Bitcoin (BTC 1.93%) and many other cryptocurrencies have soared to new all-time highs in recent weeks. Looking for under-the-radar crypto investments with high growth potential? Start your research with my handpicked list of cryptocurrencies.
1. Solana
Ethereum competitor Solana (SOL 2.71%) is a bit more centralized, focusing more on high-speed, low-cost transactions. The upside to more centralization is that Solana can handle up to 65,000 transactions per second while Ethereum is typically limited to around 119 transactions per second. Solana's feeds are also lower, especially during periods of high network congestion.
These advantages have attracted many projects to Solana's architecture, but not as many as on Ethereum's. But those who believe Solana's hybrid approach will be superior long term have a strong investment case. Investors should track network usage and the size of Solana's developer community to gauge the project's success over the long term.
2. Ripple
While its price has been volatile in the past, XRP (XRP -0.99%) has done incredibly well this year, rising in value by more than 40%. Bulls believe that XRP, also known as Ripple, could eventually replace much of the global financial system, allowing banks to perform cross-border transactions faster, cheaper, and more transparently than current solutions.
The total addressable market for Ripple is about $200 trillion. That's the total annual value of cross border transactions. Ripple wouldn't collect that much revenue, skimming a very small fee off these massive transaction volumes. Even so, the coin is looking at a huge long-term opportunity.
Of course, there's a long way to go before Ripple established widespread institutional buy-in for its technology. But when it comes to under the radar projects with truly large long term potential, Ripple tops the list.
3. Tron
Tron (TRX -0.32%) is currently one of the top 10 crypto projects in the world by market cap. The network is geared toward stablecoin and DeFi transactions, making it a viable investment for investors bullish on those two categories. Its network uses a delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism -- an arguably more efficient system than proof-of-work or traditional proof-of-stake systems on their own.
Tron's founder, Justin Sun, often makes the headlines with a variety of publicity efforts. But he's a bona fide crypto veteran. He's associated with other notable projects including BitTorrent, Poloniex, and Huobi.
Source: Getty Images
4. Hedera
With a $10 billion market cap, Hedera (HBAR -0.23%) is focused on real-world application development by large corporations. Companies like Boeing and IBM are already testing its architecture. Hedera's focus on security better allows for enterprise adoption versus more decentralized networks. Its unique directed acyclic graph (DAG) mechanism allows the network to achieve consensus without mining -- a key differentiator that few other projects can match.
5. Litecoin
Founded in 2011, Litecoin (LTC 1.99%) is one of the longest-tenured crypto projects. You can think of this project as a Bitcoin replica with faster block times and a different encryption algoritm. The network's transactions are about four times faster than Bitcoin. Investors have long associated Litecoin as crypto "silver", with Bitcoin being crypto "gold". Litecoin isn't as innovative as Tron or Hedera, but it's a crypto classic that should still be around for decades to come.
6. Monero
One of the best-known privacy coins, Monero (XMR -0.33%) promised unmatched privacy features with a strong developer community. Its value has more than doubled over the past 12 months alone. The network uses advanced cryptographic techniques like ring signatures and stealth addresses, making it a great fit for users that prioritize privacy and censorship avoidance. Interested investors should also check out other privacy coins including Zcash, Dash, and Secret.
