This my be the perfect time to look for comeback cryptos. As the macroeconomic environment shifts, many cryptocurrencies that crashed last year are set to take off again. Many investors believe that we are at or near a cyclical bottom, and these crypto projects offer a great entry point.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that will happen due to the uncertain state of the market. But many cryptocurrency projects with promising characteristics can surge given enough time.
I believe well-established projects with solid use cases won’t stay at their current valuation in the next cycle, and buying them at their current trough will generate outsized returns.
Concept graphic of Ethereum Classic (ETC) crypto logo in green techno style
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I consider Ethereum (ETH-USD) as the leading blockchain project due to its innovative approach, providing a balance of security and scalability that sets it apart from other high-TPS blockchains.
Layer-2 scaling solutions are expected to address its existing scalability issues, and the network’s constant upgrades aim to increase its capacity substantially by 2025.
Ethereum is the preferred choice for developers, hosting most virtual assets, NFTs, and tokens, generating significant demand for ETH.
The Merge upgrade decreased issuance by 88%, increasing ETH’s value in the long run. Overall, Ethereum is the driving force of Web3 innovation, and its utility, flexibility, and developer friendliness make it the most promising cryptocurrency with low downside risk and high upside prospects.
Regardless, the bottom might be yet to come for ETH. The Ethereum network will allow users to sell their staked tokens through the Shanghai upgrade. There is currently $26 billion worth of ETH staked on the network, and a selloff is possible next month. However, Ethereum remains among the top comeback cryptos to buy if you wish to hold for the long term.
Avalanche (AVAX-USD)
Avalanche AVAX symbol. Trade with cryptocurrency, digital and virtual money, banking with mobile phone concept. AVAX-USD
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Avalanche (AVAX-USD) to Ethereum as it is a proof-of-stake project with smart contract functionality. The three Avalanche blockchains can process around 6,500 transactions per second compared to Ethereum’s 13.
Unfortunately, the Avalanche project sacrifices stability for its high TPS count. In Feb. 2021, the project was crippled due to high traffic, which sparked a selloff of the AVAX token. However, the bug was fixed, and it reached a new high in the same year. That makes me believe that the Avalanche community retains its faith in the project, and AVAX could soar in the next cycle.
So far, it hasn’t had much success contesting Ethereum’s dominance in decentralized applications (dApps) or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). But that could soon change as the project regains trust and the Ethereum blockchain becomes more congested in the next cycle.
Secret (SCRT-USD)
Secret SCRT coin symbol. Trade with cryptocurrency, digital and virtual money, mobile banking. Hand with smartphone, screen with crypto icon close-up
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The Secret (SCRT-USD) blockchain fixes one of the most important problems concerning NFTs: privacy.
Almost all blockchains have their information accessible through the click of a button, including NFTs. So even if you “own” an NFT, you cannot choose who sees or does not see it on the big blockchains today. However, using Secret’s blockchain. NFT owners can keep their assets completely hidden.
Moreover, this feature is available for all smart contracts. This means that future use cases of smart contracts will also benefit this project.
The Secret blockchain has partnered with Quentin Tarantino in the past, who sold his first Pulp Fiction NFT for $1.1 million, resulting in a more than 50% token price increase in two weeks. Given the uniqueness of the Secret blockchain, I anticipate similar collaborations in the future, especially in the next cycle.
Nervos Network (CKB-USD)
The logo for the Nervos Network crypto on a trading chart.
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The Nervos Network (CKB-USD) is a promising altcoin with efficient tokenomics that appears to be oversold.
This project offers flexibility and potential by connecting almost every cryptocurrency asset efficiently, making them interoperable despite different networks. Moreover, it allows layer 2 scaling, smart contracts, and developers on other blockchains to expand their projects seamlessly.
The project suffers from bad marketing and is down 91% from its all-time high. However, I believe the Nervos Network can be a multi-bagger when the next crypto bull market comes.
Different blockchains have unique coding languages and protocols, making it challenging to develop a universal standard for communication and interaction between them.
This lack of standardization makes it difficult to create an interoperable ecosystem for different blockchain networks and cryptocurrencies. I believe Nervos could be that ecosystem as it treats other blockchains’ software as native code.
Chainlink (LINK-USD)
A physical token representing the Chainlink (LINK-USD) crypto.
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Many end users don’t think much of Chainlink (LINK-USD), but I believe it is an important project that deserves a much higher valuation.
This decentralized oracle network acts as a blockchain abstraction layer, enabling universally connected smart contracts.
Chainlink’s ability to connect smart contracts to real-world data makes it an essential tool for blockchain-based projects that require off-chain data.
As the use cases for smart contracts keep growing, so is Chainlink’s utility. Thus, I see LINK as one of the comeback cryptos once the crypto market turns a corner.
XRP (XRP-USD)
RIPPLE (XRP) cryptocurrency; physical concept ripple coin on the background of the flag of United States of America (USA)
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Ripple’s XRP (XRP-USD) is a decentralized public blockchain that many major banks have adopted due to its scalability, which allows for reduced remittance processing costs.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), PNC Bank (NYSE:PNC), Siam Commercial Bank, Santander Bank (NYSE:SAN), and Standard Chartered Bank (OTCMKTS:SCBFY) are just a few of the big names that use Ripple’s technology in some capacity. Moreover, several countries are considering central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) built on the Ripple network, which could benefit XRP significantly as Ripple spearheads the blockchain’s integration with major financial institutions.
However, the ongoing lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding whether or not XRP is a security has kept XRP’s price suppressed and has caused it to be delisted from several major crypto exchanges.
Despite this, Ripple has a reasonable chance of winning the lawsuit, and the positive tailwinds behind XRP remain significant. Ripple’s technology offers real-world utility and can make international remittance transfers between different currencies easier, faster, and cheaper to process.
Thus, XRP has significant long-term potential, and a successful outcome of the SEC lawsuit could lead to multi-bagger gains.
Nano (NANO-USD, XNO-USD)
Cryptocurrency stock image
Source: Lucio Libanori / Shutterstock.com
Nano (NANO-USD, XNO-USD) is another one of the comeback cryptos that suffer from bad marketing but could turn a corner due to its utility.
The Nano network allows its users to transact cryptocurrencies for free using very little energy and almost instantly.
However, the biggest problem that Nano faces is that it is only limited to being a payment method. The same is the case with Bitcoin (BTC-USD), but Nano does not have the popularity, nor does it use a proof-of-work model to help increase its value over time. There are also centralized exchanges that offer fast and feeless transactions that compete with this model.
Nonetheless, there is still a possibility that crypto becomes a mainstream payment method. I believe Nano will be the biggest beneficiary if that happens in the future.
On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan 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.
Omor Ibne Ehsan is a writer at InvestorPlace. He is also an active contributor to a variety of finance and crypto-related websites. He has a strong background in economics and finance and is a self taught investor. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
