4 Best Altcoins To Watch For The Next Bullrun [2024]
Investing 101
Dec 7, 2023

4 Best Altcoins To Watch For The Next Bullrun [2024]

It's coming to that time of year when cryptocurrency investors are looking to plan ahead for the following year. A lot has happened in 2023 that may or may not influence investment decisions in 2024 and beyond.

However, although it's nice in theory to use past indicators as a barometer for future success, it's important to acknowledge that the crypto market (and any speculative market for that matter) isn't linear. There is no 100% foolproof strategy for predicting what the future holds and predicting the best altcoins for the next bull run. 

However, knowledge is power. Although it's impossible to predict how certain cryptocurrencies will perform, learning about how they work and their latest developments can help you to navigate the world of crypto, DeFi and Web3 in a much more efficient manner.  

For this reason, rather than providing financial advice on the best crypto to buy for the next bull run, this article will present a breakdown of 4 altcoins that may have growth potential based on their interesting value offerings. As always, we recommend doing your own research to find the best altcoins for the next bull run.

In this article, you'll find:

  • Solana (SOL)
  • BNB Chain (BNB)
  • Polkadot (DOT)
  • Cardano (ADA)
  • Bitcoin (BTC) & Ethereum (ETH) developments

4 Altcoins To Keep an Eye on in 2024

Now we have had a look at the two leading cryptocurrencies, let's look into 4 altcoins that have interesting value propositions, and which some believe could be among the best altcoins for 2024 if things go their way.

Solana (SOL)

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Overview

Solana (SOL) is a highly scalable Layer 1 blockchain which has been built with mass adoption in mind.

Having survived a bear market, Solana has rapidly become an altcoin that has seemingly secured its place as one of the leading cryptocurrencies. It is positioned just behind the top two, and this can be seen going by its market cap which currently stands at $23 billion. 

The blockchain is known for its high benchmark throughput capabilities, estimated to be around 65,000 transactions per second (TPS). It operates on a hybrid proof-of-stake (PoS) and proof-of-history (PoH) consensus model. Because of the network's speed and low transaction fees, many view the blockchain as a real competitor to ETH. This view has been further reinforced by the network having the most developers just behind Ethereum. 

Recent Developments

The network has seen significant improvements in terms of uptime and transaction processing, which is evidence of a maturing infrastructure​​. Furthermore, the SOL token experienced a gain of 550%, making it one of the best performing cryptocurrencies in 2023. 

One of the most significant recent developments for SOL has been Firedancer. Firedancer is a new validator client developed by Jump Crypto, and which is being hailed as the solution to the network's past outage problems. Many believe this update will significantly bolster the network's performance and reliability. 

While there is no way to predict if there will be another bull market, Solana is definitely a good prospect for one of the best altcoins for the next bull run. 

*Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.

BNB Chain (BNB)

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Overview:

BNB Chain (BNB) is a blockchain developed by the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, and is designed for running smart contract-based applications.

It has a similar objective to other chains, insofar as it aims to provide a high-throughput, scalable, and efficient network. It is important to note that BNB serves as the network's governance token, and can also be used to pay for goods and services, settle transaction fees, and participate in exclusive token sales.

It is currently one of the largest crypto assets by market capitalisation at around $35 billion, and positioned within the top five.

Recent Developments

Perhaps the biggest development for BNB in 2023 has been the news of the Department of Justice taking legal action against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao (more commonly known as CZ). 

CZ pleaded guilty to criminal charges involving money-laundering, which resulted stepped down as the company’s CEO as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice. Binance subsequently announced that they would be replacing CZ with Richard Teng, a one-time Abu Dhabi regulator.

Given the dramatic change of leadership, and Teng's experience as a regulator, it is possible there may be some big changes in the direction of the exchange, which in turn may impact BNB. So whether this will be a good investment remains to be seen. 

*Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.

Polkadot (DOT) 

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Overview

Polkadot is an open-source protocol that allows various blockchains to communicate with each other under a unified network, meaning various value propositions can be shared with each other in a seamless manner.

Founded by the Web3 Foundation, Polkadot's interoperability is facilitated by a unique technology called a Relay Chain. It also enables developers to take advantage of the network's scalability and security. At this moment of writing, Polkadot has a market capitalisation of $6 Billion. 

Recent Developments

Polkadot (DOT) has been one of the leading projects in terms of developer activity in 2023, and in March, saw 19,000 developer contributions on GitHub repositories; which according to the project, is a record for a single month out of any network. It has been Polkadot's increased developer growth which some believe contributed to the network's improvements in security and user experience​​.

Therefore, given Polkadot's unique interoperability solution, and large developer activity, this project is one that some people believe can have significant growth in 2024 and beyond.

Cardano (ADA)

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Overview

Cardano (ADA) is widely viewed as a third-generation blockchain, which in other words means it's being built using the lessons learned from other crypto technologies. Like many other altcoins, it operates under proof-of-work (PoW) model, and is an open-source platform that is used for host decentralised applications (DApps) and systems, with a special emphasis on security and engineering.

Officially launched in September 2017, the platform and technology has been developed by a tech firm called Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), and is perhaps the most 'scientific' blockchain out of the top 10 altcoins. However, as a result of its rigorous and academic approach to figuring out solutions, the project has received some negative criticism for being slow to release updates, with some going as far as to call it a “ghost chain.”

On the other hand, the project's slow but steady approach has also received plaudits, who are of the opinion that it is better to get things right as opposed to rushing updates, and then ending up with outages; as seen with many other altcoin competitors.  

Recent Developments

In terms of Cardano's noteworthy developments for 2023, the project's release of its layer-2 scaling solution, Hydra Head, was perhaps its most important update; especially since it aimed at boosting transaction processing capabilities and network efficiency​​. In simple terms, Hydra creates multiple "heads" that can each process a subset of transactions independently, which results in a parallel processing of transactions. 

So although the project may be slower than its competitors when it comes to releasing updates, given it's highly technical and calculated approach. With a large developer base (which is up there with the likes of Solana), Cardano remains a very interesting value proposition, and one which some say could do well in the event of the next crypto bull market. 

*Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.

Bitcoin & Ethereum in 2024

Whether you are a new or experienced crypto investor, the odds are that your journey will have first started by learning about Bitcoin or Ethereum. Moreover, you may have already invested in both cryptocurrencies and have a bullish outlook for both. Either way, it can be argued that both coins are the cornerstones of the crypto market, and therefore, it's important to have an understanding of what both do and know of the important updates that have happened. 

Bitcoin (BTC) 

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Overview

Bitcoin (BTC) is the most widely known cryptocurrency and currently boasts the largest market cap at around $722 billion. 

The widely-held belief is that Bitcoin was created by an individual or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto, and was first launched in 2009. In terms of how it works, Bitcoin operates on a peer-to-peer network allowing transactions between users without the need for intermediaries.

These transactions are made possible through a consensus mechanism called proof of work (PoW), and are verified by a network of nodes; with transactions being recorded in a distributed ledger called a blockchain. 

With regards to what it does, some people consider Bitcoin to be a decentralized payment system for unrestricted, borderless and confidential transactions, while others perceive it more as a digital store of value. 

Recent Developments

There have been a few interesting developments for the Bitcoin project over the past year and a half, including the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador, and recent news of Grayscale's application for a Bitcoin ETF. But in terms of the project's tech infrastructure, perhaps the most intriguing update has been Bitcoin's Taproot Upgrade, which brought about a new advance for batching multiple signatures and transactions together, making it easier and faster to verify transactions on the network.

Whilst there is no way to know when the next crypto bull run will happen, BTC will probably be on most people's radar due to how important it is for the overall market; especially since the Bitcoin halving (which happens every four years) is soon to be upon us in April 2024. *Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.

Ethereum (ETH)

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Overview

The second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, Ethereum (ETH) is undeniably the second most famous digital asset behind Bitcoin but is significantly different in what it does and the consensus mechanism it operates under. Launched in 2015, Ethereum is its own blockchain and adheres to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism which is much more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly compared to proof-of-work (PoW).

In terms of what it does, Ethereum is the largest decentralised platform for building and running smart contracts and decentralised applications (DApps), and is powered by the blockchain's native token, Ether (ETH), which is used to conduct transactions and incentivise the network's validators.

Recent Developments

The biggest update for the network in recent memory was undeniably its migration from a proof-of-work mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS) one. Known as the "merge", the Ethereum network now uses far less power, which should in theory make the network much more energy-efficient as already mentioned. Moreover, this new transition has made staking much more important for the project, and those who have staked more ETH will consequently earn higher rewards.

Although this has received both praise and backlash, the Ethereum Foundation has said that the platform will be much cheaper and faster for people to use in the future. So in the event there is an upcoming bull run, ETH is a token that some people believe may do well. *Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.

What's Next?

There you have it.

Some of you might be wondering why we didn't cover other altcoins like Ripple (XRP), Polygon (MATIC) and Chainlink (LINK), and few of you may have even hoped to see a breakdown of some meme coins like Doge and Shiba INU. But this simply wasn't the purpose of the article. Rather, the aim was to simply provide you with a breakdown of some interesting projects and their important developments, and with the intention of allowing you to learn more about some of the best altcoins for 2024.

Whilst we will never give out investment advice, we do encourage you to always thoroughly research the offerings of projects, and to conduct thorough due diligence to find the best altcoins for the next bull run. But even then, no amount of research will ever be able to ensure that no losses will occur, so as the saying goes, only invest what you can afford to lose. 

In the event that some of the projects presented have caught your attention, then we wish you the best of luck in your further research. 

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