With stocks and inflation unleashed, what to invest in?: the top 5 digital dollars and cryptocurrencies to take care of capital.

Cryptocurrencies live a year full of challenges, find out how you can invest in the best ones and what are the projects.

While most are familiar with Bitcoin, Ethereum, or USDT, the cryptocurrency universe is broader: there are more than 23,000 assets, according to CoinMarketCap. At a time when the price of Bitcoin grew almost 80% in the year, hope is reborn in the crypto market. And many are tempted to buy some alternative currency or altcoin.

Even more so, taking into account that the leading digital currency is headed for all-time highs before the imminence of the Halving, in May 2024, a milestone in which the emission falls by half and the price skyrockets. Thus, the remainder of this year is expected to be promising for the market.

In addition, Ethereum started the Shanghai update, which will allow users to withdraw the ethers locked in the last two years, building greater confidence. It is also expected to attract institutional funds focused on an ESG (environmental, social and governance) investment strategy, as the network is 99.95% more energy efficient after leaving mining.

Cryptocurrencies: what’s coming in 2023
Andrés Salcedo, Head of Crypto at Bitso, highlights to iProUP that before evaluating what to invest in, it is important to choose where to do it. He recommends choosing regulated platforms that comply with local guidelines in the countries where they operate, that are transparent and trustworthy.

In addition, he recalls that there are stablecoins with a 1: 1 parity with the dollar, the euro and physical assets, such as gold. “This makes crypto a real option to escape adverse economic realities such as inflation or devaluation in their countries,” he remarks.

He assures that “the offer of crypto projects is very wide: each one has a specific objective, structure and value proposition, so that the reasons for investing in one or the other can be highly variable between each investor, depending on their objectives and deadlines.” investment”.

In this sense, Marco Chacin, Bitget’s Key Account Manager, warns iProUP that before taking the first step, you have to investigate the project, to understand its background and usefulness.

“We can mention several that are in the top five with the largest capitalization, that is, the total value of their circulating supply,” he points out, as a first filter when investing in initiatives supported by the community. Today, that “Olympus” is occupied by Bitcoin, Ether, USDT, BNB and USDC.

Camilo Rodriguez, cryptocurrency expert and co-founder of Cracademia, points out to iProUP, in addition to this list, Solana can be closely followed, which, despite some setbacks, aims to exceed the $25 range.

He also trusts Polkadot. “It has incredible potential and technology. Since the beginning of 2023 it has been ‘lateralizing’, that is, its price does not show a clear upward or downward trend, but it is leaving a very important range.” Today, it stands close to US$7.

Also, the expert recommends DCR DECRED, a currency with the same philosophy as Bitcoin: a fixed cap of 21 million in circulation and a very important governance model. “As for the DAO (decentralized autonomous organizations) model, it is one of the oldest and most reputable to date, because the project works very well,” he says.

Maker (MKR): is a DeFi protocol token focused on the DAI decentralized stablecoin. It has a market capitalization of around $710 million.

Uniswap (UNI) – decentralized exchange token, was one of the most popular DeFi platforms and showed strong growth. It has a marketcap of US$4,000 million

Avalanche (AVAX): Blockchain platform that focuses on interoperability, allowing different blockchains and tokens to be connected. Its capitalization is US$6,000 million

Chainlink (LINK) – Decentralized oracle token that connects smart contracts with real world data sources. Its current currency is equivalent to US$4,000 million

Lido (LDO): represents the participation in a DAO that provides liquidity for staking on networks such as Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, etc. Capitalization of US$2,000 million, with good performance

Cryptocurrencies: ways to invest and earn

Depending on the type of saver, there are different products. Those who only aim to keep the capital in dollars, can opt for the USDT, USDC and DAI stablecoins, which are the most reliable.

Those aiming for a long-term return can choose Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance Coin, the three most “conservative” and volatile capitalizations.

Another option for this profile is to place the currencies (stable or volatile) in staking, which keep a sum of coins “locked” in exchange for interest, an operation equivalent to a fixed term.

Aggressive investors can opt for launchpads, platforms that allow them to bet on a project at an early stage of its development, similar to what venture funds do.

Going one step further, the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) appears, similar to the IPO (Public Offering of Shares) for companies that start trading on the Stock Exchange. In this case, like the previous one, luck will be tied to the success (or survival) of the project.

Thus, it is possible to generate returns for the appreciation of a token with a promising initiative that is generating value or validating transactions (blocking coins in exchange) such as the Ethereum, AVAX and similar networks.

It is also possible to earn a commission by participating in a liquidity pool, such as those in Uniswap, Sushiswap or Curve; or lend coins for a fee in decentralized credit protocols like AAVE and Compound.

“There are other attractions, such as not needing an identity verification (up to a certain amount of money), managing your funds at will, the utility and extra benefits obtained by participating in certain projects and owning cryptocurrencies,” Rodriguez details.

Salcedo adds that “in the world of digital assets it is more accessible to achieve these benefits, since there is a greater diversity of sources of return in which the only thing necessary is an internet connection and funds in the digital wallet.”

Experts highlight that investors today are looking for quick returns to take advantage of Bitcoin’s rise and broaden their interest in the 50 most popular coins on CoinMarketCap.

“They have very small valuations and monetary bases that generate very wide movements in the market. The reality is that operating with assets below the top-50 are high-risk operations, which can lead to the total loss of assets,” warns Rodriguez.

For this reason, Mónica Talán, founder of CryptoConexión, affirms to iProUP: “Education is the true door to change. The decentralized economy is growing, so it is important to find out and see how you want to participate.” And she cautions that “one of the biggest myths is that cryptocurrencies are anonymous and allow for illicit activity; in fact, it’s the exact opposite.”

“The fact that the transactions are registered in a public and permanent way facilitates the work of researchers,” Matthew Price, director of research at Binance, comments to iProUP. And he adds that “the transparent nature of cryptocurrencies makes it easier for authorities to detect bad guys,” he notes.

In this sense, Gaston Levar, Head of Marketing Syklo Argentina, affirms to iProUP that “in 2023 transparency for Bitcoin will be highlighted: depression, the year started with a cra