Looking for the top altcoins to watch in 2018?The cryptocurrency market has been flooded with new projects, altcoins and ICOs. And there are so many new cryptocurrencies, it’s hard to keep up. In fact, most cryptocurrencies are highly speculative, so it’s hard to understand their use case and why they’re valuable.That’s why I’ve created this list of the top altcoins to watch in 2018 – and the reasons why.
1. EOS (EOS).
EOS is a platform that’s designed to help developers launch their own decentralized apps (DApps).
So what’s the benefit of EOS?
Basically, as the blockchain becomes increasingly popular, more and more enterprises will be developing their own DApps.
These Dapps will cut out the middleman, allowing you to own your data. Plus DApps make the overall network operate faster because it’s peer-to-peer (rather than relying on a central source).
The more peers there are, the faster the network.
You’ve probably experienced this first hand when downloading files, watching videos and streaming music.
EOS essentially offers a simple and easy solution to building these decentralised apps.
They’re kind of like a rival to Ethereum (another decentralized apps platform).
Why is EOS one of the top altcoins to watch?
- EOS has landed in my top 5 altcoins because there will be thousands (if not millions) of DApps in the future.
- Dan Larimer, the same developer of Steem (one of the world’s biggest decentralized social networks) and Bitshares, built EOS. Dan already has the technical experience and expertise to steer EOS towards becoming extremely successful.
- It’s a highly scalable platform, allowing thousands of Decentralized App projects to be built on the platform.
- EOS has even been labelled the ‘Ethereum Killer’, because of its ambition to overtake Ethereum’s popularity.
2. Tron (TRX).
Tron’s mission is to create a more decentralized version of the web. The web 4.0.It’s built for content entertainment systems, allowing users to:
- Get rewarded in tokens for uploading their own content.
- Overcome the existing problems regarding censorship and ‘advertisement friendly’ content.
- Cut out the middleman and avoid the monopoly that many big corporations already have over content platforms.
- Eliminate ‘net neutrality’ problems such as a lack of control over the content we consume.
It’s landed in my top 5 altcoins, mainly because content is at the centre of the internet.
Every blog, video and audio clip we consume is content.
The biggest companies in the world – such as Netflix, Facebook, Google and YouTube are all content driven. So if TRX is adopted on a mainstream scale, then Tron’s impact could be huge.
Why is Tron one of the top altcoins to watch?
- Tron has already established a solid top 10 place in the cryptocurrency market, with a globally recognised brand name.
- TRX is solving a major problem – net neutrality. Internet users want control of their privacy, and content producers want more decentralisation.
- Justin Sun – their founder – has a strong background with his success with apps such as Peiwo. He was even listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia.
- Tron has announced partnerships with Peiwo, Game.com and oBike. More partnerships means more growth and success for the cryptocurrency.
- Tron already begun delivering on their promises this year, such as their launch of the Mainnet.
3. Ethereum (ETH).
If you’re already familiar with altcoins, then you’ll have heard a lot about Ethereum already.It’s another Decentralized App platform like EOS. The rivalry between EOS and Ethereum is intense – they’re both in a race to become the world’s number 1 platform for decentralized apps. You can see the differences between both below:
Ethereum is on my shortlist for the best altcoin of 2018 because it’s so well established.
There are already over 1,500 projects built via the Ethereum network – and this will only continue to grow.
Their technology is constantly being updated:
Exciting technology developments include the Casper Protocol and their race to improve scalabilityt transaction speeds.
Plus, Ethereum is the network of choice for ICOs.
It’s the most popular ICO platform in the world.
I can only see Ethereum’s dominance as a platform for building DApps getting bigger and bigger.
Why is Ethereum one of the top altcoins to watch?
- It’s already ranked #2 in the world by market capitalization.
- With their Casper Protocol, Ethereum will switch to a Proof Of Stake model. This system rewards users for holding the ETH token.
- Ethereum makes it relatively easy to build Decentralized Apps. The demand for Decentralized Apps will grow significantly over the next few years.
- Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, is one of the most influential cryptocurrency leaders in the world.
- When it comes to building decentralized apps, network speed is a big deal. Ethereum is planning to eventually hit 1 million transactions per second.
- Whilst it’s becoming more and more common, Ethereum’s Smart Contract function is revolutionary.
4. Monero (XMR).
Monero is a privacy coin.
It’s designed to make payments untraceable and private, protecting a user’s identity.
If you’ve ever heard of the DarkNet or TOR, then you may know that Monero has already been used for millions of transactions online.
You can see XMR’s spike in popularity over the last few years below:
60% of consumers worry about online privacy. It’s kind of a big deal.
However, most cryptocurrencies aren’t that confidential.
For example, if someone knows your public key for Bitcoin then they can see where and how much you’ve spent previously.
That’s a privacy problem most of us would feel uncomfortable about. Monero aims to solve this with it’s untraceable network.
The other issue is that when so many third parties financial institutions hold our data, it creates a single point of failure.
This can lead to major privacy breaches.
Here’s a few examples of major cyber attacks on financial institutions:
- Government data breaches such as the US Department of Energy and the infamous NSA leak.
- These hacks on 2 major Canadian banks, that stole data from 90,000 consumers.
- A PayPal data breach, that hit over 1.5 million people.
Monero doesn’t leave your data in the hands of a third party.
Instead, you directly control your data anonymously.
Therefore you don’t have to worry about the security breaches that could hit a financial institution.
Why is Monero one of the top altcoins to watch?
- It addresses the issue of third party data breaches.
- Privacy is one of the biggest concerns for most consumers.
- Monero is already the world’s most popular privacy coin.
- The coin is already processing thousands of transactions. It’s use is therefore scalable and reliable.
- Monero’s technology allows you to choose who you want to see your transactions. You have the option to make your transaction transparent, or untraceable.
5. VeChain (VEN).
VeChain is a cryptocurrency designed to prevent counterfeit fraud.
Users can scan a product’s unique identity, track it and ensure it’s genuine.
So what problem does VeChain solve and why could VeChain become the next big altcoin in 2018?
First of all, this could save lives.
Around the world, counterfeit medicine kills 1 million people every year. It’s a serious issue.
With counterfeit medicines being branded to look and feel like the genuine product, it’s almost impossible for someone to check it’s validity.
QR codes were designed to solve this problem, but even they can be manipulated.
With VeChain’s help, users could quickly scan a product’s packaging, check it’s source and see if it’s fake or not.
VeChain’s use case is therefore life saving.
But that’s not all.
The loss caused by counterfeit goods costs the US $600 billion per year.
So VeChain is perfect for luxury brands who want a transparent way to help consumers ensure they’re receiving a genuine product.
Why is VeChain one to watch this year?
- VeChain could help save lives and eliminate the deaths caused by counterfeit medicines.
- With VEN, luxury brands now have a real opportunity to prevent the loss of profits caused by counterfeit goods.
- They’ve announced partnerships with Shanghai’s eGrid Consulting, 188 Business Alliance Association, PWC and many other enterprises.
- VeChain’s blockchain technology can handle 10,000 transactions per second, allowing mass scalability.
- Their VeChain platform is already live and working. This isn’t just a conceptual idea, their altcoin is already proving it’s worth.
6. Litecoin (LTC).
Litecoin is a peer-to-peer, open source blockchain technology that allows fast transactions and low fees.
Unlike EOS, VeChain or Tron, Litecoin isn’t a platform.
It’s more like a digital currency designed for transactions on a mass scale.
Therefore, Litecoin is kind of like Bitcoin, but overall it’s more practical.
Litecoin’s founder Charlie Lee actually compared Litecoin ‘as the silver to Bitcoin’s Gold’.
What are the benefits of Litecoin?
- Cashless currencies are the future and a world where digital currency is king could offer plenty of benefits. Litecoin might just be the ideal currency for this.
- Litecoin is developing business solutions such as LitePal to allow websites to make payments in Litecoin more practical. The more businesses adopt Litecoin, the more it will gain a stronghold on the digital payment market.
- Whilst Bitcoin’s fees have become increasingly more expensive, Litecoin is practically zero cost.
- Litecoin is already a top 10 altcoin. LTC therefore has the following, popularity and funding to develop it’s concept into a success.
- Despite recent criticisms, Litecoin’s founder assures us that it’s mining system is designed to be secure and rewarding.
7. Ardor (ADR).
Ardor is a blockchain technology designed for businesses.
It’s a blockchain as a service (BaaS) platform, with an architecture for parent and child chains.
These child chains allow enhanced security and a more efficient blockchain, that’s simple for businesses to use.
So essentially, it’s an easy way for a business to create their own blockchain.
It’s kind of like WordPress for cryptocurrency. You can simply click and create your own blockchain ecosystem.
So why is Ardor one to watch?
- Ardor is backed by Jelurida, a development company that also supports NXT.
- NXT and Ardor have both hit the world’s top 100 in terms of market cap, and this indicates Jelurida’s ambition and their development capabilities.
- Ardor is proof of stake, which means holders of the token receive coins passively just for holding the coin.
- It’s child chain concept is very unique and comes with many benefits.
- You can implement voting systems with Ardor. This is useful for businesses in terms of creating polls, giving shareholders an easy way to vote and allowing more democratic decisions within a business.
8. Aion (AION).
Aion is a tiered platform for creating Decentralized Apps.
The concept is a little technical, so if you want to learn about Aion in more depth you can do so here.
But let me break this down simply for you.
Essentially Aion is a middleman, allowing two different blockchains to communicate with each other.
Why is Aion one of the top altcoins to watch?
- It’s tiered approach increases blockchain scalability.
- Aion isn’t the most glamorous concept, but it’s solution is essential. It allows integration between separate blockchains, like a bridge.
- This creates more simplicity and saves developers time. With Aion, blockchains can work together, in synchronicity.
- For processes like transferring data between blockchains, Aion could be essential.
9. Waltonchain (WTC).
Waltonchain is a supply chain cryptocurrency. It basically connects offline products to the blockchain.
The WTC team refer to this concept as the Value Internet of Things (VIoT).
So what’s the use case of Waltonchain?
Here’s a few examples of how Waltonchain could be used.
Let’s say you go to the supermarket:
Using Radio-frequency Identification (RFID), you could go to the shop, buy your groceries and walk out whilst automatically paying for your products.
Logistics:
Or if a business wants to track their inventory whilst it’s being shipped out, Waltonchain could sync items to it’s blockchain.
Anti-Theft:
If items are tracked via Waltonchain, it would be easy to see if an item is genuine – or if it’s been stolen using its unique identification system.
So could WaltonChain become one of the best altcoins of 2018?
- VIoT offers a decentralized way of integrating offline items with the blockchain.
- WaltonChain solves many supply chain problems for retail businesses.
- Syncing offline products with online information systems via Waltonchain could be incredibly useful for businesses.
- It could make supply chain management more efficient, saving consumers and businesses time.
10. Ark (ARK).
Ark is a ‘point and click’ blockchain. It’s a fork of Lisk, founded back in 2016.
Ark is another way for developers to create their own blockchains and decentralized apps.
The problem with similar projects is that they quickly become congested, once their blockchain is filled up with users.
This leads to slower transactions, and usually more expensive fees.
Plus you usually need technical development expertise to fix issues like this.
That can get very expensive if you’re a new startup on a shoestring budget.
Ark’s blockchain allows developers to easily create a virtual ‘spider web network’, reducing blockchain congestion and increasing network speeds.
Here’s a few reasons to watch this altcoin:
- It’s an easy way to create your own blockchain. Ark is therefore particularly appealing to new startups in the blockchain space.
- Let’s say a new enterprise wants to create their own blockchain, but doesn’t have the talent to create it.
- Ark empowers less technical teams with more freedom to create their own decentralized apps, saving time and resources along the way.
- Developers can code Ark via any language they want – a major benefit because it’s more versatile and users don’t have to learn another coding language to use it.
- Ark is proof of stake – so there’s no mining necessary.
11. PiVX (PIVX).
PiVX is on a mission to help user’s protect their privacy.
As a fork of DASH, PiVX has integrated some interesting features to its technology.
So why is PiVX an altcoin you should watch?
- It’s working on TOR support – integrating with TOR’s military grade encryption network.
- This coin (like most privacy coins) allows private, untraceable transactions.
- It’s 100% proof of stake – eliminating the environmental problems of mining.
- It’s fast: PiVX’s blocktime is just 60 seconds, compared to Litecoin’s 2 minute blocktime and Bitcoin’s 10 minute blocktime.
12. Stellar (XLM).
Stellar acts as a payment network between bank accounts.
So with XLM, if someone wanted to send an international payment from their bank account, their payment would move via the Stellar network, search for the best exchange rate and then credit the person they’re trying to pay.
And this would all happen within a matter of seconds.
Plus, it’d be cheap – a lot cheaper than traditional international payment systems.
Here’s why Stellar is one of the top altcoins to watch:
- Stellar solves a huge problem – making international payments faster and cheaper.
- Stripe, one of the biggest payment processors in the world, has discussed developing a Stellar payment integration with Stripe.
- IBM is partnering with Stellar, one of the biggest IT companies in the world.
- Transactions take just a few seconds to complete.
- XLM transaction fees cost just a fraction of a penny.
13. SubStratum (SUB).
The internet is the world’s most powerful way to freely share information.
But that freedom is under threat.
Let’s take a look at some facts:
- There are still plenty of countries that censor the internet
- VPNs are an option to overcome internet censorship, but they’re often shutdown, unreliable or don’t actually protect a user’s privacy.
- Even privacy rules regarding net neutrality in the United States have been scrapped.
And that’s where SubStratum comes in.
SubStratum is designed to protect a user’s privacy whilst they browse the internet and share information.
It also rewards users for hosting it’s blockchain network by installing a node server on the user’s computer.
Here’s why SUB is a promising altcoin:
- In places where repression and censorship are an issue, SubStratum gives users an easy way to protect their privacy.
- SUB creates a more liberal, decentralized web.
- Users will no longer need to pay for VPNs – there’s no special software needed.
- If you become a web host with SUB, you’re rewarded just for hosting a node on your computer.
- It’s planning to be integrated with most major web browsers – such as FireFox and Chrome.
14. OmiseGo (OMG).
With Ethereum’s founder on their leadership team, OmiseGo looks set for big things in 2018.
OMG essentially allow users to accept payments via their OmiseGo wallet.
It’s an alternative way to accept digital payments – without a bank account.
This is useful for:
- People who don’t have a bank account.
- People who want to accept payments from Fiat to cryptocurrency.
- Businesses who would like to integrate more digital payment systems.
Why is OmiseGo one of the top altcoins to watch in 2018?
- The Omise brand already has years of experience delivering successful solutions within the credit payment industry, especially for Asia.
- Banking is a fragmented industry in South East Asia. OmiseGo could fix that with their wallet.
- Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, is on the board of advisors for OmiseGo.
- 438 million people in Asia don’t have a bank account. OmiseGo is a useful alternative and could capture this market share.
15. Binance Coin (BNB).
Binance is already one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges.
Their coin, BNB, can be traded on the Binance exchange for other coins.
If you’re not familiar with cryptocurrency trading, then let me explain:
Usually, you can’t trade with Fiat (offline currency). So instead of buying cryptocurrency with USD or GBP, you’d use Bitcoin, Ethereum or Litecoin to trade other coins.
So why would you use Binance Coin instead?
Well, it allows users to save money on their trades.
Exchanges charge a fee for every trade you place, but if you use Binance Coin then you’ll reduce your costs per trade.
Why is Binance Coin a top altcoin to watch?
- Binance has 7.9 million users – that’s a significant audience who could eventually end up using BNB. They actually have more users than the population of Hong Kong.
- The crypto trading industry is just getting started. As one of the world’s biggest exchanges, Binance could be set to dominate that space.
- BNB already has one of the highest cryptocurrency market caps in the world.
- If you trade with Binance coin via their exchange, you’ll save money on exchange fees. This means you get discounts on trades, which can add up significantly after a few years of trading.
