The Coming Crypto Surge: 7 Digital Currencies That Will Shape the Future of Finance (2024)

If you’re searching for cryptos to buy, look no further. The future of finance continues changing rapidly. The world continues moving away from traditional banking to a degree and continues welcoming digital currencies at an increasing pace.

These cryptos have already reshaped the definition of finance. The notion that all things must flow through central banks continues to be challenged by the day. That is leading more and more skeptics to become adopters of digital currency.

Furthermore, institutions are becoming increasingly interested in the value of cryptocurrencies. Big banks and other traditional institutions continue to dedicate substantial resources toward understanding how crypto can benefit their businesses.

These digital currencies will shape the future of finance. In fact, that is precisely what they are doing today. As those digital currencies reshape finance a crypto surge will continue to emerge with spikes that will create substantial value. Those who do their research now will be best prepared to benefit from its growth.

Cryptos to Buy: Bitcoin (BTC-USD)

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is the forefather of digital currencies and was first described in a white paper in 2008. One of the main tenets of its value is that of independent peer to peer transactions. whoever designed Bitcoin was focused on the notion of decentralization. That is one of the primary reasons that Bitcoin has been so influential.

It’s also clear that it will continue to shape the future of finance based on the fact that it is so deeply ingrained in the fabric of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has managed to shift the consciousness of the public in regard to cryptocurrency. What was once widely considered a scam has now become a very legitimate form of value transfer and creation.

Bitcoin has become widely accepted and that is very much evident by the emergence of Spot Bitcoin ETFs. In 15 short years Bitcoin has gone from a fringe idea to a form of digital currency that is quickly becoming ingrained in the traditional financial system. Investors in pundits should expect that Bitcoin will only become further entwined with the ‘regular’ money supply as time goes on.

Ethereum (ETH-USD)

Anyone who follows cryptocurrency is familiar with the idea that Ethereum (ETH-USD) is likened to digital oil. That comparison is meant to describe Ethereum’s ubiquity as the backbone of DeFi generally.

Ethereum was initially intended to become the global computer of cryptocurrency. That was how it was described by Vitalik Buterin in his white paper describing the project.

He was right, because that is what it has become. Ethereum dominates smart contracts while also acting as a platform for multiple other cryptocurrencies. His project has essentially become the global computer for the cryptocurrency movement.

That is an incredibly powerful truth and is the primary reason that Ethereum has and will continue to shape the future of digital finance. As with Bitcoin, major institutions continue to research how their firms can benefit from Ethereum. And like Bitcoin, Ethereum will soon be tradable through Spot ETFs.

So, it’s plain to see that Ethereum is as integral to the digital economy as oil is to the broader traditional economy.

Cryptos to Buy: Solana (SOL-USD)

Solana (SOL-USD) continues to reshape the future of finance by improving transaction processing. In fact, that is the reason that Solana has become as big as it has.

The entire project has been developed in order to improve both the speed and cost of transactions on Ethereum’s network. The project was formed by a group of engineers from leading Silicon Valley firms including Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Dropbox, and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC). They recognized the massive opportunity in solving the inefficiency issues inherent to Ethereum.

Just a few years later, Solana has become one of the most valuable crypto projects globally. Transaction speeds and fees are far better than those through Ethereum. Solana processes more than 10 million transactions. The utility of that improved efficiency multiplied by that many transactions creates impressive value in aggregate.

It not only makes Solana inherently valuable but it also continues to further define the company as a legitimate challenger to Ethereum’s dominance. And that makes Solana inherently capable of continuing to shape the future of finance, making it one of those cryptos to buy.

Chainlink (LINK-USD)

The future of finance continues to be defined by Chainlink (LINK-USD) and other projects like it. Any currency, digital or otherwise, is inherently constrained by its overall network. If a currency cannot connect to and interchange with other currencies it becomes inherently limited in its value.

You and I can easily utilize modern banking to leverage the value of our assets and exchange them through various networks for most anything we would like to purchase. That is possible because data connected to our financial assets is transferable through a series of networks.

A similar series of networks must be built that can connect the data stored on various blockchains and smart contracts. Once that is achieved, similar utility and value emerges from cryptocurrencies.

That is the point of Chainlink which connects the data from disparate smart contracts on disparate networks. The more that data becomes interconnected, the more interconnected the entire digital payment system becomes.

Cryptos to Buy: Hedera (HBAR-USD)

Hedera (HBAR-USD) is deeply connected to two powerful factors that shape DeFi: Enterprise grade decentralization and its relationship to decentralized apps, or DApps. Actually, there is one more important factor to understand about Hedera: It doesn’t use traditional blockchain technology.

Hedera continues to define itself as being highly utilitarian for enterprise businesses of all sizes.

The company is governed by more than 30 of the world’s leading organizations and companies including Google (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), Standard Bank, Boeing (NYSE:BA), and Dell.

Those organizations will continue to define the further development of decentralized apps through Hedera. Traditional finance and DeFi continue to emerge and Hedera has positioned itself as a central figure in that development.

Hedera is also unique in that it doesn’t rely on traditional blockchain technology. Its ledger technology is known as hashgraph and improves upon conventional blockchain ledger technology in speed, cost, and scalability measures. All of those factors position Hedera as an important player in the continued definition of cryptocurrency development, making it a definite among cryptos to buy.

Cardano (ADA-USD)

Cardano’s (ADA-USD) contribution to the continued shaping of the future of finance is its reliance on empirical evidence as a guiding force. The project bases its decisions on evidence-based factors in order to guide the development of the cryptocurrency.

The point here is that cardano employs a slow, methodical development approach that is more likely to succeed in the long run than other less careful projects. By employing and utilizing the latest computer science research as a guiding force the project is less likely to make erroneous decisions that will ultimately limit it. By comparison, many other cryptocurrencies have adopted a more ‘move fast and break things’ type of methodology.

I don’t mean to imply that cardano will influence other projects to adapt a similar development methodology. That is not how it will shape the future of finance. Instead, Cardano will shape the future of finance by slowly building a project with legitimate staying power. In time it has the potential to develop into a cryptocurrency that is deeply and technically sound. That may make it incredibly valuable over the long run and is the reason many continue to bet on it today.

Monero (XMR-USD)

Monero (XMR-USD) holds the place as a shaping force in the future of finance in that it steadfastly adheres to one of the defining principles of DeFi: A strict belief in the value of anonymity.

Many people who read that sentence will believe that I am advocating for the darker side of cryptocurrency and utility for illicit transactions. I’m not. However, like many, I believe that there is inherent value in privacy and anonymity of transaction. The simple fact is that many people do not want information regarding all of their minute and inconsequential transactions to be publicly available. It is one of the biggest benefits of fiat currency and one of the biggest risks with digital currency.

Monero’s guiding principle is again that of privacy and anonymity. That will become increasingly valuable as cryptocurrency and traditional finance continue to merge.It was one of the primary reasons that the entire decentralization movement began and it will re-emerge as an important factor in time. That gives Monero an inherent advantage and point of attraction.

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.