13 Cheap Cryptocurrencies With the Highest Potential Upside for You (2024)

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Cryptocurrencies are all the rage these days, particularly with speculative investors. What used to be a “fringe” investment is now front and center. Even financial networks like CNBC talk about bitcoin daily and keep a ticker up on the screen showing the current price.

Put this all together and now even the average investor is well aware of bitcoin and the cryptocurrency movement. However, bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency out there.

There are plenty of other options if you want to get your crypto fix away from the big names. Just be aware that each cryptocurrency is unique, and you should consult your financial advisor before you invest in any of these speculative products.

What Are the Top Cheap Cryptos To Buy?

If you’re ready to invest, check out the 13 cheap cryptocurrencies that could generate nice returns in 2024 and beyond:

1. XRP (XRP)
2. Dogecoin (DOGE)
3. Chainlink (LINK)
4. Uniswap (UNI)
5. Cardano (ADA)
6. Polygon (MATIC)
7. Stellar (XLM)
8. The Sandbox (SAND)
9. Decentraland (MANA)
10. NEAR Protocol (NEAR)
11. Shiba Inu (SHIB)
12. Wall Street Memes (WSM)
13. Metacade (MCADE)

1. XRP (XRP)

• Coin price as of May 17: $0.5237

XRP is an open-source cryptocurrency that uses an open-source distributed ledger called XRP Ledger. It was developed by Ripple, an enterprise blockchain 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.

Ripple is currently embroiled in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which alleges it engaged in unregistered securities trading. Last year, a judge issued a summary judgement that said Ripple’s sales to institutional investors did, in fact, constitute securities transactions, while sales to retail investors who purchased through trading platforms did not, Reuters reported. While no remedy has been announced yet, Ripple filed a motion on May 13 to seal documents related to the remedies motion and remedies materials filed by the SEC in March and April.

Ripple’s motion suggests it’s concerned about the consequences of a remedy announcement, so investors should be concerned, too. But whales — digital wallet addresses holding large amounts of crypto — have been buying up XRP since March, increasing their holdings by 110 million coins, according to CoinMarketCap.

2. Dogecoin (DOGE)

• Coin price as of May 17: $0.1539

Dogecoin originated as something of a joke, but it has become quite real for those who have profited from it. The coin is certainly “cheap” at less than $0.16 per coin as of May 17, especially compared to its 52-week high of $0.2266.

Unlike many other cheap 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 2022 purchase of Twitter but has fallen sharply since then.

Of course, that likely doesn’t matter to those who have generated real profits and who are still searching for cheap cryptocurrencies.

3. Chainlink (LINK)

• Coin price as of May 17: $16.18

Chainlink is another Ethereum token that powers the Chainlink decentralized oracle network. This network is used to securely connect to external data sources, APIs and payment systems.

Chainlink describes itself as enabling real-world data and off-chain computation to expand the capabilities of smart contracts while maintaining the upsides of blockchain technology — namely, its security and reliability guarantees. The chainlink price typically moves in fits and starts, but it has been holding its own since a steep decline last month.

4. Uniswap (UNI)

• Coin price as of May 17: $7.53

As a major player among decentralized exchanges, Uniswap automates the trading of decentralized finance tokens between coin holders, allowing anyone who holds coins to create a liquidity pool for any token pair they choose.

Although highly volatile, Uniswap has the advantage of having been an early player in the decentralized exchange space, U.S. News reported. In 2023, the coin surpassed $1 trillion in total trading volume, albeit from just 3.9 million addresses, suggesting UNI still had plenty of room for growth.

5. Cardano (ADA)

• Coin price as of May 17: $0.4832

At less than $1, Cardano remains one of the cheapest cryptocurrencies.

According to Coinbase, Cardano is a blockchain platform built on a proof-of-stake consensus protocol called Ouroboros, which can validate transactions without high energy costs. Its developers say Ouroboros allows the Cardano network’s decentralization and provides the ability to sustainably scale to global requirements without compromising security.

Development on Cardano uses the Haskell programming language. The symbol for the Cardano token, ADA, comes from the 19th-century mathematician Ada Lovelace.

So far, Cardano has an impressive record. By late 2021, it had processed over 20 million transactions with no downtime, according to InvestorPlace. It has become a popular blockchain for non-fungible token marketplaces and DeFi transaction exchanges.

An upgrade called Hydra, which is being implemented in a series of protocols, should increase processing feeds dramatically, InvestorPlace reported, which could eventually trigger higher prices.

6. Polygon (MATIC)

• Coin price as of May 17: $0.7159

Polygon is a decentralized application built on the Ethereum network as a way to expand Ethereum into a multichain system. Backed by Coinbase and Binance, Polygon could be the solution developers need to deploy decentralized applications faster, more efficiently and less expensively, Benzinga noted, calling MATIC the most promising “layer two” token — that is, one built on an existing blockchain.

Analysts say Polygon is backed by a strong team and sound technology, which makes MATIC a good bet in the longer term.

7. Stellar (XLM)

• Coin price as of May 17: $0.1089

Stellar is its own payment network, and it uses stellar lumens as its currency on that network. While the network can be used by anyone, it was envisioned to connect financial institutions making large transactions. On the Stellar network, these types of transactions can be done nearly instantaneously at little to no cost, unlike with traditional, or even competing blockchain, networks.

The price of stellar lumens has been comparatively volatile, and it hasn’t had massive gains high performers have seen. Traditionally, however, XLM and bitcoin prices have moved in the same direction, according to InvestorPlace, so it’s possible that XLM could grow in bitcoin’s wake.

8. The Sandbox (SAND)

• Coin price as of May 17: $0.4485

The Sandbox is a blockchain-based metaverse — a virtual game that uses a “play-to-earn” model that lets users create, buy, sell and collect digital assets in the form of NFTs. They can also create and monetize their own games and earn SAND whenever someone plays them, Benzinga explained.

Pixowl created the game in 2011 to introduce blockchain to mainstream gaming, according to CoinMarketCap. Investors include Atari, Helix and CryptoKitties.

With the current hype around metaverses, blockchain games like The Sandbox might just be getting started. Prices are up almost 57% since a 52-week low of $0.2775.

9. Decentraland (MANA)

• Coin price as of May 17: $0.4366

Decentraland is the token behind an Ethereum blockchain-based virtual reality game of the same name. Securities.io described Decentraland as a 3D virtual world where users buy land on which to develop and monetize content, buy goods and services and visit other properties.

As a metaverse innovator, Decentraland has been signed by Versus Entertainment to help develop its film adaptation of “The Infinite Machine,” which tells the story of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Variety reported. Major retailers including Samsung, Forever 21, Tommy Hilfiger and Estee Lauder have opened digital stores in Decentraland’s metaverse.

10. NEAR Protocol (NEAR)

• Coin price as of May 17: $7.97

NEAR Protocol is a layer-one blockchain designed to be a community-operated cloud computing platform with faster transaction speeds, better output and increased interoperability compared to competing blockchains, according to CoinMarketCap.

Although it lacks the maturity of some of this list’s other blockchains, the collective tasked with updating the initial code and releasing the updates aims to make a highly secure platform that can manage high-value assets like money and identity while providing functionality for “everyday people.”

A proof-of-stake mechanism called Doomslug secures the platform without driving up costs, and Nightshade technology splits up the blockchain’s transaction history to speed up processing, Benzinga reported. The project has the potential to reduce barriers to Web3 adoption — Web3 being the catchphrase for a blockchain-based internet.

To that end, NEAR Protocol recently partnered with Google Cloud. Google Cloud will provide technical support for NEAR Foundation grant recipients as they develop and scale their Web3 projects and decentralized applications, according to the NEAR Foundation.

The coin has seen staggering growth since its 52-week low — 703% as of May 17, although it’s down from a recent high of over $8 this year.

11. Shiba Inu (SHIB)

• Coin price as of May 17: $0.00002491

Shiba Inu is an altcoin named after the dog breed. The coin is compatible with the Ethereum blockchain through a bridging protocol from the Ren Project. A game based on the coin, Shiba Eternity, launched in late 2022. SHIB investors seem hopeful that the game will increase the coin’s popularity.

After a long slump, the coin is up about 138% since February. Whether that surge is based on something more than hype remains to be seen.

12. Wall Street Memes (WSM)

• Coin price as of May 17: $0.007151

Wall Street Memes (WSM) is a recently launched meme coin. The crypto project is using a large social media following to develop community support, and has raised over $30 million so far. The community has a published aim of hitting a $1 billion market capitalization.

According to the community page, this coin was born from the Wall Street Memes movement. It states, “‘Greed is good,'” said Gordon Gekko in the ’80s as he got rich off useless stocks. Around 30 years later, hundreds of arguably even more useless meme coins allow ordinary people to do the same.”

WSM was falling while more serious coins were bouncing back last year, and like many coins, it has fallen this year. Risky as WSM is, if DOGE and SHIB have taught cryptocurrency investors anything, it’s to never assume a meme coin is down for the count.

13. Metacade (MCADE)

• Coin price as of May 17: $0.0108

Metacade (MCADE) is one of the cheapest cryptocurrencies and is tied to a gaming platform and is based on the Ethereum network. The goal of the crypto community is to build itself into the gaming industry by providing new blockchain technologies. It recently partnered with the Blockchain Game Alliance and BandZaiGames and predicts major gaming companies like Ubisoft and Zynga will come on board this year, according to W3 Play’s PlayToEarnGames website.

You can earn MCADE through game testing and contributing as a community member.

Summary

The right crypto purchase could make a big difference to your financial situation. But the reality is the world of crypto is fraught with risk. As you explore your options, consider your other financial goals. In general, crypto should make up a small portion of your portfolio to mitigate risks.

Daria Uhlig and Sarah Sharkey contributed to the reporting for this article.

Data is accurate as of May 17, 2024, and is subject to change.