3 Cryptos That Are Sparking a Gold Rush in the Digital World
The global cryptocurrency market is going through a volatile phase. About $400 billion of value has been wiped off the crypto market as Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) price has declined. Bitcoin’s price fell as low as $61,000 before recovering to trade right around $65,000. The largest crypto has pulled back 15% from an all-time high of $73,794 reached on March 14.
The sharp pullback in Bitcoin has dragged the entire crypto market lower in recent days, with Ethereum (ETH-USD) now trading at $3,500, down from more than $4,000. Analysts dismiss much of the decline as profit-taking on the part of short-term investors. There’s hope that an upcoming halving event in April, when the amount of Bitcoin that can be mined is reduced by 50%, will help to support crypto prices going forward. With the sector influx, we look at three cryptos that are sparking a gold rush in the digital world.
Solana (SOL)
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Solana (SOL-USD) is outperforming nearly all other cryptocurrencies. In the past year, the price of SOL has increased by nearly 720%, crushing the returns of both Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and Ethereum (ETH-USD). As other cryptocurrencies have seen their prices dip lately, Solana has continued to march higher. Now word comes that Solana has officially surpassed Ethereum as the top smart-contract blockchain by trading volume.
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Trading in Solana-based decentralized exchanges (DEX) has risen 67% to $21.3 billion, according to industry data. That compares to a volume increase in Ethereum-based decentralized exchanges of only 3% to $19.4 billion. Cryptocurrency investors and traders are gravitating towards Solana as it has higher capital efficiency than Ethereum. Also, Solana’s blockchain can support higher trading volumes and execute trades faster.
Cardano (ADA)
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Cardano (ADA-USD) is another digital token that is lapping the performance of other cryptocurrencies. In the last 12 months, the price of ADA has nearly doubled. Over the past five years, the price has risen by 785%. Fans of this crypto are celebrating not only the price increase but also the launch of a new fiat-backed stablecoin called the “Mehen token” (USDM-USD) that operates on the Cardano network.
The new stablecoin, which is tied to Cardano’s Layer-1 smart contract network, has a digital store of value that is 1:1 convertible to American dollars. The Mehen token can be transferred on the Cardano blockchain without the need for additional smart contracts. The stablecoin is fully backed by U.S. dollars at a 1:1 ratio. Users can put American dollars into a Mehen account, which will be stored in a separate account for token holders.
Developers behind Cardano say the Mehen token will arrive on the chain by March 25.
Pepecoin (PEPE)
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Pepecoin (PEPE-USD) is the latest meme coin sensation, having surged 900% since the end of January, blowing past the gains seen in other meme coins such as Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) and Bonk (BONK-USD). By comparison, DOGE has risen about 75% since January while Bonk’s price has declined 10%. Pepecoin, a frog-themed meme coin that serves no practical function, is being fueled by retail investors.
Trading volumes in PEPE have spiked as high as $3.60 billion per day recently, according to data from CoinGecko. The rapid price increase has made Pepecoin the biggest meme coin with a market capitalization of $225 million, according to market data. Like the other names on this list, Pepecoin’s price has continued to rise even as other cryptos have faltered in recent trading sessions.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Joel Baglole has been a business journalist for 20 years. He spent five years as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and has also written for The Washington Post and Toronto Star newspapers, as well as financial websites such as The Motley Fool and Investopedia.
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