The collapse of the Terra (CRYPTO:LUNA) ecosystem has shaken investor confidence significantly. It has brought forward the risks associated with investing in an extremely volatile asset class. Several financial experts have rightfully advised investing as much as you can afford to lose in cryptocurrencies and for good reason.
Even digital assets such as Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) and Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) that command multi-billion-dollar valuations may lose a major portion of their market cap in just a few trading sessions. But in the last decade, cryptocurrencies have also created massive wealth for investors, making it a top bet for those with a very high-risk profile.
Let’s take a look at the two top cryptocurrencies investors can consider buying right now.
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Polygon
One of the top-performing cryptocurrencies in 2021, Polygon (CRYPTO:MATIC) is valued at US$5.57 billion by market cap. At the time of writing, the MATIC token is down 76% from all-time highs.
The Polygon blockchain network gained traction last year due to its well-structured, easy-to-use platform that can be used to scale Ethereum. The core component of the network is Polygon SDK (software development kit), which is basically a modular framework that allows developers to build several types of applications.
Recently, Polygon stated it is exploring opportunities with DeFi.org and Orbs. DeFi.org is a DeFi (decentralized finance) accelerator while Orbs is a Layer 3 blockchain infrastructure project.
Polygon and DeFi.org disclosed the launch of a DeFi accelerator program where projects will be developed using the former’s L2 capabilities and the L3 infrastructure of Orbs.
Polygon aims to resolve scalability issues related to the Ethereum blockchain, while Orbs provides a platform that can drive innovation in the DeFi space.
According to the partnership, accelerator round participants part of DeFi.org will build on the Polygon network. Further, projects that utilize the L3 infrastructure of Orbs “will be subject to special consideration.”
Solana
Similar to Polygon, Solana (CRYPTO:SOL) was also one of the top-performing cryptocurrencies in 2021. In fact, the SOL token surged by more than 10,000% last year but is trading almost 80% from all-time highs.
Dubbed an Ethereum killer, Solana’s network uses a proof-of-history mechanism to validate transactions. The unique validation mechanism allows Solana to process thousands of transactions per second at a cost of $0.0008 per transaction.
Further, the Solana blockchain is also equipped to process smart contracts, allowing the network to onboard DeFi projects on its blockchain. These competitive advantages have enabled Solana to increase its total value locked (TVL) at a stellar pace. The TVL is the amount of capital deployed on decentralized applications on a particular network.
Solana’s TVL has risen to US$5.4 billion this month, compared to US$1.6 billion in the year-ago period. However, it’s also below an all-time high of US$15.6 billion in TVL, which was reported in late 2021.
Solana is currently the eighth-largest cryptocurrency in the world, valued at US$18.3 billion, by market cap. Additionally, Solana developers continue to expand its robust ecosystem by introducing products such as Solana Pay, which is a peer-to-peer payments platform. Solana Pay can facilitate transactions between merchants and customers with much lower fees and real-time settlement.
