It's time to take digital currencies seriously again. Crypto is rallying, and you may as well look at the leaders of the latest resurgence for your next play in the volatile, but ideally rewarding, market of next-gen assets.
Terra (LUNC 0.90%), Avalanche (AVAX -1.53%), and Waves (WAVES -0.30%) are promising digital currencies with strong growth prospects. They are smart plays in the current bullish market action. Let's take a look at my top growth cryptos to buy now.
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Terra
Terra is starting to become a household name for crypto traders, and the recognition is long overdue. Only Ethereum has more assets deposited in decentralized finance (DeFi) apps -- or total value locked (TVL) -- than Terra. We'll get to why Terra is a DeFi darling shortly, but it's the fastest growing crypto among the 18 large caps in the crypto universe. Terra has appreciated 68% over the past 30 days. The other digital currencies with market caps above $10 billion have risen by no more than 28% over the past month (and a couple have actually declined).
What makes Terra so special right now? It's the native token of the TerraUSD (USTC 1.16%) stablecoin project. TerraUSD is pegged to the U.S. dollar, but it's popular for income investors willing to take on crypto risks for outsize returns. TerraUSD can currently earn as much as much as 19.5% in annualized interest staked through the Anchor savings and lending protocol Terra helped introduce. The Terra growth angle here is that it needs to be burned -- or retired -- from the community pool to create more TerraUSD.
Demand is growing for the platform, and Terra's TVL has soared 72% to nearly $27 billion over the past month. The big yields on staked TerraUSD may not be sustainable over the long haul, but right now it's playing right into the digital wallets of Terra investors.
Avalanche
The top gainer over the past week among the large-cap crypto denominations is Avalanche. It's up 21% over the past seven days. Avalanche's signature move is its speedy finality, the ability to confirm that a transaction has been completed. It can reach the point of no return faster than other digital currencies because it's actually three interconnected blockchains performing dedicated tasks.
Terra may be the silver medalist when it comes to TVL, but Avalanche isn't too far behind. It's the fourth-largest player, being put to use across 184 different protocols. One of its latest moves ties it together with TerraUSD. Earlier this month we saw the launch of borrowing and trading capabilities of the Terra-fueled stablecoin on the Avalanche network. Winners keep on winning.
Waves
If you're looking for a hot chart, be a good surfer and hit the Waves. It's hard to find a bigger gainer than Waves in recent weeks. The crypto has more than tripled -- up 257% -- over the past month, the headiest surge for any denomination with a multi-billion-dollar market cap.
Waves is a community-based collection of decentralized open-source tech, building scalable and user-friendly apps. It's a proof-of-stake protocol, making it fly through the blockchain at a low cost with a minimal carbon footprint. And with its community tackling the technology stack's applications in open finance, personal identification, gaming, and sensitive data where security is paramount, its prospects are as strong as its recent momentum.
Waves launched six years ago, but it's is really starting to make, well, waves, right now. Its functionality is growing almost as fast as its price. Its TVL has soared 195% to $2.9 billion over the past month, nearly matching the crypto's $3.5 billion market cap.
Terra, Avalanche, and Waves are heating up at an ideal time. Crypto is showing signs of life these days, and that makes them my top cryptos to buy right now.
