Top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch in April: Biggest gainers of 2022
After cryptocurrency markets soared to all-time highs in 2021, the trend reversed and many coins have struggled to get back on track in the first few months of 2022. The crypto market capitalisation declined from its November 2021 peak of around $2.94trn to $1.88trn, as of 21 March 2022.
If you’re looking for cryptos with most potential, one starting point for your research could be to look at the coins and tokens that have shown the strongest performance year-to-date.
In this article we look at the five best performing cryptos so far this year based on their price gains.
Top cryptocurrencies to watch in April: 5 top performers
Are you looking to find the best crypto to watch in April? The five top gaining cryptocurrencies so far in 2022 range from an increase of around 100% to 10%, reflecting the relative stability in so many coin prices that made gains in excess of 1,000% in 2021.
Waves (WAVES)
Leading the top cryptocurrencies list YTD, Waves (WAVES) was one of the early cryptocurrencies to launch an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2016. The project has shifted focus several times over the years, but is currently concentrating on using its proof-of-stake blockchain to provide smart contract infrastructure for decentralised applications (dApps).
The price has tended to spike along with the broader markets, reaching a record high in May 2021 and spiking again in September and October. But the waves coin has soared in value since 24 February as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has driven demand for cryptocurrencies among Ukrainian and Russian users moving their money to avoid disruption to the banking system.
Waves was founded by Ukrainian scientist Sasha Ivanov. The cryptocurrency community has been buying the coin in support, making it one of the top trending cryptos in March.
The coin traded down from $14.55 at the start of the year to a low of $7.64 on 24 January and traded around $10 for the following month, before it soared to $30 in early March. The price hit a high of $34.20 on 19 March, for a year-to-date gain of 135%. On 21 March, the coin retraced a bit to $32.24.
Unus sed leo (LEO)
Unus sed leo (LEO) is a unique utility token. The name is a Latin citation from one of Aesop’s fables. The token was created in 2019 by iFinex, which runs the Bitfinex exchange, as part of its efforts to return funds to investors following a hack of the exchange in 2016 and a partial government seizure of funds from payment processor Crypto Capital in 2018.
Bitfinex issued $1bn in LEO tokens to raise $1bn in stablecoin Tether (USDT) to cover the shortfall in funds. Holders can use LEO to reduce their transaction and borrowing fees on Bitfinex. The LEO token is designed to rise in value from a buyback and burn programme.
According to the coin’s white paper, iFinex will buy back LEO from the market monthly at a minimum of 27% of its gross revenues from the previous month until there are no tokens left in commercial circulation.
The buyback is using at least 95% of the net funds recovered from Crypto Capital to repurchase and burn outstanding LEO tokens and at least 80% of the net funds recovered from the Bitfinex hack to repurchase and burn LEO tokens.
With increased uncertainty in financial markets spilling over into cryptocurrencies, exchange tokens like LEO have attracted more investor interest and become some of the biggest crypto risers (as of 21 March 2022).
The price rose from $3.77 at the start of the year to a high of $8.04 in early February. With the price since sliding back to $6, the token has gained around 59% year to date.
THORChain (RUNE)
THORChain (RUNE) is a decentralised cryptocurrency liquidity protocol that runs in the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem. It enables users to transfer assets across chains using its public network while keeping full custody of the assets.
The price for THORChain’s native RUNE cryptocurrency was in a downward trend for the first two months of the year. But it has turned higher in March after the developers launched several updates.
THORSwap supports six types of wallets for eight blockchains as a cross-chain decentralised exchange (DEX).
On 21 March, the first hard fork, or split, of the blockchain will pave the way for new features announced on 6 March, including the addition of more chains and THORfi decentralised finance (DeFi).
THORChain project roadmap:
— THORChain #THORFI (@THORChain) March 6, 2022
* More chains (LUNA, Privacy, L2's)
* More wallets (all the big ones)
* More integrations (Dex aggregators)
* More Features: Synths, THORFi (lending, saving), THORNames
Not stopping until decentralised liquidity 10x bigger than centralised. $RUNE
On 9 March, THORChain launched synthetic derivatives of other cryptocurrencies on the THORChain network, to enable faster transaction speeds and lower fees. The launch of a mainnet for Rune is to come, as well as integration with Terra (LUNA) coin.
The RUNE price started the year at $6.80 and slid to $3.28 on 24 January. But the price broke back above $4 in February and turned it back to the list of most promising cryptocurrencies so far this year, steadily gaining value to reach $8.99 on 21 March, rising by 22% year to date.
Zcash (ZEC)
Zcash (ZEC) was launched in 2016 based on the Bitcoin (BTC) codebase. The protocol focuses on providing users anonymity and privacy, as each transaction on public blockchains like Bitcoin can be used to trace their identity. Zcash uses Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (zk-SNARK) technology to verify blockchain transactions without revealing any specific, sensitive information.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict and shift towards third generation Internet (Web3) applications have increased cryptocurrency users’ interest in privacy coins as they look to move money out of the traditional banking system.
The ZEC price started 2022 at $146.56 and dropped to $82.28 in late January. The price moved up to $134.66 in early February but fell back again to $85.34 on 24 February. The price then turned higher, rising to $158.77 on 12 March and then climbing to $182.30 on 19 March. At the time of writing, 21 March, Zcash has been trading at $174.51, having gained 16% YTD.
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
Ethereum Classic (ETC) is the original blockchain from which the current Ethereum chain split off in a hard fork in July 2016 after a major hack. The two projects have diverged over time, and ETC is not following Ethereum’s transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) for validating transactions.
On 18 March, the development team confirmed in a blog post that the Ethereum Classic network will continue to support the ETChash mining algorithm “through the foreseeable future. This reaffirms Ethereum Classic's principles of fostering a decentralised Proof of Work mining ecosystem. This confirms a continued long-term commitment to the current mining ecosystem participants and their GPU and ETChash ASIC equipment.”
The post noted that the Ethereum update known as The Merge “will disenfranchise the largest EVM's Proof of Work mining ecosystem. Ethereum Classic is well positioned to absorb much of this abandoned Ethash hashrate.”
The ETC price fell from $34.12 at the start of the year to $21.74 on 22 January. The price moved up to $37.40 on 11 February, and fell to $23.65 on 24 February. But a rally since 18 March lifted the ETC price from $26.59 to a high of $40.63 on 20 March. As of 21 March, the token traded at 38.54 and gained 10% YTD.
Cryptocurrency prices reflect elevated volatility
Sustained fear in the financial markets has increased volatility and contributed to the relatively poor performance of bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies so far this year, according to analysis by Arcane Research:
Looking for the best cryptocurrencies to invest in, mind that the crypto market is extremely volatile and past performance never guarantees future results. The price data for top crypto as of today, last week, year-to-date changes every minute making it difficult to identify the most promising cryptocurrencies.
Compiling your own list of the best cryptocurrencies to trade in April, conduct a thorough research and consider the project’s fundamental value, particular token’s utility and major updates that might drive its price.
Note that all crypto predictions, including analysts’ and algorithm-based price targets, can go wrong. Never trade more than you can afford to lose.
FAQs
What are the best cryptocurrencies to invest in for April?
The best cryptocurrencies to invest in depend on your investing goals. Looking at the coins and tokens with the biggest year-to-date gains offers one starting point, although you should keep in mind that past performance is no guarantee of future returns.
Why have crypto prices been going down in 2022?
Cryptocurrency prices have come under pressure so far in 2022 as increased volatility on the financial markets has led to a risk-off environment.
Is crypto a good long term investment?
Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile, making them high-risk investments. Whether you choose to add cryptocurrencies to your portfolio will depend on your risk tolerance and personal circumstances. You should do your own research and never trade money you cannot afford to lose.
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