Round Up of The Best Performing altcoins of 2021 so far

Bitcoin has remained the giant in the cryptocurrency space for many years now and for the right reasons. Without mincing words, the number one cryptocurrency by market cap has remained the de facto standard for cryptocurrencies. 

Thanks to the recent explosion in cryptocurrencies brought about by institutional adoptions and more, the crypto space has continued to attract many retail traders looking to switch away from the traditional space. 

Even though Bitcoin remains the number one contender and the obvious choice for many investors warming up to the crypto space, many crypto enthusiasts are looking for cheaper yet promising altcoins with potentials for parabolic growth. 

For starters, the term altcoin simply refers to any cryptocurrency other than bitcoin.

But is now an excellent time to add some altcoins to your portfolio? Read on as we explore the top performing altcoins of 2021 so far. 

Ethereum

Even though the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum, is currently experiencing a pullback after some impressive bull run, Ethereum has performed superbly in 2021. From the start of the year to date, the second-largest cryptocurrency has appreciated more than 360%. More so, since the stock market bottomed in March of 2020, Ethereum is up by an incredible 2,200%. 

While many crypto enthusiasts have attributed the parabolic moves of Ethereum to the hype brought about by Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the potential blockchain upgrades, factors like the increasing use of the Ethereum platform in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications has also fueled the incredible moves in Ethereum. 

Although 2021 witnessed the launch of competing blockchains that claim to process transactions faster and at an insanely lower fee than ETH, Ethereum has maintained its spot as the largest go-to blockchain platform for DeFi. 

And as we expect more applications to come into the blockchain ecosystem, there is a pretty good chance that Ethreum will remain the primary platform. This is no doubt one of the main reasons why we expect to see ETH  continue to make a bull case both for short-term and long-term investors. 

Cardano

Second, on our list of best performing altcoin for 2021 is Cardono. As a matter of fact, Cardano has been hailed as the Ethereum killer, and that’s because it seeks to challenge Ethreum’s captivating contracts while also solving Bitcoin’s excessive energy usage problem.  

For people who have no idea or just starting out in the cryptocurrency space, the company’s enterprise platform brilliantly lays out how Cardano is gearing up to accommodate usage in the retail, healthcare, education, and finance sector. 

And Just so you know, these industries are bedeviled by common factors that prevent them from operating smoothly as they have a high degree of centralization. 

If you have been in the cryptocurrency space for some time, you’ll agree that the real reason why some cryptocurrencies lack mass adoption is because of their limited or zero real-world application. This is where Cardano stands out.

In April 2021, Cardano announced that Ethiopia would adopt its blockchain technology to revamp its educational sector. Using Cardano’s technology, Ethiopia will be able to create a tamper-proof system for recording information that will cover over 5 million students in at least 3,500 schools. 

In terms of numbers, Cardona has appreciated by a whopping 636.60% in 2021. Though the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap achieved an all-time high of $2.47 in 2021, it is currently trading at $1.25. Still, we expect Cardano to continue on its upward trajectory as we continue to witness massive institutional adoption across different sectors. 

DogeCoin

While our list of top-performing altcoins so far features some big names in the crypto space, Dogecoin has proven to be a worthy contender, all thanks to its tremendous growth in 2021. Anyone who invested in Dogecoin at the start of the year would be seriously smiling to the bank now, especially considering that the meme coin has surged more than 12,000% in 2021 alone. 

In terms of use case, Dogecoin can be used to buy goods and services as many retail platforms like BitPay and Newegg now accept Dogecoin as a payment option. And if that doesn’t thrill you, you’ll be happy to learn that you can trade your Dogecoin for other currencies.

Though Dogecoin leads the pack when it comes to meme coins, the recent rally enjoyed by the coin has been attributed to the Elon Musk effect as he is a die-hard supporter of the altcoin and has constantly praised the token to his over 52 million Twitter followers. 

Nonetheless, you should keep in mind that crypto isn’t all about the hype. So before you invest a substantial sum in the hopes of making some monstrous gain, do your due diligence as we have come to discover that popularity and reliability don’t always function together. 

And as always, don’t invest any cash you aren’t prepared to lose. 

Binance Coin

Since it launched in 2017, Binance has enjoyed some immense success even as the exchange maintains its spot as the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. 

Unlike many altcoins, the Binance coin, also known as BNB, has many use cases, including being used to trade other cryptocurrencies or pay for transaction fees on the exchange. 

While the number one cryptocurrency by market cap, Bitcoin, has proven to be a fantastic store of value, despite all of the disparaging comments from the Federal Reserves, BNB has proven to be more than its sheer value. 

Sure, Ethereum has played an integral part in fueling the NFT craze, But guess what? BNB has also joined the party to get its own slice of the cake as the company recently unveiled the BNB NFT marketplace. 

From taking a cut from the proceeds of NFT auctions to charging processing fees for trading activities, BNB is proving to the crypto community why it is the largest and most valuable cryptocurrency exchange in the world. 

And since numbers don’t lie, it will interest you to know that the Binance Coin (BNB) has surged a whooping 14-folds with its total market value eclipsing $86 billion. In terms of performance, BNB has blown away Bitcoin and Ether in 2021. 

Though the altcoin has taken some breather, sharply falling from its all-time high at $690.93 and now trading at $293, we expect to see a resumption in the upward surge as the market picks momentum. 

Conclusion

Even though we are seeing some pullback after some bullish months, we are optimistic that these altcoins will do some incredible numbers before the year wraps up. So if you haven’t added any of these altcoins to your portfolio, now will be an excellent time to join the party. Plus, you’ll be picking these altcoins up at a really good price.