3 Up-and-Coming Cryptos to Put on Your Must-Buy List

Alex Sirois

Sun, Sep 3, 2023, 10:23 AM 4 min read

The cryptocurrency market has cooled lately, but it still fundamentally revolves around a few important principles. One, it represents the future iteration of our current financial system. I’d argue that more than ever, investors, consumers and people in general want more from their money and feel that the financial system is in need of major updates. That’s a primary reason to invest in these emerging cryptocurrency picks.

Two, crypto offers a less centralized form of money. If inflation bothers you, then crypto likely deserves your attention. Likewise, if the idea of a select group of bureaucrats deciding the fate of your dollar scares you, crypto should hold some appeal. Let’s take a look at these up-and-coming cryptos to watch, as they have many of the ingredients for long-term success in the burgeoning market.

Firo (FIRO-USD)

The Firo (FIRO-USD) Crypto logo on an orange background.

Source: Sanjay kj / Shutterstock.com

Firo (FIRO-USD) is an interesting choice of emerging cryptocurrency picks. Recently, Firo rebranded from Zcoin. It has a focus on being private digital cash.

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The project deployed Dandelion++ back in October of 2018 and was the first to do so. Dandelion++ allows transactions to propagate while preventing third parties from linking said transaction to an IP address. If you’re like me, you like the idea of maintaining complete anonymity in a transaction. I’m more concerned with protecting the privacy and security of users than I am with the threat of crypto being used for illicit activity.

That short explanation aside, Firo is interesting because it was used in the Thai Democratic Party’s primary election in 2018. It also follows a distribution schedule similar to that of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) with more than 12 million of the total 21.4 million Firo coins in circulation presently. Perhaps, in time, Firo could expand upon those voting use cases which may serve to increase its value.

Cardano (ADA-USD)

The Cardano token with other gold and silver tokens in the background.

Source: Shutterstock

Cardano (ADA-USD) has taken investors on a roller coaster ride, price-wise. Unfortunately, it’s been all downhill since crypto peaked in late 2021. Cardano has fallen from near $3 to below 30 cents currently.

It truly has the potential to return to the status of being one of the emerging cryptocurrency picks soon. The reason I believe that to be the case is that developers are more focused on Cardano than they are on any other project in 2023 based on Github activity.

Cardano’s transparency and empirical research is a key factor on why developers are so committed to Cardano this year. Cardano will make large strides at some point due to being a purist’s playground in the cryptocurrency space. The more minds, the better. That simple but powerful truth is worth investing in. Don’t be surprised when all of the positive factors surrounding Cardano create something extraordinary out of a dedication to evidence-based development.

Monero (XMR-USD)

A concept coin for Monero (XMR) has a sparkly gold background

Source: Shutterstock

Monero (XMR-USD) is another privacy coin that I believe to be up and coming. Privacy and anonymity are the primary, overriding goals of Monero. The company likes to market the fact that even though many people mistakenly believe Bitcoin maintains their anonymity, this is not the case.

That dedication to privacy and anonymity inherently lends value to Monero. Hackers, governments and other parties can’t trace transactions conducted with Monero. That doesn’t mean those parties aren’t interested in cracking Monero’s code. In fact, the U.S. government began offering $625k to anyone capable of cracking Monero’s code back in March. It seems that the government truly wants to hammer home the idea that Monero and its ilk are magnets for illicit transactional activity.

Many people simply value anonymity and dislike the idea of outside parties tracing their transactions for any purpose. For them, Monero will remain very interesting and I would guess their ranks are growing.

On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (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.

Alex Sirois is a freelance contributor to InvestorPlace whose personal stock investing style is focused on long-term, buy-and-hold, wealth-building stock picks. Having worked in several industries from e-commerce to translation to education and utilizing his MBA from George Washington University, he brings a diverse set of skills through which he filters his writing.