For much of the year, Bitcoin (BTC 2.72%) has dominated crypto market headlines -- and for good reason. The new spot Bitcoin ETFs in January marked a watershed moment for the crypto industry, and Bitcoin's climb to a new all-time high galvanized investors in the spring.
But I think focusing too much on Bitcoin right now would be a mistake. After all, there are plenty of cryptos that are outperforming Bitcoin right now, including some that rank among the largest cryptocurrencies in the world by market cap. Here are two that have my attention right now: Solana (SOL 5.32%) and Toncoin (TON +0.00%).
Solana
Let's start with Solana, which is up 62% thus far this year. That comes on the heels of a blockbuster 2023, when Solana was up more than 900% for the year. So it's obvious that Solana has some pretty impressive upside potential. Arguably, this upside potential is even higher than Bitcoin's.
CRYPTO: SOL
Key Data Points
The reason why I'm most excited about Solana is because it is now the leading rival to Ethereum (ETH 4.57%), which still ranks as the top Layer 1 blockchain network. But Solana appears to be gaining ground quickly on Ethereum, thanks primarily to the blockchain's faster transaction processing ability and lower fees. In short, Solana is faster and cheaper to use than Ethereum, and users and developers are sitting up and taking notice.
As a result, key blockchain metrics used to gauge overall performance are starting to shift in Solana's favor. Within decentralized finance (DeFi), an area where Ethereum has reigned supreme for years, Solana is starting to put a dent in Ethereum's market dominance. Total monthly trading on decentralized exchanges is now higher on Solana than on Ethereum. Granted, a large part of this has to do with the massive trading of meme coins on Solana, but this trend shows no signs of fading anytime soon.
Moreover, Solana could become the next major cryptocurrency to get its own spot ETFs. These exchange-traded fund (ETF) products have been a smash hit for both Bitcoin and Ethereum, so spot Solana ETFs could be coming soon. This summer, for example, two investment firms filed spot Solana ETF applications with the SEC. While regulatory approval might be a long shot right now, there's still the chance that Solana could get an ETF bounce sometime in late 2024 or early 2025.
Image source: Getty Images.
Toncoin
Most likely, you've never heard of Toncoin, despite it being the ninth-largest cryptocurrency in the world, with a nearly $17 billion market cap. The "Ton" in Toncoin used to stand for "Telegram Open Network," but after a major brouhaha between Telegram and the SEC in 2020, it now stands for "The Open Network." That being said, Toncoin is still highly leveraged to the overall success of Telegram's encrypted messaging platform. That's a big deal, because Telegram has 950 million monthly active users worldwide.
For the year, Toncoin is up an impressive 187%. A big part of that has to do with the success of so-called "tap-to-earn" games. To play these games, you open up the Telegram app, choose a game on the Toncoin blockchain, and then tap on your phone all day to earn points and rewards. In turn, those points and rewards can often be transformed into cryptocurrency. The first blockbuster tap-to-earn game (Notcoin) from Toncoin is now worth over $1 billion.
In the interest of serving The Motley Fool's readers, I've played around with these tap-to-earn games from Toncoin, and I must say that I've been pleasantly surprised. I can understand why some of these games have attracted millions of users, and why crypto gaming is starting to generate a lot of buzz.
For tap-to-earn, the value proposition is so easy to understand that even a small child can grasp it: Click mindlessly on your phone for as long as you possibly can, and you could make money. Maybe a lot of money, even. That might sound deeply cynical and skeptical, but I'm actually quite bullish on the future of crypto gaming, especially when it's combined with a major social media platform like Telegram.
Better than Bitcoin?
Of course, it's impossible to forget about Bitcoin entirely. It's just that Bitcoin has been trading sideways or down for much of the summer, and it's only natural to look for other cryptocurrencies that could outperform over the short to medium term. Over the long term, I'm still all aboard the Bitcoin train.
But it is certainly worth taking a closer look at both Solana and Toncoin. Both are Top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Both have outperformed Bitcoin year to date. And both are at the forefront of major trends in the crypto world. But, as is the case any time you are investing in crypto, be sure to do your due diligence in advance, even if it means tapping on your phone for an entire afternoon.
