"The pandemic is fading away, nothing worse could happen," said 2021 to which 2022 responded, "Hold my beer." The thing that some economists warned about for years, the great recession, seems to be in its initial stages. And while gold, commodities, and oil traders are rejoicing over record-breaking prices, others are scratching their heads, wondering where to park the monies that are being eaten by the soaring inflation.
And since jumping on that gold, wheat & oil money wagon would be stupid right now, let’s turn the attention to the sector that has probably been suffering the most in the past couple of years, the crypto. As always, it carries the potential for massive profits if you pick the right coins or tokens. The following list should help with such a tough task.
The harbingers of the crypto winter - may it have mercy on the market
The crypto industry hasn’t lived through such a crisis since 2018 when the first post-halving rally ended with capitulation and the eventual fall of Bitcoin (BTC) to $3,000. That infamous period was dubbed the Crypto Winter, and it seems that the chilling wind is blowing again. Unfortunately, Bitcoin has been failing its mission to serve as the global reserve currency, the digital gold as many labeled it. When push came to shove, a lot of money fled the market proving once again crypto’s reputation as a “risky asset class.” This market has been in turmoil since April 2021 but now, its poor state is exacerbated by the growing food and fuel prices that stem from the geopolitical clash between the West and Russia over Ukraine and the looming confrontation with China over Taiwan.
Add to that the tightening regulation of crypto because of its role as an instrument for the evasion of sanctions. And on top of that, we had a notorious UST crash that did a lot of damage to the reputation of crypto. The downfall of this decentralized algorithmic stablecoin occurred due to the Fed dramatically increasing interest rates as well as the alleged massive cyber attack on the Terra blockchain system that caused $2 billion in UST in the Anchor Protocol being unstaked which, in turn, de-pegged the stablecoin and resulted in a 91% crash of its price which shocked the entire market.
These appear to be the harbingers of crypto winter 2.0, which is likely to unfold in the coming months. But as they say, in every crisis lies the seed of opportunity, and through my meticulous fundamental and technical analysis, I’ve discovered these ten seeds.
Bitcoin (BTC): too big to fail. It could fall deeper though
Crypto is here to stay! Those trying to deny that fact are either living under a rock or downright delusional. The market will have its ebbs and flows but its main driving force, Bitcoin, is already rooted strongly in the global financial system to an extent that developing countries like El Salvador recognize BTC as legal tender.
Even Russia, when trying to circumvent the recently imposed Western sanctions, offered her oil and gas in exchange for Bitcoin to those willing to pay. Even though it doesn’t reflect positively on the image of BTC, the fact remains that this cryptocurrency is one of the top alternatives to the traditional payment systems, the access to which could be restricted at the will of global power brokers. So in a sense, BTC has already become the third or the fourth-tier reserve asset after USD, gold, and now commodities like wheat. Needless to say that having at least a fraction of this asset in the portfolio is wise even if your portfolio isn’t entirely composed of cryptocurrencies.
However, I must admit that it’s not all rosy for Bitcoin at the moment as government authorities and environmentalists are putting up a fight against Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining that’s deemed harmful to the environment. Back in spring, there had been a stir within the European Union regarding the possible ban of this particular mining mechanism but it has blown off.
Now, we have the New York State Senate passing the mining moratorium effectively banning PoW mining in the corresponding state. This occurrence created a concern-worthy precedent, especially since the United States accounts for nearly 40% of global Bitcoin mining power.
BTC to USD price chart – 60 days
BTC to USD price chart – 6 months
This leads us to believe that $30,000 might not be this year’s bottom for BTC as it might come under more scrutiny in the coming months, specifically if it keeps being used as a means to evade sanctions - this relates to the entire crypto industry. Therefore, I wouldn’t disregard the possibility of BTC taking an even deeper dive and finding itself hovering around $20,000 or lower by mid-summer.
The weekly chart says it all - a weak defense of support at $30K is accompanied by bearish momentum. So if you have some cash on your hands looking somewhere to invest - better hold your horses now and get it at a discount later.
ApeCoin (APE): the cryptocurrency for NFT fans
If you are an NFT buff, you probably already have some APEs in the portfolio because in this particular niche, ApeCoin is like Bitcoin for the cryptomarket, and everyone wants to get some. At least wanted because like most altcoins - APE is the ERC-20 token - it jumped off the cliff and dropped so precipitously as if it was wearing cement shoes. Why would we name it among the top 10 cryptocurrencies for 2022 then? The reason lies in the potential of the NFT space that is yet to be fully realized. Many deem ApeCoin as another silly memecoin or even a shitcoin because of the loud hype that surrounds these "phenomena" but there’s much more to this token.
Firstly, there’s a real blockchain ecosystem brewing underneath where APE serves as a utility and governance token. Moreover, developers are constantly looking for ways to enhance those features. Secondly, the team behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), the project from which the token stems, declared the intention to establish a strong presence in the metaverse, the virtual universe where many of us will spend most of our time in the not too distant future. APE is a good candidate for the place in the 2022 crypto investment portfolio thanks to solid fundamentals and unfading interest coming from the crypto community.
APE to USD price chart – 60 days
APE to USD price chart – 6 months
STEPN (GMT): an interesting move-to-earn concept
Those of you who are more or less immersed in the crypto world surely heard of the trendy concept called “play-to-earn” (P2E) that emerged in blockchain gaming. In a nutshell, people get to earn decent amounts of money in tradable game tokens or NFTs for spending hours playing not too sophisticated blockchain-based video games instead of simply grinding away without any financial gain.
The project behind this cryptocurrency represents an offshoot of a big “earn by doing something” movement that has been gaining popularity in the crypto space lately. The idea here is that an owner of tokenized sneakers (NFTs) in the STEPN mobile application can earn rewards in the native GMT token for being physically active like going out for a quick jog. The said tokens can be seamlessly exchanged inside the app for cryptocurrencies with more liquidity, such as Solana (SOL). The application also runs on the Solana blockchain which means better transaction fees.
The reason why we included GMT token in this list is that the fitness industry is in a state of post-pandemic revival, and with the looming economic recession, the idea of making money by doing such a mundane thing as jogging is more than lucrative.
STEPN to USD price chart – 60 days
STEPN to USD price chart – 6 months
On the charts, GMT is currently in a state of consolidation following a massive pullback after the rally that was sparked by the hype surrounding the app release. This token might not perform such a strong move this year anymore, but it could easily pull off +140% on a recovery rally.
Chiliz (CHZ): the leading sports cryptocurrency
A few years back, hardly anyone could have predicted that sports would become the industry where blockchain and cryptocurrencies would enjoy a very active adoption. The integration of crypto payments and NFT collections has been tremendously active among America's elite sports associations like the NBA and the NFL. But across the Atlantic, it’s Socios.com that has been running the sports-on-blockchain show.
Based in the UK, the project has partnered with dozens of premiere European sports teams, mostly football (soccer) ones, and released a plethora of fan tokens that are being traded against the native Chiliz (CHZ) coin on the exchange platform of the same name as well as a number of big centralized exchanges. The company is very active, creative, and ambitious, operating in the niche of fan tokens where there’s practically no competition.
Socios is also conducting smart marketing campaigns, promoting its brand through partnership deals with sports legends like Leo Messi. On the charts, CHZ is also in the consolidation phase with bullish inclinations. But unlike GMT, we expect Chiliz to reach and surpass its all-time high price mark at $0.93 which would constitute a price appreciation of over 700%.
CHZ to USD price chart – 60 days
CHZ to USD price chart – 6 months
Solana (SOL): a superbly efficient blockchain and the drastically fallen price
Throughout its history, the crypto industry has seen a plethora of blockchain startups that claimed to have created the so-called “Ethereum killer,” a tech solution that would render the most popular blockchain obsolete. Needless to say that most of these projects were rubbish, but Solana came probably the closest to being a real threat to Buterin’s brainchild.
Solana’s transaction throughput of 50,000 - 65,000 transactions per second (TPS) is truly superior to Ethereum's capability of handling only 45 TPS. The transaction cost on the Solana blockchain is a laughable $0.00025 while gas fees on Ethereum are a rip-off - those who deal with NFTs know it all but too well. Add to that the absence of the mempool issues, the inherent resilience, and the eco-friendliness of Solana and you have a perfect candidate for the title of the most efficient blockchain across the entire space. A trait that makes its native coin SOL a worthy investment.
SOL to USD price chart – 60 days
SOL to USD price chart – 6 months
As you can see, like the rest of the crypto market, SOL has been going through rough times since February as it virtually ate up all of its gains from the past bullish year. But that also means that the price is likely to enter a consolidation phase soon enough. It would open a splendid opportunity to accumulate some SOL that is forecasted to rise by approximately 200% to $70 during the recovery rally.
Monero (XMR): for those who take privacy seriously
Coins like Monero (XMR) are designed for those who want to evade the “unblinking eye” of the authorities and regulators. Their inherent privacy features like Monero’s ring signatures, stealth addresses and the Dandelion ++ feature for IP concealment make transactions done in this cryptocurrency virtually untraceable. In this day and age, when the individual’s privacy is getting increasingly neglected, having XMR in the portfolio is a must, not only for the purpose of profiteering but also for having a stash of untraceable money and a feeling of genuine financial freedom, especially if you are that “anti-system” person.
Obviously, projects like Monero are constantly under scrutiny by the authorities that are trying to curb the spread of privacy coins that are immensely hard to control. But as the chart shows, XMR never fails to make gains when the rest of the market is bullish. I expect Monero to bottom out at $90 - $110 and then double up in price.
XMR to USD price chart – 60 days
XMR to USD price chart – 6 months
Ethereum (ETH): the top blockchain for product development
Similar to Bitcoin, Ethereum belongs to the class of unsinkable cryptocurrencies. If the cryptocurrency market is to crash and burn tomorrow, only BTC and ETH would be left standing. Even with its brightly burning issues of scalability and exorbitant gas fees, Ethereum remains the most in-demand blockchain for product development. Tons of decentralized applications and non-fungible tokens are being created on that blockchain every day, with developers flocking there despite other blockchains, like the already reviewed Solana, temporarily having better technological capabilities.
Most of these issues will be resolved with the launch of the Ethereum 2.0 mega-network upgrade which is due to happen…at some point. But once it does, Bitcoin’s dominant position will be challenged while the price of ETH will skyrocket. Moreover, ETH has an in-built anti-inflationary feature which makes it even more investment appealing even in the crisis-ridden 2022.
ETH to USD price chart – 60 days
ETH to USD price chart – 6 months
USD Coin (USDC): the safest stablecoin
The UST crash has once again raised the issue of the “reliability” of stablecoins which form the foundation of the entire cryptocurrency industry, helping to balance out the inherent market volatility. A smart investor ought to have a place for stablecoins in the portfolio to hedge against the volatility and have the resources to add to a position in other cryptos during the dips.
The Terra case offered extra proof that USD Coin (USDC) is by far the most reliable stablecoin out there, mostly due to the fact that the project’s USD reserves are being attested every month by Grant Thornton, the leading independent audit firm. Therefore, holders of USDC may rest assured that its 1:1 peg to the fiat currency is genuine and sustainable. These coins don’t have to lie idle as Binance and other major exchange platforms offer flexible saving programs with annual percentage yield (APY) ranging from 1.2% to 14.5%.
USDC to USD price chart – 60 days
USDC to USD price chart – 6 months
Polygon (MATIC): Ethereum’s favorite child
If Solana is dubbed the Ethereum killer, then Polygon can be named as its child since the Polygon network, which was rebranded from Matic, represents the Layer-2 blockchain solution that was built on top of the Ethereum network to enhance such features as scalability, TPS, and gas fees. This layer ensures the interconnectivity between different Ethereum projects with the MATIC token being ERC-20 compliant.
This explains the popularity that Polygon has been enjoying in the NFT space. For instance, if minting and listing an NFT on OpenSea, the most popular marketplace for non-fungible tokens, costs around $25 in gas if done on the Ethereum network, creating NFTs on Polygon is free for all registered users with the Metamask wallet. Given that the NFT industry is predicted to grow even more vigorously after the current crisis, the value of MATIC should increase significantly from the current $0.5.
MATIC to USD price chart – 60 days
MATIC to USD price chart – 6 months
FTX Token (FTT): the best exchange coin
Many might have expected the title of the best exchange token to be reserved for Binance Coin (BNB), but on this list, it goes to FTX Token (FTT). I'm not trying to undermine the significance of BNB and Binance for the crypto industry, but FTX is a far more advanced trading platform in terms of its functionality and reputation with users and financial authorities.
While Binance has been at knives’ points with American and British authorities, FTX went lawsuit-free and with a super successful marketing campaign in the United States, even getting itself a spot in commercial breaks during Super Bowl LVII, a major advertisement achievement for any big business. Add to that the fact that I personally admire Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of FTX, for his contribution to the development of blockchain finance. The chart clearly shows that FTT has hit the support zone at $20 - $30, and now shows bullish prospects as it is oversold on Stochastic which also shows the momentum shifting towards buyers.
FTT to USD price chart – 60 days
FTT to USD price chart – 6 months
Bottom Line
“Winter is Coming” is the name of the first episode of Game of Thrones which resonates with the ongoing situation in the crypto industry and beyond. Bear in mind that all gains forecasted in this article might not even occur this year. Given that there’s no resolution in sight to geopolitical and economic turmoils, the sufferings of the crypto market could persist for months. But it doesn’t give one the reason to sit idly and wait for the tide to turn.
This list of top cryptocurrencies for 2022 offers enough investment hints for those who know how to remain patient in anticipation of the opportune moment. Now is the most crucial time for an investor to set up the targets and start accumulating. Hope that this piece of writing will help you build a life-changing portfolio.
