“That’s not all, when you put this all together, it’s a fact that now even the average investor is well aware of Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency movement, so no investor would want to miss out. But the high costs makes it worth reiterating Bitcoin is far from being the only cryptocurrency out there.”

There are plenty of other options if you want to get your crypto fix away from the big names, evaluated Deshell and Brody Dunn, an investment manager at a UAE-based asset advisory firm, who gave their thoughts on five cheaply priced tokens that have the most potential to grow.

What used to be a far-flung investment is now front and center in the financial press. Even financial networks talk about Bitcoin daily and keep a ticker up on the screen showing the current price

– Brian Deshell, a UAE-based cryptocurrency trader and analyst

1. XRP (XRP)

Coin price as of February 7: $0.5 (Dh1.8) per token

XRP is a cryptocurrency that was developed by Ripple, a crypto tech company that facilitates global transactions. Ripple says XRP was built for payments and can settle transactions faster, more reliably and at a lower cost than is possible over standard global payment infrastructure.

“While investing in XRP is risky due to the high price volatility and the difficulty in predicting future trends in the cryptocurrency market, it arguably presents the most robust and clear-cut use case in the crypto industry,” said Dunn.

“Our most recent Ripple price forecast indicates that its value will increase by 24.07 per cent and reach $0.63 [Dh2.20] in the months to come. So the more you buy of the token, the more your earnings growth will be. Don’t read too much into near-term volatility.”

2. Dogecoin (DOGE)

Coin price as of February 7: $0.1 (40fils) per token

Although originated as a fake meme, Dogecoin has profited its investors with real returns. The coin is certainly ‘cheap’ at less than $0.10 (30fils) per coin as of February 7, especially compared to its yearly week high of $0.1572 (60fils).

“Unlike many other cheapest cryptocurrencies that serve actual functions, Dogecoin was created as a satirical take on Bitcoin. The coin has a history of rising and falling based on hype and tweets by Elon Musk. It spiked in the weeks leading up to Musk’s purchase of Twitter,” added Deshell.

“Dogecoin remains a promising investment — this cryptocurrency can still rally in the future. Of course, it is still a volatile asset, but in the context of the crypto market, this can make it an even better investment. You can use it as an asset for both long- and short-time investments.”

3. Chainlink (LINK)

Coin price as of February 7: $7.36 (Dh27) per token

Chainlink is another token that is used to securely connect to payment systems. “It describes itself as enabling real-world data to expand the capabilities of smart contracts while maintaining the upsides of blockchain technology — namely, it has security and reliability guarantees,” added Dunn.

“The chainlink price moves in fits and starts and currently sits at $7.36 [Dh27], up by over 7 per cent year over year, giving investors a chance to buy cheap. Chainlink has shown significant potential with growing adoption in various sectors.”

Further, multiple research notes indicate that buyers are constantly eyeing the next price mark of $20 (Dh74), which provides an entry signal for newbie investors who are currently on the sidelines, added Dunn.

While investing in XRP is risky due to the high price volatility and the difficulty in predicting future trends in the cryptocurrency market, it arguably presents the most robust and clear-cut use case in the crypto industry

– Brody Dunn, an investment manager

4. Cardano (ADA)

Coin price as of February 7: $0.25 (Dh1) per token

At less than $1, Cardano remains one of the cheapest cryptocurrencies — even more so now, amid the cryptocurrency slump that knocked it back from an all-time high of $3.10 in September 2021 (Dh11.39), which is a level analysts see the crypto rebounding to in the coming months.

“Cardano is a platform built on a protocol called ‘Ouroboros’, which can validate transactions without high energy costs. Its developers say Ouroboros allows the Cardano network’s provides the ability to sustainably scale to global requirements without compromising security,” added Deshell.

“So far, Cardano has an impressive record. By late 2021, it had processed over 20 million transactions with no downtime, and it recently launched ADACash, a rewards token that gained 10,000 users in less than a month. It has become a popular for transaction exchanges.”

5. Shiba Inu (SHIB) – Coin price as of February 7: $0.1 (40fils) per token

Shiba Inu is an August 2020-launched token that aims to be an alternative to the above-listed popular meme coin Dogecoin (DOGE). “SHIB’s meme token acquired speed and value rapidly as a community of investors was attracted by its cuteness, headlines, and tweets from notable figures and crypto billionaires,” added Dunn.

“SHIB investors seem hopeful that the game will increase the coin’s popularity. But in the last year, SHIB has seen a price drop of over 30 per cent. The falling prices could present an opportunity for investors. But only time will tell what the future has in store for SHIB.

“Despite falling precipitously from its high, the SHIB token is still up massively since its inception. A rally for the broader crypto market could push SHIB higher in 2024. Although the token could rise above recent prices, dropping lower than $0.1 is very unlikely.”