In case you haven't heard, crypto is back. Continuing its impressive 2023 run, crypto hasn't missed a beat in 2024 and the crypto market has collectively jumped by 35% to start off the new year. By most accounts, this upcoming year could be one of those historical periods when many cryptocurrencies soar to new all-time highs and records are broken as the asset class finds its digital footing in the world of finance.
For investors looking to ride the waves of momentum that can produce monumental crypto gains, here are three cryptocurrencies to add to your wish list for March.
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1. Bitcoin
We can't talk about crypto without mentioning Bitcoin (BTC -2.47%). It is not only the world's first cryptocurrency, but also the most valuable. In fact, it accounts for more than half of the value in the entire class of digital assets.
Thanks to a recent jump, Bitcoin's total market cap surpassed $1.3 trillion. At the time of publishing, the leading crypto stands a mere 1% shy of its previous all-time high of around $68,800. Even though it's within striking distance of previous records, the cryptocurrency should still be on investors' radar. Many indicators and data points suggest that the crypto bull market has yet to hit a peak, meaning Bitcoin is in a position to notch a new all-time high.
Furthermore, since Bitcoin makes up the overwhelming majority of value in crypto, it offers investors a simple and straightforward strategy to gain exposure to the best quality the cryptocurrency sector has to offer. Rather than combing through the thousands of altcoins that typically trade in a correlated fashion to Bitcoin, investors can save themselves the hassle by just sticking with the original name in this explosive market.
2. Ethereum
The second to make the list of cryptocurrencies to buy in March is Ethereum (ETH -0.51%). When it launched in 2015, Ethereum's smart contracts essentially made it the first programmable cryptocurrency. As a result, developers could build applications that have become commonplace in today's digital economy, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), auto-correcting stablecoins, and decentralized exchanges, just to name a few.
While subsequent blockchains followed Ethereum with their own smart contract functionality, Ethereum's first-mover advantage has given it a considerable lead. Similar to how Bitcoin makes up the bulk of value in crypto, Ethereum constitutes the majority of value in decentralized finance (DeFi).
As of March 3, Ethereum's blockchain was home to more than 60% of the total value in DeFi. The next closest is Tron, an upstart with just 10%.
By owning Ethereum, investors gain exposure to one of the most popular and utilized blockchains in the world. While there are some hopeful competitors looking to unseat Ethereum as the leading DeFi blockchain, these attempts look futile so far.
3. Solana
Out of those hopeful competitors looking to challenge Ethereum is Solana (SOL -5.55%) -- and it's making a good run. While there is still considerable difference separating the two, Solana has risen to become what could be argued to be the most likely candidate to pull off this feat.
The allure of Solana compared to Ethereum is its blazing speeds and low fees, and this has led to a surge in interest from users looking for more economical options. After seeing its price fall by more than 90% in the crypto winter of 2022, Solana has seen its price soar as its blockchain has exploded with activity.
Several key metrics, such as active addresses, new addresses, transactions, and total fees, are at multiyear highs. Most importantly, though, as Solana's network is booming, its price still remains roughly 50% off of its all-time high. Should momentum in the crypto bull market continue, it should be more than enough for Solana to climb back toward its record levels and likely surpass them.
