Top 7 Cryptocurrencies To Watch Out For In 2023

While 2022 might have featured a bear run, the crypto winter, and even the crypto contagion, the crypto community is rapidly expanding. With the new year, we have seen price gains, and you are probably curious about which crypto assets you could watch out for as you grow your portfolio this year. Or was expanding your portfolio not a part of your new year's resolution?

Here we have compiled a list of crypto assets praised for their technology, adoption progress, utility, and more you can consider as you expand your portfolio. Let's take a look at seven cryptocurrencies that have shown value potential for 2023:

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

We can’t talk about cryptocurrencies without talking about the gold king, Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the first-ever cryptocurrency, and in 2022 celebrated its 13th anniversary. In October 2022, Bitcoin became the first recognised decentralised currency in the Guinness book of records. Also worthy of note, bitcoin is the first and only cryptocurrency recognised as a legal tender, although this is only in El Salvador and Central African Republic (CAR). That’s a lot of accolades, you would agree!

Bitcoin started selling at $0.0008 and rose to an ATH of over $68,000 in 2021. While BTC might be trading significantly below its ATH, the lower price has allowed many to add bitcoin to their portfolio easily. Talk about buying the dip! 

Bitcoin has several use cases, and with its speedy adoption worldwide, it has entrenched itself as the biggest crypto in market cap dominance. It’s no wonder it’s first on the list. 

2. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is top on our list of cryptocurrencies to watch out for in 2023. Ethereum is the first blockchain to introduce smart contracts. Smart contracts allow developers to create new apps, tokens, games, NFT marketplaces and more. Today, thousands of decentralised applications run on the Ethereum network, and the Ethereum merge (Ethereum 2.0) has unlocked more potential for Ethereum. 

With the Ethereum merge, many developments are coming to the Ethereum blockchain, such as speedier transactions and opportunities for new technologies to launch in the Ethereum ecosystem. 

Ethereum’s price at launch in 2015 was $0.311 and rose to an ATH of $4,815 in 2021. While Ethereum is trading at the time of writing below $1,500, it has consistently thrived in varying bear runs and is constantly upscaling.

Did we forget to mention in 2022, Ethereum attained deflationary status and became the 50th largest asset in the world? That’s a winner!

3. Tether (USDT)

If Bitcoin is the king of all cryptocurrencies, Tether is the MVP of stablecoins. Tether has the largest stablecoin market cap and is the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.

Tether is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar; that is, 1 USDT is equal to $1. As its name suggests, Tether is not prone to the high volatility of cryptocurrencies as it is pegged to a fiat currency. It is favoured among investors seeking to avoid the volatility of the crypto market. 

Tether has found many use cases, and it's popular in countries affected by inflation as it is a preferred alternative to saving funds in local currencies.

4. USD Coin (USDC)

USD Coin, USDC is the second-largest stablecoin, second only to Tether. USDC, like USDT, is backed 1:1 to dollars; the only difference is that Circle issues it while Tether issues USDT.

USDC is an alternative for many to USDT, is available on many exchanges and is also used as a more stable alternative to cryptocurrencies. You can hold your funds in USDC to avoid inflation and exchange them for other cryptocurrencies. 

5. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple is one of the cryptocurrencies set to revolutionise the banking and financial ecosystem. Ripple’s RippleNet is a decentralised payment platform that allows the seamless, quick, and cheap exchange of varying currencies. Ripple is focused on bridging the gap that exists in the financial ecosystem. 

At the time of its initial coin offering, it was priced at ten cents but rose to an all-time high of $3.40 in January 2018. Although Ripple trades at $0.30 and has faced a three-year lawsuit with the US SEC, it is still a favourite in the crypto community. In fact, Ripple is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation at the time of writing. 

6. Cardano (ADA)

Cardano (ADA) was the most developed blockchain in 2021, according to CryptoRanks and Santiment and in 2022 surpassed the 30 million transactions milestone. 

Why is Cardano on our top list of cryptocurrencies to watch out for in 2023? Cardano is a third-generation blockchain founded on mathematical principles and scientific research. Similar to Ethereum, it is working to provide chain interoperability, allowing blockchains to co-exist and interact on its platform. 

Cardano provides an eco-friendly, energy-conservative means to allow for the creation of tokens, DeFi apps, NFT marketplaces, Metaverse interactions and more. Cardano’s much anticipated Vasil Upgrade went live in 2022 and, in 2023, has upcoming exciting upgrades for its users that will spur more growth. In fact, in the first two weeks of 2023, Cardano experienced a price increase of 13%.

7. Solana (SOL)

Solana (SOL) is one of the biggest competitors of Ethereum and can process more transactions per second with less gas prices. Since its inception, Solana has powered several popular crypto technologies. In 2022, Solana launched several projects and showed no signs of slowing down. Solana launched a mobile phone, Saga and created a physical store to educate and interact with customers. 

Although Solana’s price suffered significant dips in 2022, it began to pick up pace in 2023, and its price dips allowed many to enter its market by buying the dip.

The crypto space recorded massive growth and adoption in 2022, and we can only expect more in 2023. Cryptocurrencies remain highly unpredictable and volatile. Although our top list of cryptocurrencies is research-intensive, it is not exhaustive. Remember to always do your own research (DYOR) before investing your funds into any other assets.