The first half of 2022 has not been great for crypto investors. Bitcoin (BTC) is down over 50% on its November all-time high and the value of many altcoins has fallen even more. People are wondering when — or whether — we might see an end to these stagnating or sinking prices. Unfortunately, the answer is that nobody knows for sure, and prices could still fall further.
Personally, there should be no rush to buy cryptocurrencies right now, even at these low prices. There’s so much uncertainty, that it’s extremely unlikely that prices will suddenly start to rally. That said, one factor everyone is interested in when considering different altcoins is developer activity. If a project has a lot of developers and continues to put out upgrades, it’s a good indicator that it can survive in the long term.
With that in mind, here are four of the altcoins that are on your crypto radar this June.
- Cardano
Cardano is surprisingly controversial crypto. Some investors like its slow-and-steady approach to development; others are frustrated that it doesn’t deliver instant results. However, if you want crypto built for the long term, you should choose Cardano.
Plus, Cardano’s not far away from its Vasil upgrade. The upgrade will add a lot of utility to the Cardano blockchain by improving network capacity and overall performance. Cardano rolled out smart contract functionality last September, but it’s taking time to develop applications in its ecosystem. The upgrade is another key step on its journey.
- Cosmos
Cosmos is another top-50 crypto that’s got an upgrade in the works. Cosmos is all about interoperability — helping blockchains talk to each other. The Theta and Rho upgrades are two connected updates that will improve the way Cosmos interacts with other chains. The first half (Theta) went live in April, and Rho is expected to do so toward the end of June.
Cosmos launched a developer accelerator program in April to incentivize activity on its network. Even before that, a report from Electric Capital showed that Cosmos was one of the largest ecosystems in terms of active developers in 2021. Ethereum (ETH) tops the list, followed by a handful of other blockchains – all of which are in this month’s altcoins to watch.
- Polygon
Polygon is a layer 2 Ethereum solutions aggregator. Layer 2s sits on top of existing blockchains to improve performance. Ethereum struggles with high gas fees and network congestion, and Polygon offers developers a choice of solutions to suit their individual needs.
Ethereum is in the process of a major upgrade that will solve some of those issues. But it is a slow process and the next stage, known as the merge, has already been delayed several times. Polygon will still have a role to play even when the full upgrade is complete – currently slated for 2023. It will be able to make the Ethereum network even faster and work well with transaction-heavy protocols such as blockchain gaming and NFTs.
- Polkadot
Polkadot is another interoperability blockchain that’s seen a lot of developer activity. Like the other cryptos listed in this article, Polkadot is available from several top U.S. crypto exchanges. It has a thriving ecosystem and several interesting projects in development.
Prices may be down, but activity and progress on the DOT blockchain are not. Acala, a DeFi hub that runs on the Polkadot system, recently announced a $250 million fund to support the development of its network. Other Polkadot-based projects also announced big partnership deals in April.