New Delhi: Cryptocurrencies are known for their volatility, leaving investors on their toes more often than not. Be it Bitcoin (BTC), the oldest and most valuable crypto on the block, or Dogecoin (DOGE), a meme-inspired crypto that has surprisingly found a staunch supporter in Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — investments in popular cryptocurrencies are mostly considered to be a risky option due to its uncertain, constantly changing nature. However, that doesn’t stop keen investors from sniffing out the next big coin to put their money on.


New York City-based stock exchange Nasdaq has put together a list of top six cryptocurrencies that it claims may have a high ceiling this year. The exchange advises that when looking out for the next big crypto, investors should keep in mind two things: market capitalisation and price. The former is an account of the total amount of investment made in a specific network. The larger the cap, the more stable is the asset, says Nasdaq. However, it can also mean that a coin with a higher market cap has much less room to grow. The crypto prices can help investors keep a track of bullish or bearish trends in the market.


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From Ethereum to Decentraland, here is Nasdaq’s selection of cryptocurrencies that will boom in 2022:


Ethereum (ETH)


The second-biggest crypto after Bitcoin, Ethereum has managed to outperform BTC in terms of price gains several times in the past. Speaking of advantages, ETH certainly has an upper hand over BTC, given the fact that it isn’t just a store of value. Ethereum is an infrastructure on which other cryptocurrencies are issues and it serves as the foundation of decentralised finance (DeFi). Crypto apps can also be built on Ethereum.


In 2021, the Ethereum network underwent an upgrade that helped facilitate more transactions per second, lower transaction fees, and improve the platform’s overall scalability.


As per CoinMarketCap, ETH price today stood at $2,004.75 at the time of writing. On Indian exchange WazirX, ETH price stood at Rs 1.63 lakh. It should be noted that ETH price was down 1.67 percent in the last 24 hours, as per CoinMarketCap data.


Binance Coin (BNB)


In terms of trading volumes, Nasdaq considers BNB to be the “most successful” crypto. Its limited number of tokens — a little over 16 crore BNB coins are on offer — helped increase BNB price considerably in 2021.


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Each quarter, BNB puts one-fifth of its profits into burning some amount of tokens, which also increases the value of the remainder of tokens. Crypto burning refers to the act of pulling some coins completely out of circulation. This helps ensure demand never outweighs supply.


As per CoinMarketCap, BNB price today stood at $293.80, registering a dip of 0.26 percent in the past 24 hours. As per WazirX, BNB price in India today stood at Rs 24,039 at the time of writing.


Tether (USDT)


The third-largest cryptocurrency by value, USDT is also the largest stablecoin in the world. Stablecoins are linked to other assets to control their volatility. USDT is linked to the US dollar in a 1:1 ratio, Putting it simply, this makes USDT considerably less volatile.


However, there have been some instances where USDT had ‘de-pegged,’ dipping below the dollar value recently. The Luna Foundation Guard, which supports Tether, has pledged to reduce the amount of anonymous commercial debts held in reserve in order to increase transparency.


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As per Nasdaq, USDT allows holders to carry out transactions in traditional currencies as well.


As per CoinMarketCap, Tether price today stood at $0.9988, recording a gain of 0.01 percent in the last 24 hours. As per WazirX, USDT price stood at Rs 81.54.


Decentraland (MANA)


Before talking about MANA, let’s first understand what blockchain gaming is. Sometimes referred to as crypto games or NFT games, blockchain games use the crypto technology to offer collectibles (such as NFTs or coins) to players that they can buy, sell, or trade with other players. During each transaction, the game’s publisher charges a nominal fee as a form of monetisation. MANA is a token that players can gain on the Decentraland virtual reality (VR) game.


MANA can be used by players to avail services or even create and monetise their own content. The largest gaming crypto in the world, MANA price today stood at $1.18, marking a dip of 5.72 percent in the last 24 hours, as per CoinMarketCap data. As per WazirX, MANA price stood at Rs 96.40.


According to Nasdaq, MANA has recently seen a gain of over 181 percent, pulling out from a 52-week low of $0.3737.


Algorand (ALGO)


Considered to be a prime competitor to Ethereum, ALGO is a crypto protocol founded in 2017 by Italian computer scientist and MIT professor Silvio Micali. From companies to countries, more and more institutions are taking to ALGO thanks to its high degree of security and scalability.


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Nasdaq says ALGO needs much less electricity when compared to BTC and others. Hence, even when other major cryptos face major power regulations, chances are that ALGO may not face as much flak as others.


As per CoinMarketCap, ALGO price today stood at $0.4505, registering a dip of 0.65 percent in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, ALGO price in India stood at Rs 37.11, as per WazirX.


RenderToken (RNDR)


Launched in 2017, RNDR is the native token of graphic rendering network RenderToken. The network allows miners who have excess GPU bandwidth to share it with creative studios or artists who need powerful computing services. The RNDR token is used to facilitate transactions on the network.


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As per Nasdaq, RNDR recently got listed on Coinbase exchange. Given the recent listing, and the incredible demand for digital arts NFTs, Nasdaq believes RNDR can indeed be a token to watch out for.


According to CoinMarketCap data, RND price stood at $0.8578 at the time of writing, marking a gain of 5.95 percent in the last 24 hours.