15 of the Top Cryptocurrencies to Buy in 2021 (Including 2 Cryptos Every Investor Should Own)

Last Updated July 23rd 2021

8 Min Read

Looking for market-beating cryptocurrencies? These are some of the best coins to consider buying right now.

Before we get to the top cryptocurrency for 2021, let's acknowledge two caveats:

Choosing the best cryptocurrencies to buy today depends heavily on your personal financial situation. To find out where you stand, read our How to Invest in Cryptocurrency Guide.
While we have ensured some variety, the list below isn't meant to be a fully diversified portfolio. Instead, they're our highest-conviction cryptos that experts believe will outperform in 2021 and beyond.

Now let's get to our list of the best 15 cryptocurrencies to buy for 2021!

Bitcoin (BTC)
Ripple (XRP)
Dash (DASH)
Litecoin (LTC)
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Ethereum (ETH)
Tezos (XTZ)
Cardano (ADA)
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
Eos (EOS)
Binance Coin (BNB)
Neo (NEO)
Tron (TRX)
Zcash (ZEC)
Stellar (XLM)

Cryptoasset investing is highly volatitle and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection.
Tax on profits may apply.

Top 5 Cryptocurrencies for Beginners

Let’s start with five coins that we believe are incredibly beginner-friendly and have the potential to experience positive price action in 2021.

Bitcoin
Ripple
Dash
Litecoin
Bitcoin Cash

The first two cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin and Ripple – are two of the best known in this space. Bitcoin has gone up by more than 230% throughout and is currently priced close to $54,500. Several investors are expecting BTC to double and even triple through 2021 due to increased institutional investment. Plus, Bitcoin will continue to bear the fruits of being the benchmark project of the cryptocurrency space.

Several analysts have predicted a bullish 2021 for Ripple, having risen by 200%. Having nearly tripled in valuation and reaching $0.57, many expect XRP to touch $1 in 2021.

Ripple is a cross-border remittance token that aims to disrupt international transfers by working closely with banks and financial institutions. Ripple already has an impressive list of partners, and it looks like they are going to be adding more in 2021.

Quite like Ripple, DASH has also managed to increased by more than fourfold in its valuation, going up from $40.75 to $242. While DASH isn't exactly a "cheap coin," it could be poised for a tremendous 2021.

Dash has a huge user base in Latin American countries. In fact, it has been seen that countries like Venezuela, which are going through severe hyperinflation, have opted to choose Dash and Bitcoin over their fiat currency.

Litecoin has had a monster week, going up by nearly 45% over the last 7 days. Since 2020, LTC climbed up from $40 to $120 and has managed to cause quite a stir.

Also, LTC usually tends to follow BTC when it comes to price action. Since we have a bullish outlook for Bitcoin, we must have the same for LTC, as well.

Finally, we have Bitcoin Cash, which may be a dark horse for 2021. Crypto Ground, an independent publishing house that provides Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Technology News, believes that BCH will reach $3,067 in a five-year time-frame.

6 of the Best DeFi Platforms for 2021

DeFi is short for Decentralized Finance. For better or for worse, DeFi is the biggest and most prevalent use case of blockchain technology. 2020 saw a considerable influx of DeFi projects, wherein the total value locked rose from <$1 billion to almost $15 billion. It looks like 2021 is going to continue being a massive year for DeFi.

As such, let’s go through five DeFi platform tokens that you should consider investing in:

Ethereum
Tezos
Cardano
Ethereum Classic
EOS
Binance Coin

Ethereum (ETH) has risen by 350% through 2020 and is currently trending near the $1900 psychological mark. As of now, DeFi seems to be dominating every single aspect of Ethereum. A recent study found out that DeFi dominates over 90% of transactions in ETH. With developers focussing on creating more sophisticated DeFi apps, it could push Ethereum’s utility and its price through the roof.

However, Ethereum alone may not be enough to handle this load. This is why it is essential to look at alternative platforms.

Cardano (ADA) is currently valued at $1.22 and is the 4th largest coin by market cap. However, we believe that by the time 2021 ends, ADA could cross $2.

Cardano is well-known in the cryptocurrency space for being backed by an incredibly talented team that has prioritized scientific research. Cardano will be going through several technical upgrades as it enters the Goguen and Voltaire stages in 2021 and beyond.

Tezos (XTZ) is another exciting platform that’s unique since it utilizes the flexible delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) algorithm. To attract more developers, Tezos went through the Delphi upgrade, which reduced its smart contract gas fees by 75%. It will be interesting to see how this move boosts DeFi activity on Tezos.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) was the original Ethereum protocol which the new ETH chain hard-forked from following the DAO hack. ETC users now have the opportunity to participate in DeFi following the formation of the wrapped ETC token. The wrapped token will allow ETC users DeFi participation on the Ethereum blockchain.

EOS has had an indifferent 2020 so far, going up from $2.55 to $3.10. However, developers have already started working on a host of EOS DeFi applications. There are decentralized exchanges, decentralized lending, stablecoins, among others which are currently being built on top of EOS. As such, count out EOS at your own peril.

Finally, we have the Binance Coin (BNB). The asset has increased by more than $200 per coin from the beginning of the year, going up from $23.60 to $284.

Back in September 2020, Binance CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao announced that Binance Chain aims to cash in on the DeFi revolution by replicating several features of the Ethereum blockchain. With its increasing DeFi participation and utility, it could, conservatively, push BNB above $500 and into the $750-zone.

4 Dark Horse Tokens to Look Out for

Alright, so we have checked out the top 5 beginner-friendly coins and 6 DeFi platforms. However, there are some coins that may go under the radar and end up surprising all of us in 2021. We have identified 4 coins that fit this category:

Neo
Tron
Zcash
Stellar

Neo has nearly tripled in valuation so far in 2021, having gone up from $17 to $42.5.

Walletinvestor.com, well-known for its conservative forecasts, believes that Neo will reach only $75.50 in 2021. However, with everyone diligently focussing on DeFi, it's hard to see Neo lagging in that area. As such, we can expect Neo to do a lot more than what WalletInvestor predicts.

Tron could be another surprising candidate for 2021. TRX has risen from $0.023 to $0.051 so far this year. DigitalCoinPrice believes that TRX will double its valuation in 2021 and end the year just above $0.10.

Zcash has nearly tripled in valuation through 2020, going by from $27.24 to $72.20. It looks like the privacy coin is all set for a monstrous 2021. CoinSwitch expects ZEC to reach $300 in 2021 and continue to grow to $1,250 by 2025.

It seems more people need to start talking about Zcash as a serious entry into any robust crypto portfolio.

Stellar is another exciting cryptocurrency that you can check out.

Created by Ripple creator Jed McCaleb, XLM also promises to have a fantastic 2021. One of Germany’s oldest banks, Bankhaus von der Heydt (BVDH), announced that they would be issuing a euro-backed stablecoin on the Stellar blockchain. With increasing institutional acceptance, one can expect XLM to have a truly stellar 2021.

BTC and ETH – The 2 Coins Everyone Should Own

Looking at the overall crypto market, it seems obvious that the two cryptocurrencies that everyone should invest in are BTC and ETH. While Bitcoin remains the premier cryptocurrency, Ethereum has positioned itself as the DeFi market leader.