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After three years of bear markets, the winter of 2020 finally saw Bitcoin topple its all-time high price and mount a significant rally to see out the year. The move has sparked plenty of excitement across the world of crypto for what the future may bring for investors.Â
Whenever Bitcoin performs, it usually raises optimism to new heights among those who have bought into crypto assets. With this in mind, predictions for 2021 were always going to be much more confident and ambitious than the year before, but with huge new levels of investor confidence, we really could see some currencies heading to the moon over the coming months.Â
So, as we enter into the brave new world of 2021, letâs take a deeper look into five of the most exciting coins to invest in for the future:Â
1. Bitcoin
(Image: CoinGecko)
Apologies if you were hoping this list would begin with a little-known DeFi token thatâs a sure-bet to leap from $2 to $200 in a matter of months, this list needs to begin with the king of crypto ahead of what could be the most significant year in the history of Bitcoin.Â
As we can see from its price-performance throughout 2020, Bitcoin has leapt over 200%, surviving a springtime collapse in the wake of Covid in the process.Â
Bitcoinâs market capitalization is so dominant in the cryptocurrency market that its performance still has a huge effect on the performance of the coins in its orbit. This means that many coins in the crypto landscape look to BTC before undergoing their own rallies.Â
With the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies moving closer to becoming a reality with the arrival of PayPal and Square accommodation, making Bitcoin even easier to exchange. Some experts are claiming that Bitcoin investors should stop looking to future prices in the tens of thousands, and start anticipating future movements towards the hundreds of thousands of dollars.Â
According to Ali Mizani Oskui, CIO of FiCAS AG, who has previously anticipated Bitcoin price changes with great accuracy, the value of BTC between late 2021 and early 2022 could reach as much as $200,000-$300,000 - making Bitcoin undoubtedly the coin to watch over the coming months.Â
2. Ethereum
(Image: CoinGecko)
Another crypto mainstay ranks in at number two in this list - and for good reason. Ethereum is the king of DeFi - a range of financial tools based on the tokenâs blockchain network that exploded onto the scene in the summer of 2020.Â
Ethereumâs open-source blockchain network is one of the main reasons why the cryptocurrency out-performed Bitcoin in terms of growth over the past year, rising by over 350%.Â
As the preferred network for decentralized applications (dApps), the Ethereum platform doesnât simply support ETH but also the likes of Uniswap, Maker and Aave, which are active entities in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi).Â
With DeFi considered to be one of the fastest-growing trends in crypto, we may see ETH gaining even more prominence in the cryptocurrency market place in the near future as blockchain-based dApps offering revolutionary smart contracts, insurance and loans platforms enter the fintech space.Â
3. Basic Attention Token
One coin that has plenty of potential that itâs yet to realise is Basic Attention Token. Packed with a well-executed business model, we may see some healthy price movements with BAT in the future.Â
The fundamentals of BAT are relatively simple. The digital advertising model is broken in the sense that user and advertiser incentives arenât aligned, and, in fact, often oppose each other in the sense that advertisers want users to watch their ads while consumers would rather skip the ads.Â
Basic Attention Token alters this incentive structure so that the incentives received by both users and advertisers match one another.Â
In order to make this work, users are paid BATs to watch ads in the Brave browser. This means that theyâre financially incentivized to watch the ad. The goal of this is to ensure that more users watch ads in order to aid advertisers in selling more products while generating a better level of brand awareness.Â
Itâs worth noting that watching ads isnât the only way of gaining BATs, and most reputable exchanges also list the cryptocurrency.Â
As 2021 may well be the year in which we finally see crypto go mainstream, cryptocurrency compensation programmes like the one created by Basic Attention Token may be set to gain further traction. As this occurs, the value of BAT is likely to rise.Â
4. Chainlink
(Image: CoinGecko)
In truth, most casual traders arenât likely to be interested in what technology the coins they invest in are built on. This is a shame in the case of Chainlink, because the token solves a significant infrastructural challenge with mainstream blockchain adoption.Â
As listed on the Chainlink website, blockchain suffers from an âoracleâ problem. âBlockchains cannot pull in data from or push data out to any external system as a built-in functionality. As such, blockchains are isolated networks very akin to a computer with no Internet connection,â the website explains. This means that Chainlink acts to serve as a connectivity platform, helping to exponentially improve on the usability of blockchain applications. Â
This highly functional outlook form Chainlink could see the technology form the cornerstone for the future of blockchain. Or, a newer technology could be developed to overtake it. Either way, the practicality of the network has seen Chainlinkâs cryptocurrency, LINK, grow by an astonishing 500% from the start of 2020.Â
Whether the functionality of Chainlink takes off or not, it may be worth anticipating further growth for LINK as we move into a new year of more widespread blockchain adoption.Â
5. Litecoin
Litecoin is enjoying a high-velocity exit to 2020, with indications looking good for an enjoyable 2021 to follow suit.Â
Although its yearly metrics arenât the most significant on this list, LTC has proved in the past that itâs prone to exponential growth - after climbing by as much as 8,000% in 2017 alone.Â
Furthermore, the launch of the role-playing game LiteBringer, which runs on the Litecoin blockchain has prompted a surge in transactions. According to the Litecoin Foundation, LiteBringer caused the volume of transactions on the network to triple in the space of a week - with 75% now accounted for due to the game. This performance is an encouraging sign for crypto investors - so much so that CoinSwitch has predicted that the price of LTC could rise as high as $600 in 2021.Â
Due to Litecoinâs relatively close connection to BTC, investors tend to maintain a high level of interest in the asset. With this in mind, 2021 could be a year to remember for LTC as well as many other assets across the crypto ecosystem.
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Author Bio
Dmytro is a tech and crypto writer based in London. Founder of Solvid, a creative content creation agency. His work has been published in IBM, TechRadar, Bitcoin.com, FXStreet, CoinCodex and CryptoSlate.Â
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.