Ethereum recently completed a technology upgrade related to crypto staking. Solana may be struggling in the NFT market, but it recently introduced a new crypto phone that could accelerate its momentum. Cardano is currently seeing unprecedented growth in decentralized finance (DeFi). According to crypto expert Dominic Basulto, these 3 altcoins are giving strong buy signals.
In the first place is the leading altcoin Ethereum (ETH)
The big investment thesis for Ethereum in 2022 was The Merge. This event was a groundbreaking technological upgrade that completely transformed Ethereum from a PoW Blockchain that required solving math puzzles to verify transactions, to a PoS blockchain blockchain where users commit their crypto to verify transactions. The price of Ethereum has increased by 50% to date. However, just below the psychologically important $2,000 point, momentum stalled. For Ethereum to rise significantly, it may need another catalyst to get investors excited.
And that catalyst likely involves crypto staking. In March, Ethereum performed its first major technological upgrade since The Merge. By most accounts, this has been a tremendous success. The upgrade made it possible for investors to withdraw their staked Ethereum. This was something that had been impossible until then. As a result, the upgrade was expected to lead to increased popularity of staking on Ethereum. And indeed, that’s exactly what we’re seeing right now. Since March, there has been a significant increase in staking activity among both individual and institutional investors.
The good news is that this advanced staking activity can push Ethereum higher. In very simple terms, staking is a sign of support for a Blockchain. Therefore, the more people stake, the better. Staking also reduces the number of coins that can be traded. This changes the supply-demand dynamic. One metric to watch for crypto investors is the percentage of Ethereum staked, known as the stake rate. Currently, this rate is only 16%. That is, only one out of every six ETH is staked.
In second place is Ethereum rival Solana (SOL)
Solana has more than doubled in value this year after a truly disastrous 2022. Last year, Solana plunged more than 90% amid contagion concerns from the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. At year’s end, Solana was trading below $10. So Solana’s nearly triple-digit gains to date are further proof that this can be a very volatile crypto.
Even with recent gains, Solana is returning to the level before the FTX crash, let alone the all-time high of $260 in November 2021. Therefore, this summer could be a very important period for Solana. Was the first half of the year just a notorious dead cat bounce, or does Solana have the potential to explode?
The only metric I watch for Solana is NFT sales volume. In 2022, Solana seemed to be gaining ground against Ethereum as the second leading Blockchain for NFTs. But in 2023 the situation got worse. Solana’s two leading NFT collections have left the blockchain. Now Solana is struggling to find a single central NFT collection that can drive future growth. For example, Ethereum has Bored Apes and CryptoPunks, but Solana now what? Worse still, Bitcoin seems to have won at Solana’s expense. According to 24-hour NFT sales volume, Solana is currently behind Bitcoin, which is having phenomenal success with its new Ordinals NFTs. That’s why I’m definitely going to follow Solana’s NFT sales figures this summer.
In terms of growth potential, investors should follow Solana’s new mobile crypto startup. In April, Solana launched its new $1,000 Saga phone, designed to make Solana the leading blockchain for mobile crypto. The phone was only made available to the public on May 8. So we should start seeing some new sales data for this phone over the summer. If the phone starts to gain traction among consumers, it will be a strong vote of confidence for Solana and its mobile crypto strategy.
The last altcoin is Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is the seventh largest blockchain in the world, with a total market capitalization of $13 billion and a successful track record. Although the altcoin may not be as popular as Bitcoin, it has increased by 50% this year. Thus, it had the best market performance among large-volume cryptos.
Cardano has managed to keep up with Bitcoin so far in 2023, largely based on its phenomenal growth in decentralized finance (DeFi). Cardano, once a DeFi player, is rising to the top of the charts for locked total value (TVL), arguably the most important metric for measuring the strength of DeFi. Cardano still ranks only 15th among all blockchains. However, his TVL reached a new high in 2023. This marks its highest level since May 2022. It’s more than just smoke and mirrors. Cardano launched a new stablecoin project this year. It is also gaining surprising attention with new decentralized exchanges. Both of these are great building blocks for future DeFi growth.
And the best may not be yet. Cardano continues to make new technological upgrades to Blockchain. A major Blockchain upgrade took place last year. This year, too, the Hydra scaling solution for Blockchain was launched, which can provide super-fast transaction speeds. The altcoin also recently launched Voltaire, the last major phase in its future growth roadmap. Voltaire is all about Blockchain governance. Therefore, it lays the groundwork for stable and long-term growth.
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