The upcoming Bitcoin (BTC -1.57%) halving is one of the most anticipated events of the year for crypto investors -- and for good reason. Past halving cycles have led to stratospheric gains for Bitcoin, as well as new all-time highs. So naturally, all eyes are on Bitcoin right now.
But another interesting phenomenon occurs after the halving as well: Top altcoins tend to see a huge spike in market cap as they follow Bitcoin higher. And in fact, some of these coins actually outperform Bitcoin in the 12-month period after the halving.
With that in mind, here are three cryptocurrencies that have the potential to soar higher in 2024 and into 2025.
1. Solana
While Solana (SOL -6.04%) has cooled off considerably since its torrid 2023, when it increased in value by more than 900%, it is still keeping pace with Bitcoin in 2024. For the year, Bitcoin is up 66%, while Solana is up 67%.
Much of that has to do with the fact that Solana is now seen as "the next Ethereum (ETH -4.74%)." As Cathie Wood of Ark Invest pointed out last November, Solana is basically a cheaper, faster, more efficient version of Ethereum. Thus, just as Ethereum was one of the top altcoin performers in the previous Bitcoin halving cycle, Solana could be one of the top altcoin performers in the next Bitcoin halving.
Add in the fact that Solana has a robust mobile crypto strategy, and this crypto really has a chance to differentiate itself in the upcoming bull market cycle. Unlike its rivals, Solana now has a mobile phone optimized for crypto. This is opening up all sorts of new opportunities, such as the ability to gain a much bigger share of the crypto gaming market.
2. Chainlink
Chainlink (LINK -0.91%) could be a sleeper candidate to outperform Bitcoin over the next 12 months. Yes, Chainlink is only up 15% year to date, but you have to look ahead to what's coming next to appreciate just how much higher it might soar in the next bull market cycle.
Chainlink is at the forefront of a long-term financial trend known as real-world asset tokenization. This refers to the process of converting real-world assets into digital assets that can live on the blockchain. You might not have heard of this trend yet, but a lot of big names on Wall Street are now solidly behind it, including BlackRock (BLK -0.64%), the largest asset manager in the world. According to the Boston Consulting Group, asset tokenization could be a $16 trillion market opportunity by 2030.
If Chainlink can grab just a tiny piece of this market opportunity, it could be huge for its future growth prospects. And there are plenty of reasons to think that it could.
For one, Chainlink is already the most trusted data oracle in the crypto world, providing real-world data for the pricing of financial assets. Secondly, Chainlink is working on a new blockchain protocol (known as CCIP, or Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol) for connecting blockchains. This would make it much easier for tokenized financial assets to be transferred across blockchains seamlessly.
3. SingularityNET
Finally, save room in your portfolio for a high-upside AI crypto. As Cathie Wood of Ark Invest emphasized in her 2024 "Big Ideas" report, there are a lot of opportunities happening at the intersection of artificial intelligence and crypto. Given all the enthusiasm around AI right now, it can be hard to cut through the hype, but one AI crypto that has me intrigued is SingularityNET (CRYPTO: AGIX).
Image source: Getty Images.
Unlike ChatGPT, which focuses on generative AI, SingularityNET focuses on artificial general intelligence (AGI). That's a much bigger market opportunity, and one that could be a complete game-changer for humanity.
I'm not exaggerating here. The token's name refers to "the technological singularity" -- the moment in time when a single computer becomes more intelligent than all of humanity combined. (Don't worry -- SingularityNET is working on a benevolent form of AGI that won't enslave humanity.)
While investing in any AI crypto comes with a huge risk factor, there are two factors that appear to make SingularityNET at least slightly less risky. For one, the team behind SingularityNET, led by AI researcher Ben Goertzel, is world-class. And, secondly, the current price of a SingularityNET token is just $1. That seems to be a very cheap price of admission to the exciting world of super-intelligent AI.
Not all altcoins are created equal
Just keep in mind that anytime you start dabbling in the world of altcoins, your risk exposure is going to increase dramatically. So be careful about expanding your exposure far beyond Bitcoin. With Bitcoin, there is at least a proven track record of success after the halving. Things get much dicier when it comes to cryptos in emerging areas, such as asset tokenization and artificial intelligence.
That being said, if you're looking to diversify your crypto portfolio with a few big winners in the post-halving cycle, three names at the top of my list are Solana, Chainlink, and SingularityNET.
