The current cryptocurrency market is witnessing a substantial surge, capturing the attention of investors. While cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum remain prominent with their notable performances, there is a growing interest in more budget-friendly alternatives.
Investors with a greater risk appetite may find it advantageous to allocate a segment of their investment capital, typically between 10% and 20%, to these alternative coins. This strategy offers an attractive opportunity to diversify their portfolio and position for significant gains in the upcoming bullish market. Here are three cryptocurrencies priced below $10 that warrant consideration.
Uniswap (UNI)
Uniswap (UNI) is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange that has transformed the market through its innovative Automated Market Maker (AMM) model. This model eliminates the need for traditional order books, providing a streamlined method for direct token swaps on the blockchain without intermediary involvement.
Operating as a decentralized protocol, Uniswap allows anyone to create liquidity pools for various tokens, making it a go-to platform for trading new crypto assets before their listing on centralized exchanges.
Decentralized exchanges across different blockchain platforms have widely adopted the AMM model introduced by Uniswap. Uniswap maintains its position as the most active decentralized exchange regarding trading volume.
Governance of the Uniswap protocol is in the hands of UNI token holders, who can submit and vote on proposals. UNI tokens were distributed through an airdrop to past Uniswap protocol users in 2020 and are now available for purchase on various trading platforms.
Furthermore, Uniswap has expanded its offerings by introducing a non-custodial mobile wallet supporting the Ethereum mainnet and compatibility with the Arbitrum and Optimism layer two scalability platforms.
UNI is priced at just about $5, but it reached $42.4 at its all-time high and might see a significant price increase in the upcoming bull market.
Cosmos (ATOM)
Cosmos (ATOM) is a network that facilitates interoperability among different blockchain platforms.
It’s part of the Cosmos Hub, a Proof-of-Stake blockchain that oversees the ecosystem and enables connections with external blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The communication between various blockchains within Cosmos is facilitated through the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.
The Cosmos Hub and other blockchains within the Cosmos network are constructed using the Cosmos SDK framework.
These blockchains benefit from a robust Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, ensuring secure transactions with a fast processing time of approximately 7 seconds and minimal transaction costs, around $0.01 per transaction.
The native cryptocurrency of Cosmos is known as ATOM. Participants can stake their ATOM tokens, thereby bolstering the network’s security. In addition to the gratifying accrual of staking rewards, individuals are given the enchanting opportunity to partake in a slice of the transactional symphony, indulging in a share of the musical transaction fees orchestrated by the network.
Cosmos is set to undergo its v9-Lambda upgrade on March 15, introducing replicated security (RS) to the network.
This upgrade allows blockchains within the Cosmos network to lease security from the Cosmos Hub, streamlining the process for validators. Replicated security aligns with the broader concept of interchain security (ICS) gradually implemented by the Cosmos project.
This upgrade provides Cosmos-based projects the advantage of focusing on their unique strengths without the added concern of managing validators and security.
Also, ATOM stakers may witness increased yield, as up to 25% of fees collected by “consumer chains” will be directed to Cosmos Hub stakers.
The current value of ATOM stands at $9.18, and there is anticipation that the forthcoming update could contribute to a price increase.
Although the project is still in its early stages, investors seeking portfolio diversification and potential guaranteed upward price movement might consider ATOM investment worthwhile.
Celestia (TIA)
Celestia (TIA) is a modular blockchain that utilizes data availability (DA) sampling to enable the integration of multiple rollups and Ethereum-based DApps into its ecosystem.
In modular blockchains, the pivotal function of full nodes is to uphold the network’s integrity and security. Without delving into intricate technicalities, it’s important to note that full nodes must download and execute all transactions to create verifiable proofs.
However, if some block producers withhold certain transactions, it results in a “data withholding attack.”
While full nodes can detect this by checking for missing transactions, light nodes lack this capability.
Celestia addresses this challenge through Data Availability Sampling, enabling light nodes to verify data without downloading the entire block.
This involves random sampling of a small portion of block data, and once confidence reaches a certain threshold, the block becomes available.
Celestia launched its maintet less than a month ago, generating a lot of traction among investors in Layer2 (L2) projects.
Celestia witnessed a slow start in on-chain activity after the launch, but this dampened investors’ enthusiasm, leading to a rally in its token, reaching $6.30 – 200% higher than its debut price of around $2.10.
TIA is the native token for Celestia, with a total supply of 1 billion. The token mechanism is designed to inflate at 8% in its first year, decreasing by 10% each year (7.2% in the second year, 6.48% in the third year, etc.) until it reaches a floor of 1.5% annually.
The primary use case for the TIA token is to pay for the blob space. Roll-up developers must submit payforblobs (PFB) transactions to the web for a fee denominated in TIA to use the Celestia network for DA.
Celestia’s success depends on adopting applications and protocols relying on its DA layer.
According to Messari, Celestia will need to capture 2x the rollup adoption of Ethereum to justify the valuation, so a steep correction in TIA market price is anticipated before a considerable rally in the next two years.
However, now might be an excellent opportunity to begin accumulating the coin, as short-term fluctuations may be inconsequential if the project attains success.
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