It’s probably fair to say that for the general population, investing in cryptocurrencies looks riskier than most investments. With all the cryptos currently on the market, they might be right.
For those that read whitepapers, have a grasp on the basics of blockchain technology, and truly believe it will find its way into the daily lives of billions of people, Bitcoin could be a safer bet than the US dollar.
When placing your bets during the current bear market, it’s important to consider your goals and personality type. For the risk-adverse, stick with dollar cost averaging into Bitcoin. For those more tolerant to risk, looking outside of the top 100 is a very attractive idea, but finding a good bet takes time, research, and luck.
Before getting into some of the best altcoins I’ve found outside of the top 100, it’s worth outlining some of the questions I ask while looking into a project.
- How much capital have they raised, and what have they done with it so far?
- What are the team’s credentials, and do they have a successful history?
- Have they released any working products, and does the business model integrate their native token in a way that will increase the price?
- How large is the market share they are after, who are they in competition with, and what is the likelihood that their project will be used?
- How big is their current community, how engaged are they, and what is their relationship with the company like?
The questions above will serve as a loose guideline for this article.
Without further ado, here are our picks for the best altcoins that aren’t even in the top 100.
The projects are listed according to market cap ranking at the time of writing.
Best Altcoins That Aren’t Even in the Top 100
SingularityNET (AGI) — Rank #136
SingularityNET was founded in December 2017 on the back of a successful ICO, where the project raised $36 million within a matter of minutes. The project focuses on the development of artificial intelligence, and even integrated the idea of the technological singularity — which describes a moment where humans merge with technology — into its name.
In terms of what is available in the short-term, SingularityNET will offer APIs to businesses, allowing them to outsource tasks to AI-powered services. At the moment, AI has an impressive set of capabilities, and future capabilities could offer businesses the ability to hire out problem solving to artificial intelligence.
Market Predictions
Among the few blockchain startups involving themselves with AI technology, SingularityNET is the most ambitious, seeking to develop an entire AI network for the future. Successfully creating this network would give AGI a chance at being involved with 2 of the hottest industries on the market today: blockchain and AI.
If the development of artificial intelligence continues in significant amounts, the value it brings to the global market would be massive. According to Statistica.com, the global AI market size in 2025 could reach almost $90 billion dollars, although it’s very difficult to accurately predict.
The Team
The SingularityNET website lists over 70 team members involved with the project, from Advisors to Robotics. 2 of the most notable team members have been making waves for their creation, Sophia, who is capable of making facial expressions and (hopefully) sarcastic comments about taking over the world.
Dr. Ben Goertzel is the CEO and Chief Scientist of SingularityNET, and Dr. David Hanson is a Co-Founder of the project, as well as the Founder CEO of Hanson Robotics, the company responsible for the creation of Sophia.
Request Network (REQ) — Rank #146
Request Network is sometimes referred to as “PayPal 2.0,” in that its main purpose is to allow anyone to request a payment that the recipient can pay for in a secure manner. While the internet continues to expand its reach, an increasing amount of business is taking place online.
The idea is a simple one, and the current solutions dominating the market have yet to incorporate the benefits of blockchain technology into their products, giving competitors like Request Network a chance to take a share of the market.
Working Products
The mass adoption of cryptocurrencies cannot come about if there isn’t a way to use them, which means working products will lead the way to a decentralized financial future. Request Network has been holding up their end of the bargain by releasing multiple products that people can actually use.
They launched a WordPress plug-in called Pay with Request, which allows users to accept cryptocurrencies as payment with no setup fees or monthly costs. The plugin integrates with Metamask and Ledger Nano S hardware wallets directly, and accepts ETH and ERC-20 tokens, with Bitcoin support coming soon.
They also launched a similar plugin for Shopify called Reqify, which is also 100% free.
Wide Use Case
Cross-currency payments will become increasingly common with the integration of cryptocurrencies into our current financial systems, and by solving this problem, REQ is also looking at a solution for cross-border payments as well.
Automation of jobs within the financial industry, such as accounting and auditing, will offer more accurate results displayed on a decentralized, immutable ledger, that can be securely accessed from anywhere in the world. If Request Network can provide a viable solution for this, they could see interest from massive corporations.
For more details of Request Network’s potential to capture the market, check out our Is REQ a Potential Moonshot? and What is Request Network articles.
SelfKey (KEY) — Rank #239
SelfKey is aiming to revolutionize the way we store and send our personal information online. Instead of individually sending in sensitive information to employers, landlords, or banks, for example, SelfKey users will be able to upload their documents to a secure blockchain, then delegate access to them when necessary.
This way they can maintain the security of their documents, while the outside party can easily access the information shared with them.
The concept is based on something known as Self Sovereign Identity, which, according to P2PFoundation, is “the next step beyond user-centric identity and that means it begins at the same place: the user must be central to the administration of identity.”
SelfKey Identity Wallet Beta
In June 2018, SelfKey publicly released their Identity Wallet Beta, which is the flagship product that allows its users to manage their ID assets and other cryptocurrencies as well.
The Identity Wallet Beta allows users to create a profile and store their information and documents on their local device, which can never be accessed without permission. Users will also be able to set up a “digital face” of their identity, which could come from an existing form of identification, or simply be a selfie.
Partnerships
During the SelfKey ICO in early 2018, $21.7 million was raised within 11 minutes. The reason they were able to accomplish this is likely due to the pre-existing relationships they’ve built over the years with Kyber Network and Polymath.
What’s more, Binance, arguably the largest crypto exchange listed the KEY token, which inherently draws attention to the technology and team behind SelfKey’s SSID solution. Interestingly, within 72 hours of the announcement, the price of KEY tokens rose by more than 560%.
OriginTrail (TRAC) — Rank #350
Putting food on our tables has changed dramatically in recent decades. What used to be at the forefront of our days has been reduced to errands we run on the way home from the office.
Picking up groceries from the supermarket is almost as convenient as it gets, but we lose the connection with where our food comes from, and how it’s been handled.
OriginTrail allows every member of the supply chain to verify that conditions have been met before, during, and after the product makes a pit stop in their warehouses or factories. By attaching bits of data to each item, then writing the information into an immutable blockchain, the relevant information is permanently there for everyone with access to see.
Increased Food Safety and Other Use Cases
One of the most important use cases offered by OriginTrail is their food tracking service. By attaching smart sensors with QR codes to food products, the OriginTrail protocol is able to confirm whether the vegetables you’re about to buy is fresh, whether your wine is authentic, and if your dairy products have been stored at the right temperature during transport.
Not only that, but in the case of foodborne outbreaks, tracking foods like poultry or lettuce could allow us to identify where contaminated food has been distributed, allowing the end consumer to know if they should clean out their refrigerator or not.
Aside from food traceability, OriginTrail can be applied in other significant ways in supply chain logistics, such as:
- Tracking forensic evidence
- Providing an added layer of trust and transparency during the distribution of reports, or sensitive data in general
- Ecommerce transparency and product authenticity
Perhaps one of the more underrated applications of OriginTrail’s protocol pertains to the emerging industry that is the Internet-of-Things (IoT), and the team has laid a promising foundation for interconnected “smart products” throughout 2018.
Significant Partnerships
EVRYTHNG — Massive IoT Platform
In May 2018, OriginTrail announced a partnership with EVRYTHNG, an IoT platform with an impressive list of partners.
Furthermore, EVRYTHNG co-founder Dominique Guinard announced in October 2018 via Twitter that an OriginTrail Reactor extension has already been implemented, “making it a lot easier to make the two platforms talk.”
GS1 — Global Business Communication
OriginTrail has also found their way into a GS1 blockchain position paper. GS1 was founded in 1974 as a not-for-profit organization aiming to maintain global standards for business communication. This is the same business responsible for a barcode system that gets scanned over 6 billion times daily.
Working alongside established international business communication specialists gives the OriginTrail protocol an increased level of trust and credibility, but also allows them to be at the forefront of a crucial element of mass adoption: interoperability.
Interoperability — Blockchains and Legacy Systems
The benefits of an immutable supply chain record easily outweigh the costs and hassles required to make it a reality.
As more “smart objects” make their way into the market, an increasing number of businesses will be looking for ways to incorporate blockchain technology into their own supply chains.
As more businesses use blockchain within their ecosystems, bridges must be built which allow them to communicate with each other accurately and securely.
In addition to their ability to interoperate with any blockchain, OriginTrail also offers interoperability with legacy systems and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
This means that companies with existing processes will be able to easily interoperate with blockchain and non-blockchain based enterprises.
OriginTrail’s focus on interoperability combined with their recognition from organizations like GS1 give them a real chance to become a link between hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses benefiting from blockchain technology.
As those benefits solidify into integral components of their businesses models, OriginTrail’s blockchain-agnostic approach could turn out to be a standard service in an industry that’s expected to explode in the next 5 years.
An Emerging Industry
According to a recent MarketsandMarkets report, the global blockchain supply chain market in 2017 was valued at $82.1 million. It is predicted to reach $3.3 billion in 2023. Not only is OriginTrail setting up shop in the growing blockchain industry, but they’ve positioned themselves in a subsection with a practical use case.
Considering the company is only 5 years old, and began working blockchain technology into their service in 2016, the traction they’ve been able to accomplish in such a short timespan speak volumes in and of itself, making TRAC one of the best crypto that’s not even ranked in the top 100.
What are your picks for the best altcoins that aren’t in the top 100? Share with us in the comments!
