The first half of 2018 was a roller coaster ride for cryptocurrency investors. With crypto prices spiking in December 2017, a sense of jubilance and excitement permeated the space as we entered the new year. It seemed like crypto had finally hit a corner and was gaining ground quickly.
But the highs quickly turned to lows, and by early February 2018, market capitalization and prices had fallen sharply from the all-time highs experienced just weeks ago. Since then, the bears have maintained control of the market. Yet the price downturn isn’t the whole story. Even as the crypto community bemoaned falling prices, projects continued to work towards their goals with development milestones, the release of mainnets, and the launch of working products.
Most of us in the blockchain space are still bullish on its long-term future, and are just riding the current bearish run until the tide finally turns again. This prolonged bear market is an excellent opportunity to stock up on your favorite coins, so we asked some crypto experts for their top coin picks for the 2nd half of 2018.
Adam James, Editor-in-Chief of bitcoinist.com
My two top picks for the second half of 2018 are Cardano (ADA) and NEO (NEO) — for simple reasons. Both have recently entered oversold territory and are, like many altcoins, far from their all-time highs. Unlike many other altcoins, however, the fundamentals behind both projects are as strong as any to be found in the market
For me, personally, these two cryptocurrencies represent relatively low-risk, high-reward investment opportunities — though nothing is guaranteed in the cryptocurrency market, of course.
Bitcoin Benny, YouTuber
My picks are ETC, QTUM and KMD.
Owen Cook, Cryptocurrency Analyst & Writer
My picks are BTC, XMR, and NEO.
Craig Russo, Co-founder of sludgefeed.com
Instead of naming specific coins, I’ll share that I’m most interested in three major categories: privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, exchange tokens, and projects that give indirect exposure to security tokens.
Matias Dorta, Founder of ICO Informer
For full disclosure, I am involved with this project and I’m not making any reference to price increase or decrease. My views do not represent Sapien Network.
However, I think the SPN utility token is in a strong position. I believe another strong narrative in cryptocurrency will be “user-base” and being a social network, Sapien has the opportunity to on board large numbers of users with their platform, marketplace, and mobile apps. I am very excited to see what the developers are working on and I do believe tokenized social networks are a solution to the many problems facing traditional social networks.
Tom Alford, Head of Content at TotalCrypto.io
Bitcoin would be my top pick for the second half of 2018. This is based on the idea that a Bitcoin ETF will be released sometime between August 10 and the end of the year.
Daniel Frumkin, Cryptocurrency Analyst & Writer
My top coin picks are DCR, ZRX, and BTC.
Brandon Quittem, Cryptocurrency Analyst & Writer
BTC, WTC, NEO/GAS, and XLM.
Chris Douthit, Founder of CryptoInvestingInsider.com
What I want to do is find the projects that have a strong possibility to be that next Amazon, just in the blockchain space.
The first project that can implement a successful proof-of-stake model will have a considerable advantage, and Cardano looks to be one of the favorites.
If successful, Cardano will make a huge leap forward, solving the scalability issue currently holding blockchain back from mass adaption. No one in the blockchain space has been able to solve this, but rumor has it that Cardano is getting very close.
If all this wasn’t enough, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, has also named Cardano as one of the finalists as a possible addition to its exchange. No guarantees here, but whatever coin gets added to Coinbase, will have instant massive exposure, which would result in an immediate price spike.
Cardano is being developed as the third generation blockchain, having the advantage of learning from its predecessors. It’s about to go from development mode, acting only as a simple cryptocurrency, to a significant platform that will support the future apps in the space. Is Cardano the next Amazon? Only time will tell, but they are certainly doing everything possible to set themselves up for success.
What are your top picks for the 2nd half of 2018? Let us know in the comments!
Related: How Dips & Crashes Cause Market Stability (And Why You Shouldn’t Worry)
