Best 10 altcoins for 2024 - A Comprehensive Overview

With a market capitalization of $362.2 billion, Ethereum holds a significant portion of the total market capitalization of over $2.6 trillion, encompassing more than 26,000 available crypto assets. Unlike bitcoin, which is often described as a "decentralized currency," Ethereum functions as a distributed computing network. It provides users with the ability to utilize the blockchain for running decentralized applications (dApps) and hosting smart contracts.

According to Walker Holmes, vice president of the metaverse platform MetaTope, while Bitcoin serves primarily as a store of value, Ethereum serves as a decentralized platform for innovators to shape the future of blockchain technology. Critics of Ethereum often cite high transaction fees. However, given the multitude of applications and other cryptocurrencies built on its blockchain, Ethereum is expected to remain a significant player in the crypto space.

With a market capitalization of $86.2 billion, BNB functions as a utility token offering benefits like discounted trades and payment for trading fees on the Binance exchange. Moreover, BNB can be utilized beyond the Binance crypto platform for tasks such as payment processing and booking travel arrangements.

Critics argue that BNB lacks the same degree of decentralization as other alternative cryptocurrencies. Nonetheless, the rising value of BNB has contributed to increased investor enthusiasm in the exchange since its surge in popularity began in 2021.

With a market capitalization of $66.1 billion, Solana was created to support decentralized finance, applications, and smart contracts. It operates on a distinctive hybrid mechanism combining proof-of-stake and proof-of-history to ensure fast and secure transaction processing.

Solana stands out as one of the swiftest blockchains available. However, it has drawn criticism for its perceived centralization, characterized by a limited number of validating nodes compared to Ethereum, according to Whitney Setiawan, a research analyst at the digital assets exchange Bitrue. According to Holmes, Solana offers high scalability and minimal fees but has encountered instances of outages and downtime.

With a market capitalization of $29 billion, XRP is utilized to facilitate currency exchanges through digital technology alongside payment processing company Ripple Labs. Established in 2012, Ripple Labs stands as a longstanding entity in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency realm. Despite numerous coins emerging and disappearing over the past decade, Ripple Labs and its digital asset, XRP, have maintained their esteemed position within the crypto community.

In fact, XRP's XRP Ledger introduced the pioneering concept of a decentralized exchange (DEX), featuring a protocol enabling custom tokenization. Renowned for its open-source nature, this technology is also recognized for its eco-friendliness compared to competing cryptocurrencies, potentially contributing to its widespread appeal.

With a market capitalization of $15.8 billion, Cardano embraced the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism early on, expediting transaction processing by eliminating the competitive and energy-intensive problem-solving aspect seen in platforms like bitcoin.

"Cardano is a trailblazer in the field, having laid the groundwork for proof-of-stake consensus mechanisms," states Holmes. "ADA represents a blockchain solution offering low fees and heightened security compared to many of its peers." However, according to Daniel Logvin, CEO of blockchain network provider and consultancy LedgerByte, the altcoin made lofty promises but has yet to fulfill them.

With a market capitalization of $21.5 billion, Dogecoin originated as the original meme coin, initially conceived as a joke in 2013. However, due to its dedicated community and creative memes, it has swiftly emerged as a notable cryptocurrency.

Richard Gardner, CEO of financial software provider Modulus Global, highlights that DOGE has garnered support from significant backers but remains riskier in comparison to bitcoin. "Altcoins like DOGE can experience significant fluctuations in value due to market volatility since they have yet to demonstrate real-world utility," explains Garry Krugljakow, founder of 0VIX Protocol, a decentralized application facilitating crypto lending and borrowing.

With a market capitalization of $13.5 billion, Shiba Inu is an Ethereum-based meme coin introduced in 2020. Created by an anonymous developer known as "Ryoshi," the coin aimed to explore the feasibility of an organization operating without centralized leadership. With prominent figures in the crypto community such as Elon Musk and Vitalik Buterin endorsing it, Shiba Inu seems to be validating Ryoshi's vision.

In October 2021, Shiba Inu briefly surpassed Dogecoin as the world's most valuable meme coin in terms of market capitalization. Moreover, some specialized retailers have begun accepting the coin as payment, following its popularity among cryptocurrency investors. However, efforts by the Shiba Inu community to persuade McDonald's to adopt the coin as a form of payment through organized social media campaigns ultimately proved unsuccessful.

With a market capitalization of $13.2 billion, Avalanche was designed as a layer-one blockchain to support decentralized applications (dApps) and other networks. It has emerged as one of Ethereum's primary competitors in the altcoin space. Particularly, the AVAX network aims to challenge Ethereum's dominance as the preferred blockchain for smart contracts. It seeks to achieve this by enhancing transaction throughput without compromising scalability.

Similar to Ethereum, Avalanche addresses Vitalik Buterin's blockchain trilemma, which involves balancing security, scalability, and decentralization. According to the trilemma, developers typically have to compromise one of these components to optimize the other two. Avalanche tackles this challenge by employing three interoperable blockchains within its development framework.

With a market capitalization of $10.2 billion, this cryptocurrency fuels the Polkadot ecosystem, where developers have the opportunity to construct purpose-specific blockchains linked as spokes to the primary Polkadot blockchain hub, according to Max Thake, co-founder of peaq, a blockchain network operating on Polkadot. DOT serves as the native token for Polkadot.

Thake notes that there is a consistent demand for DOT from projects seeking to develop on Polkadot. This altcoin possesses enhanced shared security and stands out as a frontrunner in developer engagement and numerous projects, as stated by James Wo, CEO of Digital Finance Group, a blockchain and cryptocurrency investment firm. However, Wo also highlights that project advancement has been sluggish, and the ecosystem lacks standout applications to drive growth.

With a market capitalization of $10.7 billion, Tron was established in Singapore back in 2017. By December 2021, it had evolved from being a decentralized blockchain to becoming a fully decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Currently, Tron boasts over 167 million accounts.

Initially valued at just $0.0025 upon its launch, the cryptocurrency's value surged to $0.137 by early 2024, marking a remarkable increase of 5,380%. This exponential growth has positioned Tron as one of the rapidly expanding cryptocurrencies globally.