Bitcoin (BTC) has been legitimized by the approval and subsequent trading of spot Bitcoin ETFs. It reached a new all time high before the halving event for the first time in its existence, and inflows to the various ETFs are breaking records on a seemingly daily basis.
Ethereum (ETH) is the next digital asset that has expectations of getting a spot ETF, which would further legitimize it, even though it has long been the second largest crypto asset by market cap. But after Bitcoin and Ethereum, what might the next crypto blue chips be? Let’s discuss ten future blue chip cryptocurrencies.
Future Blue Chips?
Below we’re going to discuss ten digital assets that are likely to join Bitcoin and Ethereum as crypto blue chips. Some of these assets are already well on their way to becoming blue chips, even knocking on the door, but it’s important to remember how fast the sector can change. Writing this sort of piece a few years ago would have seen the inclusion of assets like Terra (LUNA) and EOS, which are no longer considered potential blue chips.
Solana (SOL)
Solana is already well on the way to being a crypto blue chip, as it’s currently the fifth largest crypto by market cap. Over the past year, Solana is up over 800%, having bottomed out in the fall of 2022 because of its association with the infamous FTX Exchange. There are all sorts of exciting projects being developed on Solana, and companies like Visa have already partnered with the budding blockchain. Solana’s current run is reminiscent of the next asset.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Binance Coin (BNB) is the native asset of the Binance Smart Chain and a utility token for Binance Exchange, offering users trading discounts among other benefits. It exploded during the last bull run because of numerous new projects being launched on the chain, much like Solana is currently experiencing.
Though Changpeng Zhao has stepped down from the company, the exchange is still the number one exchange by trading volume in the world, and the Binance Smart Chain gives users all sorts of ways to access DeFi, NFTs, and more. BNB remains the number four asset by market cap, partially buoyed by its deflationary quarterly burns.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano (ADA) is a top ten digital asset by market cap that at one point during the last bull run was in the top five. It’s a competitor to both Solana, Ethereum, BNB, and any other smart contract capable blockchain network. It has been developed at a measured pace, meaning that it’s progressing somewhat slowly in an effort to get everything right the first time.
Cardano has ties to many African nations and could be a hub for decentralized identity solutions in addition to its potential as a DeFi powerhouse thanks to its unique transaction model. It was founded by Charles Hoskinson, one of the co-founders of Ethereum.
Avalanche (AVAX)
Avalanche (AVAX) is a somewhat newer player relative to the previous three assets, as it only launched a few years ago. The Avalanche blockchain is looking to solve the blockchain trilemma like any of the other networks on this list, and does so using a 3-chain system. The network has grown considerably and the price is up over 200% over the past year, pushing AVAX into the top ten by market cap.
Chainlink (LINK)
Chainlink (LINK) is one of the best potential crypto blue chips because of its use case as a data oracle for a variety of sectors across the globe. They recently worked with Vodafone on a proof of concept for trade document transfer with Web3 services platform Chainlink Labs, Sumitomo Corporation, and InnoWave, proving real world utility.
Ripple (XRP)
Ripple still has a long way to go if it wants to be the reserve currency of choice for global financial institutions, but they won their lawsuit against the SEC in the summer of 2023, bringing the asset back from the dead. It had been delisted by many exchanges due to its potential issues with the SEC, but rallied in wake of the news and is now the 6th largest crypto asset by market cap having gained over 70% in the last year.
NEAR Protocol (NEAR)
NEAR Protocol came onto the scene during the last bull run and it remains an interesting layer-1 protocol. There is a lot of network activity on NEAR thanks to it being the back end of a popular Singaporean shopping app called Kai-Ching, which also rewards users in a crypto-token that can be used on the NEAR network. Already being used in the real world gives NEAR a chance of jumping up to blue chip status.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Though it may be a memecoin, Dogecoin (DOGE) has continued to demonstrate what the strength of a community can do in maintaining an asset’s price. DOGE has done well over the past year and there is work being done in bringing things like DeFi to the network. If more utility is brought to the Dogecoin blockchain it could do wonders for the asset.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot is another project started by a former Ethereum co-founder, Dr. Gavin Woods, who is known for coining the Web3 term you see more and more in articles. Polkadot is one of the most technical projects on the market and can be considered a layer-0 because it underlies other layer-1s which are called parachains. DOT could take off thanks to its technical prowess.
Polygon (MATIC)
Polygon is the most popular layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, and has made partnerships with companies like Instagram and Reddit over the past couple years. They aren’t the only layer-2 looking to be a solution for Ethereum though, with Optimism, Arbitrum, and Base being some of the others. If MATIC is able to succeed through all of its competition it could take blue chip status, but if Ethereum can solve its own issues then a lot of these layer-2s could become obsolete/unnecessary.
Closing Thoughts
There are thousands of blockchain projects and cryptocurrencies on the market. When you take a look at the history of crypto assets it becomes clear that an asset may not thrive for more than a few years, but this time may be different thanks to spot Bitcoin ETFs giving the sector some extra legs. Though Bitcoin and Ethereum are currently the only true crypto blue chips, there are many contenders that could join them.
