Cryptocurrencies have taken the world by storm, and the market continues attracting novice and experienced investors. With the crypto market constantly changing and evolving, navigating and identifying the best investments can be difficult. Indeed, there are thousands of crypto projects out there, each providing investors with unique use cases, solving a wide range of problems for end users.
But I think crypto investing all comes down to what these projects ultimately do. If there's real value provided, a strong team behind the project, and investment backing and a community that will use said service, there may be something there.
Frankly, many projects don't make the cut in this regard. However, a few have grabbed my attention of late. Here are two top cryptos I own (or intend to own), due to their respective utility-generating models.
Solana
One of the tokens I've owned for the longest period of time, Solana (SOL -2.70%), has certainly underperformed many investors' expectations (mine included). This network has seen a series of outages over the past year, and saw a major hack of its Wormhole bridge a little more than a year ago.
These events have unnerved investors, many of whom have flocked to other seemingly safer tokens in the crypto space. Solana's ties to disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried did little to assuage investor concerns.
That said, there are reasons to be hopeful around the Solana ecosystem. The project's security and stability have improved markedly in recent months, and while an outage was reported in February, Solana has seen a much more stable network since mid-2022. A number of upgrades have been responsible for these improvements, and from an infrastructure standpoint, this risk seems to have been mitigated.
Additionally, concerns around a slowing of transaction volumes on the Solana network appear to be yesterday's news. The network has seen ongoing development, with growing non-fungible token (NFT) market share, in part due to the network's high speed and low-cost functionality.
As long as Solana is able to grow its prominent position in the NFT space, I think this is a project that will make it long-term. There are plenty of other opportunities for Solana in GameFi and DePIN, and recent partnerships also point to a strong outlook for this token from a corporate investment standpoint. The catalysts for Solana outweigh the risks right now, and this remains among my top crypto holdings for good reason.
Monero
One project that I've had on my radar for some time, but haven't yet bought, is Monero (XMR 1.55%). That's good, because this token is down materially from when I first started following the project in 2021.
That said, over the past year, Monero has held its own, and traded in a mostly sideways fashion. This security-focused cryptocurrency has garnered significant interest among investors looking at projects that allow for true privacy. Monero uses the CryptoNote protocol, which was created by Nicholas van Saberhagen in 2013. This protocol allows transactions to become effectively untraceable.
There's a common misconception among investors who are unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies that crypto transactions are anonymous. They are, to an extent. Names or addresses aren't made public on the blockchain. But wallet addresses are, and a number of tech-savvy crypto enthusiasts have been successfully able to dox accounts, unveiling who is buying what tokens, and when.
Many argue that for crypto to go truly mainstream, transactions ought to be private. Indeed, corporations wouldn't want competitors to be able to view their suppliers, and what they paid for various goods and services. Thus, the logic is that in order for crypto to truly be used as a means of value transfer, projects like Monero must thrive.
That said, in an age of regulatory scrutiny for the crypto sector, Monero isn't without risks. The very fact that this network allows for truly discreet and anonymous transactions has resulted in pointed calls for Monero to be regulated.
I think these are legitimate risks, and should be considered. But if crypto purists have their way, and one cryptocurrency becomes truly mainstream as a form of payment, I'm thinking Monero could come out ahead. Time will tell, but this is a project I intend to do more research on before diving in. Investors may want to do the same.
These tokens are both buys
Solana and Monero remain two of the most promising cryptocurrencies on the market. While Solana may have had a turbulent past, its tremendous potential has not been overlooked. As more exchanges incorporate SOL into their trading options, their valuation will continue increasing.
Monero's privacy-centric nature makes it attractive for those seeking complete anonymity when performing transactions. With its steady upward trend, it is not surprising that XMR has become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies.
For those looking to make a long-term investment in crypto, Solana and Monero could be two excellent options. With their promising outlooks and increasing adoption, now may be the perfect time to consider investing in these tokens.
