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Decentralized finance, or DeFi, has been one of the hottest sectors in cryptocurrency over the past couple of years. As distrust in traditional banking and financial systems grows, people are turning to blockchain-based applications that allow decentralized, peer-to-peer transactions without intermediaries. The possibilities with DeFi are enormous—from decentralized exchanges and lending platforms to stablecoins, predictions markets, insurance, and more.
While Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has dominated the recent bull run with its surge passed $50,000, I believe altcoins in the DeFi ecosystem have much more room for exponential growth in the coming years. As blockchain technology matures and more real-world assets are tokenized, DeFi protocols will play an integral role in this next stage of the crypto revolution.
Of course, investing in altcoins carries higher risk than Bitcoin, so it’s critical to do your own research before buying. However, the rewards can be life-changing if you get in early on the right crypto assets. Let’s take a look!
The Potential of Alephium (ALPH-USD)
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As decentralized finance continues gaining steam, one area that hasn’t received as much attention yet is scalability and efficiency. Many existing chains like Ethereum (ETH-USD) face congestion issues, which cause high fees and prevent certain applications from running smoothly. This is where Alephium comes into play. Alephium (ALPH-USD) is a sharded L1 blockchain that provides scalability, security, and energy efficiency tailor-made for DeFi and dApps. It uses a unique stateful UTXO model that matches Ethereum’s account model programmability while enhancing security. However, what sets Alephium apart is its novel Proof-of-Less-Work (PoLW) consensus that dynamically calibrates the mining difficulty to reduce energy consumption compared to Bitcoin.
ALPH traded for just $0.20. Fast forward a few months, and it trades at $3.35. This meteoric rise is due to Alephium’s similarities to another crypto called Kaspa (KAS-USD), which I’ve covered since it was near $0.01 and now sits at $0.17 with a $4 billion market cap. Alephium is essentially riding the coattails of Kaspa’s success since they target the same issues around scalability and efficiency for DeFi. However, Alephium’s market cap is still only $237 million versus Kaspa’s $4 billion despite having comparable technology. This leads me to believe ALEPH could still deliver multibagger gains.
Numeraire (NMR-USD): A Revolutionary Crossroads of AI and Crypto
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Shifting gears to artificial intelligence, Numeraire (NMR-USD) is an Ethereum-based platform pioneering the use of machine learning and AI algorithms for generating crypto trading signals and data-driven insights. It essentially incentivizes data scientists and quants to build machine learning models through blockchain-powered competitions using the native NMR token as a staking mechanism. Any profits generated from model trading in live markets are shared with the participants to reward the best-performing algorithms.
Numeraire is merging two bleeding-edge technologies—AI and crypto—to engage a global workforce of data talent and democratize trading intelligence for better investment decisions. The results thus far seem promising as Numerai’s flagship hedge fund, powered by its influential crowdsourced machine learning models, boasts strong performance in both bull and bear markets. The potential for NMR to be a game-changer in the AI-crypto intersection is real, and the upside in mass adoption could drive significant value for investors.
Exploring Exciting Cryptocurrency Prospects: Numeraire and Secret Network
Numeraire – NMR-USD
Numeraire (NMR-USD), the blockchain-based hedge fund, has experienced substantial growth, managing hundreds of millions in assets under management across diverse stock and crypto strategies.
After a period of relatively stagnant price action in recent years, Numeraire has reemerged in 2024, marking a valuation surge, exceeding $200 million in the past week. As the buzz around AI intensifies amidst wider crypto adoption, analysts foresee the possibility of Numeraire revisiting its all-time high valuation of $525 million in the current cycle. With its unrivaled first-mover status in blockchain model creation and consistent traction in fueling a thriving hedge fund, this surge would signify a significant leap forward, particularly as altcoins embark on their next phase in 2024-2025.
Secret Network – SCRT-USD
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Secret Network (SCRT-USD) specializes in data encryption for Web 3.0 applications, such as DeFi and NFTs. As crypto continues to entrench itself in mainstream finance, safeguarding sensitive user data becomes increasingly critical. Secret Network facilitates complete end-to-end data privacy by executing smart contracts and processing transactions in trusted execution environments shielded by proprietary hardware. This ensures that no data inputs, outputs, or contract logic are exposed externally.
Primarily, Secret Network enhances the core value proposition of anonymity coins like Monero (XMR-USD) but extends it for use across all decentralized application categories, not just limited to payments. For instance, Secret NFTs only display a locked image to the public, with purchasers having the ability to decrypt and privately view the content. In the realm of DeFi, Secret Network operates exclusively with encrypted liquidity pools, balances, and transfers, offering unparalleled financial privacy.
Despite its groundbreaking technology, Secret Network remains somewhat under the radar with a market capitalization of under $130 million, merely a fraction of the valuations of anonymity pioneers like ZCash (ZEC-USD) and Monero, which command billion-dollar-plus valuations. As such, there are strong expectations for Secret Network to outperform many larger layer 1 projects, given its undervalued position as privacy infrastructure for Web 3.0.
On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
