vitalik Buterin.
American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is a payment card services company with operations spanning multiple countries. In June 2022, American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) announced that the Abra Crypto Card on the American Express network will conduct transactions in U.S. dollars and provide crypto cashback for purchases made across all categories. Smart investors consider American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) to be among the best stocks to purchase in the crypto market. On February 8, Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck upgraded American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) to Overweight from Equal Weight with an $186 price target. The analyst named American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) the firm’s new top pick in consumer finance.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q4 data, 71 hedge funds were bullish on American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), compared to 68 funds in the last quarter. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with 151.6 million shares worth $22.4 billion.
In its Q2 2022 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“In financials, American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) has done an excellent job demonstrating the resiliency of its franchise in the midst of a global pandemic that drove a 60% decline in its core travel and entertainment business. The company’s spend-centric model has been helped by fiscal stimulus ensuring a flush consumer, while management continues to execute well by adding millions of new consumer and small and medium business accounts, which should benefit the franchise over the medium to long term. We remain optimistic regarding the company’s prospects as travel and entertainment activity rebounds, adding to our position in the quarter.”
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Follow American Express Co (NYSE:AXP)
3. XRP
In 2012, XRP Ledger was introduced by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto, who aimed to provide a faster and more efficient alternative to the Bitcoin blockchain, using its own currency, XRP. Ripple was later founded in the same year, with Chris Larsen also on board. XRP Ledger offers various payment-related applications such as micropayments, DeFi and, in the near future, NFTs. XRPL has been widely used since its launch in 2012 and it supports enterprises and developers who use programming languages such as Python, Java and JavaScript with its powerful features and flexibility. The XRP website provides a range of tutorials that can assist developers in getting started with various coding languages, app building, account management, and more.
The XRP Ledger (XRPL) was introduced in 2021 and is an open-source, decentralized and permission-less technology. The XRPL offers several advantages such as its low transaction cost of $0.0002, fast transaction settlement time of 3-5 seconds, scalability of up to 1,500 transactions per second, and it is energy-efficient and carbon-neutral. Additionally, it also includes a decentralized exchange (DEX) and tokenization features built into the protocol. The XRP Ledger has been in operation since 2012 and has successfully closed 70 million ledgers, showcasing its reliability.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), a semiconductor and computer technology company headquartered in California, is considered one of the best cryptocurrency stocks to keep an eye on. On March 1, Raymond James analyst Srini Pajjuri initiated coverage of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) with an Outperform and a $30 price target. The firm predicts that Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) will continue to lose server market share and that there are few indications of significant advancements in manufacturing. However, the analyst believes that as long as margins are improving, the stock can perform well in the short term as the expectations are not very high.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q4 data, 62 hedge funds were bullish on Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), compared to 69 funds in the prior quarter. D E Shaw is a prominent stakeholder of the company, with 13.3 million shares worth $353.7 million.
ClearBridge Investments made the following comment about Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:
“Also on the detractor side, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) delivered a disappointing revenue miss and lowered full-year revenue and earnings guidance as COVID-19-driven demand for PCs abated (where Intel enjoys half its sales) and a delay in its flagship Sapphire Rapids CPU hurt its data center business. Despite these issues, we still believe Intel is an economically sensitive turnaround story with substantial upside.”
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2. Polkadot
Polkadot is an open-source protocol that incorporates sharding and connects multiple specialized blockchains to establish a secure network, promoting interoperability of various asset and data types across different blockchains. Its ultimate goal is to lay a foundation for a decentralized Web3. Polkadot’s native token, DOT, serves three essential functions, which are staking for security and operations, supporting network governance, and bonding tokens to link parachains.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) is a company that provides digital payment services through several brands, including PayPal, PayPal Credit, Braintree, Venmo, Xoom, Zettle, Hyperwallet, Honey, and Paidy. In August 2022, PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) declared that its customers can send cryptocurrency from their PayPal accounts to other external crypto addresses without any fees, making it one of the premier cryptocurrency stocks to invest in. On February 13, BMO Capital analyst James Fotheringham assigned an Outperform rating to PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) but lowered the firm’s price target on the shares to $108 from $117.
According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 115 hedge funds were long PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), compared to 126 funds in the prior quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with 6.75 million shares worth $481 million.
RiverPark Large Growth Fund made the following comment about PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL): PayPal shares were a top detractor for 4Q, reporting slightly weaker than expected 3Q payment volumes and 4Q payment volume guidance. The company nevertheless reported better-than-expected EPS on improved margins. PYPL operates at significantly lower margins than its payment competitors Visa and Mastercard, and 3Q results and 4Q guidance show early improvements in its margins and ability to drive higher cash flow growth in the near term. For 3Q, PYPL reported $1.8 billion of FCF, the highest quarterly FCF number in its history, representing 37% growth. The company expects continued operating margin expansion for 4Q and full year FCF of more than $5 billion, representing a 6% FCF yield.
PayPal is the most accepted digital wallet – with almost triple the acceptance of Apple Pay, the number two digital wallet. PayPal is a key beneficiary of the ongoing shift to e-commerce driven digital payments, as well as consumer-to-consumer payment trends through its Venmo peer-to-peer (P2P) payment service. With a 3Q non-GAAP operating margin of 22%, PYPL also has significant margin expansion potential given that competitors Adyen, Visa and Mastercard have 50%-65% operating margins. We believe the combination of secular growth, expanding operating leverage and the strategic use of the company’s significant and growing cash balance should fuel high teens earnings growth over the next five years. This, to us, presents an excellent risk/reward given that PYPL trades at a below market multiple.”
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1. Cardano
Cardano is a blockchain platform that utilizes proof-of-stake and aims to empower individuals who aspire to make a positive impact on the world. The platform was established in 2017 and was named after Gerolamo Cardano, a renowned Italian polymath from the 16th century. The native token of Cardano, ADA, is named after Ada Lovelace, a well-known mathematician from the 19th century, widely regarded as the world’s first computer programmer. ADA allows its holders to participate in the network’s operation and vote on any proposed software changes. Various industries, such as agriculture, education, and retail, use Cardano to track produce, store credentials, and prevent the distribution of counterfeit goods, among other things.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has made it possible for its users to trade cryptocurrencies using Apple Pay, and the company has recently added support for the Ripple Interledger Protocol. In addition, there are speculations that Apple might explore the possibility of allowing users to mine cryptocurrencies on their IOS/OS devices. As a result, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has become a popular choice for smart investors looking to invest in cryptocurrency stocks. On March 5, Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng initiated coverage of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) with a Buy rating and a $199 price target, citing strong hardware design and customer loyalty that have resulted in a growing user base, providing better visibility into revenue growth.
According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 135 hedge funds were long Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), compared to 140 funds in the earlier quarter. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is the largest stakeholder of the company, with more than 895 million shares worth $116.30 billion.
Here is what Distillate Capital has to say about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:
“The largest new purchase was Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), which after underperforming saw its valuation improve significantly. Over the course of the last year, Apple’s consensus estimated forward free cash flows rose modestly, while its enterprise value fell by around 30%. Apple ranks below the 25th most attractive name in the portfolio and so its weight is capped at 4% vs. 6% for names in the top quartile.”
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