That makes Tether useful as 1) a currency, 2) a short-term savings tool and 3) a method of arbitrage between different exchanges. Because transactions are so private, it quickly became a favorite of Darknet users looking to hide their tracks. After suffering a series of scandals, XMR’s price plummeted in 2017. Yet, the cryptocurrency has had a revival in recent months.
Coming in at number 10 is the largest cryptocurrency by market cap on this list by a long shot. Ethereum 2.0, which refers to its shift to PoS, is scheduled to happen sometime in the first half of 2022, though there have been delays. As the platform with by far the largest number of dApps — nearly nine times as many as the second-place contender, according to State of the dApps — Ethereum justified its meteoric rise in 2021. As 2021 comes to a close, one of the biggest defining features of the year is the explosion of cryptocurrencies and their growing acceptance in the mainstream world. Bitcoin broke $68,000, and the first exchange-traded funds emerged to give investors exposure to it.
Chainlink is yet another cryptocurrency that could power a very revolutionary idea. So, yes, it may be another chance to get into something early on before it takes off. In the end, Chainlink’s approach of combining smart contracts and oracles might not be as beneficial or as exciting as we think. Uniswap is slightly more complicated to understand than other cryptos, which can be off-putting for some traders, particularly newbies. Released in 2012, Ripple gained a lot of support from major financial institutions globally. Much of the value Cardano has gained is on the backs of promises that its services and smart contracts will be more advanced than anything else.
The year 2021 is going to be a promising one for LTC, with experts being confident that the price of Litecoin will continue to increase. Based on what price forecasters are predicting, it is most likely that BCH will reach somewhere between $600 and $800 by the end of 2021. It is also worth noting that BCH failed to reach its 2017 all-time high in the 2021 bull run, possibly suggesting investors are less interested. Several price forecasters seem to strongly believe that Chainlink can push past $30 again before the end of the year.
But 2021 is definitely going to be an exciting year for all crypto traders. Tether’s appeal is as a digital alternative to the dollar, but this has been a source of controversy from the crypto industry and the US banks. Recently, a report showed that only 2.9% of Tether was backed by cash, raising even more questions. Investors should note that ETH charges fees known as gas, which can be costly and time-consuming if you plan to facilitate regular transactions. This game was extremely popular in developing countries like The Philippines, due to the level of income they could earn.
