Top 9 Digital Assets at the Forefront of the Crypto Revolution

Ready for 2024?

Image from Unplash in collaboration with Shubham's Web3

Bitcoin began as nothing more than a sarcastic joke, like Dogecoin or KimJungMoon (yes, that's a real cryptocurrency name).

It was handed out as a consolation prize at video game tournaments like in 2011 when StarCraft 2 infamously gave the last-place team of a tourney 25 bitcoins when each was worth approximately $1.

Talk about irony.

Because BTC now has a value above $42,000.

That’s $1.5 million for coming in last. Sign me the hell up.

So what started as a joke is now a financial revolution; Bitcoin has been the top-performing asset over the past ten years.

And I would argue that with a proper income and decent, not a degenerate strategy, crypto can bring you financial freedom. It’s not rocket science.

Let’s talk about Bitcoin and eight other digital assets that will succeed along with it. Here they are:

1. Bitcoin (BTC) 

There is no debate on which cryptocurrency is the most important.

KimJungMoon

Kidding. It’s SpankChain (also real)

Besides those two, Bitcoin is also kind of neat.

Bitcoin is the first, most respected, most valuable, and most popular cryptocurrency and blockchain by far.  No other token even comes close. There is no “next Bitcoin.” Bitcoin is the king of crypto.

Back in 2009, a mystery man named Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin.

Who is this stranger? No one knows! Some have guessed. But the kicker is that Satoshi was convinced that Bitcoin's rise to power would surpass gold and even outshine the dollar if enough people noticed it.

“It might make sense just to get some in case it catches on. If enough people think the same way, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.” - Satoshi Nakamoto

Bitcoin is a simple economic system that uses blockchain tech where no banks or government control the rules. This decentralized currency offers unmatched security and acts as a fortress against currency debasement, AKA money printing and inflation.

For many young investors, Bitcoin is a fast track to financial freedom.

And while it’s easy to feel like you missed out on Bitcoin it’s important to point out that only 2.74% of the world owns it.  Gen Z being the most.

Downsides to Bitcoin? There are some. Bitcoin is volatile as hell: it gives a new meaning to ‘risk to reward.’ However, those who understand its fundamentals continue to Hodl (hold on for dear life).

According to Milton Friedman, the internet lacked one key element: a successful e-cash system. Enter Bitcoin, the project that fulfills this missing piece.

Here is a link to the dawn of it all: the Bitcoin whitepaper.

2. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is programmable money.

It was the first cryptocurrency to introduce “smart contracts.”

What the hell is a smart contract? Good question! Smart contracts are computer codes that automatically execute all the parts of an agreement without needing a third party.

The selling point is that, once deployed, smart contracts apps are locked, loaded, and community-managed. No tampering, no censorship, no shutdowns.

Compare this to the easily manipulated and shutdown-able websites, apps, and internet we use today and smart contracts make total sense.

“Whereas most technologies tend to automate workers on the periphery doing menial tasks, blockchains automate away the center. Instead of putting the taxi driver out of a job, blockchain puts Uber out of a job and lets the taxi drivers work with the customer directly.” - Vitalik Buterin, Creator of Ethereum

In just the last decade, we've witnessed Twitter playing puppet master in an election, PayPal bullying political opponents by threatening to seize their funds, and algorithms that can obliterate your existence. Ethereum bridges this gap.

It won't overthrow the internet, but it will introduce a group of kick-ass apps that work parallel to what we use now. Trust me, it's gonna be cool.

Lastly, without Ethereum, there would be no DeFi, no NFTs, no crypto video games, and nearly half of the altcoins on the market would be non-existent.

3. Ripple (XRP) 

Ripple (XRP) is the most controversial project in the crypto ecosystem.

The short and sweet version is that XRP has cozied up to big financial players around the globe, even nabbing partnerships with central banks.

Unlike Ethereum and Bitcoin, Ripple doesn't give a damn about decentralization. They're all about pushing for a universal digital currency.

Conveniently, the SEC and the US government have made it loud and clear that they're itching to jump on the digital currency bandwagon, and XRP already has the framework they're after.

Many believe that XRP will be some reserve currency for a new financial system that is being set up. Scary? Orwellian? It’s the future.

“If Ripple wins the SEC lawsuit, XRP is poised for significant adoption” - JP Morgan

In December 2020, XRP faced a massive blow as it lost over 70% of its value amid an SEC lawsuit. The SEC argued that XRP should be considered a security, while Ripple saw it as a currency. (it’s a big deal for credibility)

The lawsuit outcome seems to favor Ripple, which will likely boost the strength of XRP and potentially increase its value.

4. Solana (SOL) 

Solana is what we call an “Ethereum Killer.”

Like Ethereum, SOL is a smart contract platform but much more efficient in speed and cost. Instead of $30 in transaction fees, how does $0.03 a “gas” fee sound? Good? Thought so.

So, think of Ethereum as Android and Solana as Apple.

Solana does have a whole host of issues, however. As it currently stands, Solana is:

• Not nearly as secure or decentralized

• Only sustainable through high inflation (7%+ right now)

• Downloading the entire chain is a damn near impossible feat. It's growing by a mind-boggling 4 PETABYTES every single year.

But it is:

• About 50x (give or take) faster TPS

• Cheaper to run as a validator

There are a lot of "ifs" when it comes to Ethereum. “If” it can successfully scale, it has the potential to be the dominant smart contract platform. “If” developers are willing to stick around instead of jumping ship to a faster platform, Ethereum could come out on top.

On the other hand, Solana has no "if" attached to it. The technology is already there, ready to go. But be cautious, Solana is more susceptible to outages, hacks, and security breaches. Eth is a lot more stable and proven.

It has more institutional support from Wall St. as well. (good or bad thing)

In the end, we all hope for a solution that ticks all the boxes. But for now, Ethereum and Solana are duking it out for the top spot.

5. Chainlink (LINK) 

Chainlink is the truth machine. It is the middleware and the glue that allows blockchains to communicate with real-world data, the oracle solution. Blockchains without oracles are like computers without an internet connection.

 If you believe in the utility of blockchain, then you believe in Chainlink. Period.

While hundreds of different DeFi tokens may have popped up on the scene, Chainlink is the common ground that secures them all. Currently securing over $80b of value.

On a technical level, Chainlink is a decentralized, blockchain-agnostic, data oracle designed to provide aggregate and verifiably true data to different blockchain applications.

In plain English, it allows data outside of blockchain networks to be imported into any blockchain network.

Mark Cuban gave a great example of a digestible Chainlink application.

This example above was impossible through Ethereum or any other cryptocurrency alone. Chainlink is the middleware that allows real-world data to communicate with any blockchain system.

The possible applications of Chainlink are endless, which is why so many experts consider LINK one of the most promising cryptocurrencies on the market. If data is the new oil, then Chainlink is the pipes.

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Well folks, I've hit a world limit on Substack. But fear not! I'll release Part 2 of the top 9 digital assets in the market where I’ll dive deeper into the blue chip projects and lay down the fundamentals for all you knowledge-hungry individuals.

Will I mention Cardano or Polygon or Polkadot? Who knows.

Stay tuned.

We’ll do deeper dives into other altcoins in 2024. ;)

Expect part 2 on New Year’s Day. Have a great celebration y’all!!

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Ever since I was a child it has been my dream to become a financial advisor. Unfortunately, it never came true. Therefore I am not a financial advisor and you should do your own research and not just listen to random people on the internet. Nothing contained in this publication should be construed as investment advice.