Last updated on December 27, 2023
The global cryptocurrency market has expanded at a breakneck speed and has grown from USD19,200 billion in January 2017 to USD2 trillion in August 2021. This is pretty impressive by any yardstick and has got more investors interested in cryptocurrency options. Thankfully, there are several options beyond Bitcoin for investors and this list of top cryptocurrencies in India will help you in building your crypto portfolio. The list focuses on four primary aspects:
- Current price
- Highest price
- Potential
- Growth prospects
#1 Bitcoin – One of the best cryptocurrencies in India
Current Price – USD49,310 (21 August 2021)
Highest Price – USD64,863
Market Share – 43.84% (16 August 2021)
Bitcoin is the first and foremost name that made the cryptocurrency market familiar to people and is often used synonymously for cryptocurrency. As per market experts, Bitcoin will surpass its all-time high value of USD64,000 soon.
As of now, Bitcoin is recovering after its sudden breakdown in the aftermath of Tesla no longer accepting the currency for purchasing its cars. There is more liquidity in Bitcoin then any other coin and that alone makes it one of the best options among cryptocurrencies in India.
Bitcoin has posted an upward trend in its price in the past few weeks and may turn out to be a good option to invest in cryptocurrency market.
#2 Ethereum
Current Price – USD3,239 (21 August 2021)
Highest Price – USD4,179
Market Share – 19.22% (16 August 2021)
Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency and has given phenomenally superior returns as compared to Bitcoin in a shorter timeframe.
Created by Vitalik Buterin in 2015, Ethereum addresses some of the drawbacks of Bitcoin. Unlike Bitcoin’s call to create an alternative monetary system, Ethereum’s primary objective was always to facilitate smart contracts and decentralized application (dapp) platform. According to Buterin, Ethereum is a blockchain network with an associated cryptocurrency.
Since its introduction in 2015, Ethereum has demonstrated massive growth and its price crossed USD4,000 in May 2021. While Ethereum has emerged as an investing option in cryptocurrencies due to its high trading volume and high returns, the currency can also be used for decentralized finance services and this gives it a competitive advantage over other cryptocurrencies.
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#3 Tether
Current Price – USD1 (21 August 2021)
Highest Price – USD1.21
Market Share – 3.14% (16 August 2021)
Tether is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency which keeps security and transparency in mind. The cryptocurrency simply converts fiat currency into digital currency. As a result, it is among the most stable options in the lot.
Tether can be the go-to option for a new investor in cryptocurrency because of the following reasons-
- Stability in price and inexpensive valuations
- 100% backed by traditional currency and various assets
- Tether publishes its value of reserves daily
- Widely integrated with fiat currency
- Developed with high-level security
#4 Binance Coin
Current Price – USD455 (21 August 2021)
Highest Price – USD690.9
Market Share – 3.46% (16 August 2021)
Binance Crypto exchange issued Binance coin cryptocurrency in July 2017. Binance exchange is the biggest cryptocurrency exchange.
The currency can be used for –
- Trade
- Paying fees on Binance Crypto Exchange
- Credit card bills through Crypto.com
- Invest in stocks, ETF, and other assets. However, few platforms accept this as a payment option as of now.
As a result of these real-world applications, it is among the best cryptocurrencies in India for investment purpose. Binance coin is a good growth-seeking option amid a smart recovery after losing half of its value in May.
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#5 Cardano
Current Price – USD2.46 (21 August 2021)
Highest Price – USD2.58
Market Share – 3.46% (16 August 2021)
Cardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform – the first to be founded on peer-reviewed research and developed through evidence-based methods. Established by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, the currency aims to become a more environmentally sustainable and scalable blockchain network.
It is the third generation network of blockchain. Cardano is built through a five-stage process: foundation, decentralization, smart contracts, scaling, and governance.
Launched in 2017, Cardino offers the following positive points over other cryptocurrencies-
- It is energy-efficient as it consumes 6 gigawatts hours as compared to 130 terawatt-hours to mine Bitcoin on yearly basis.
- Cardino is easily scalable which is a problem with most other cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and Ethereum can process 5 and 15 transactions per second respectively and on the other hand, Cardino can process 1,700 transactions per second.
- It can be used in many sectors like Healthcare, Finance, and Agriculture
Currently, it is trading close to all-time high levels. As such, prospective investors can wait for a correction in the market or can invest a small amount now and go with a futuristic approach.
#6 Dogecoin
Current Price – USD0.3265 (21 August 2021)
Highest Price – USD0.7376
Market Share – 2.22% (16 August 2021)
Dogecoin is the surprise entry in this list of top cryptocurrencies in India and this is primarily due to its low cost. Elon Musk’s continuous tweets about the currency’s price and future prospectus made it popular, even though the currency was created just for fun in 2013 by Billy Marcus and Jackson Palmer.
Dogecoin comes with many positive and negative aspects.
Positives–
- It has delivered returns of 1900% since January 2021
- Dogecoin has a huge fan following due to the influence of Elon Musk
Negatives–
- Most of the merchants who accept payments in cryptocurrency do not prefer Dogecoin as payment. It lacks real-life utility.
- The biggest negative of Dogecoin is that 65% of all Dogecoins are distributed among 98 wallets and 28% in a single wallet. These wallet holders can change market dynamics with a single step.
#7 XRP
Current Price – USD1.23 (21 August 2021)
Highest Price – USD3.2
Market Share – 2.97% (16 August 2021)
XRP is a digital asset built for payments. It is the native digital asset on the XRP Ledger- an open-source, permissionless, and decentralized blockchain technology that can settle transactions in 3-5 seconds.
There are various reasons to include XRP in your cryptocurrency portfolio-
- No intermediary is required to buy and sell XRP
- Faster, easy to use, and more scalable as compared to other cryptocurrencies
- It has emerged as an affordable solution for cross-border remittance and transactions
- It is also in partnerships with several major banks
According to market experts, XRP can hit USD2 by the end of 2021 and USD7 by the end of 2025. Needless to say, it is one of the best cryptocurrencies in India and may just be the step you need to take yourself a millionaire.
#8 USD Coin (USDC)
Current Price – USD0.9998 (21 August 2021)
Highest Price – USD1.04
Market Share – 1.37% (16 August 2021)
Launched in September 2018, USD Coin is a result of the collaboration between Circle and Coinbase. It is a good alternative to other cryptocurrencies backed by fiat currencies like Tether, TrueUSD, thereby earning itself a place among the best cryptocurrencies in India.
It is unique because of the following points-
- Both parties having an Ethereum wallet can make a transaction in USDC at any time.
- It helps in avoiding foreign payment service fees and it also remains stable.
- Apart from using it to purchase various goods, one can also earn interest by depositing USDC on platforms like “Compound”.
- The inclusion of two reputable companies Circle and Coinbase ensures transparency and security.
#9 Polkadot
Current Price – USD28.29 (21 August 2021)
Highest Price – USD49.69
Market Share – 1.13% (16 August 2021)
Polkadot is a next-generation blockchain protocol connecting multiple specialized blockchains into one unified network. Designed as part of a broad vision for a web that returns control to individuals over internet monopolies, Polkadot offers several fundamental advantages such as interoperability, open-communities and upgradability.
Why invest in Polkadot?
- Most cryptocurrencies process limited number of transactions but Polkadot can process many transactions.
- It helps various blockchain networks with each other.
- It also offers an advantage of interest like dividend stocks. You can earn up to 10% of interest on coins if you keep them untouched for a certain period.
Nevertheless, security is one aspect to keep in mind as the wallets of its founders were hacked in their early days.
#10 Uniswap
Current Price – USD28.95 (21 August 2021)
Highest Price – USD44.92
Market Share – 0.82% (16 August 2021)
Uniswap is a completely different crypto based on Ethereum blockchain technology. It is completely decentralized and does not own and is not operated by a single entity. Hayden Adams – a former mechanical engineer at Siemens – is the brain behind Uniswap.
Uniswap can be a part of your cryptocurrency portfolio due to the following reasons-
- It is a cryptocurrency as well as a decentralized exchange.
- It also provides an option to its holders to lend their crypto and earn interest.
- Uniswap exchange is regarded as one of the safest crypto exchanges. Security is a plus point for Uniswap exchange and due to this, it can emerge as a strong crypto-like Binance Coin.
