Top 20 Cryptos to Watch This Q4: Grayscale’s Insights Revealed

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Grayscale, a prominent crypto asset management firm, has released a comprehensive report identifying sectors likely to experience significant growth in the last quarter of the year, driven by a notable resurgence in the cryptocurrency market, specifically for major players like Bitcoin (BTC) and several altcoins that have reached price points not seen in over two months.

Grayscale Identifies Major Trends in Crypto

In its latest report published on Thursday, Grayscale updated its Crypto Sectors Indexes, revealing new trends emerging within the digital asset realm. Significant trends noted include the rise of decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, initiatives aimed at tokenizing traditional assets, and an increase in the popularity of memecoins.

Importantly, both Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency sector have outperformed other market segments in 2024, influenced by the successful rollout of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) within the US earlier this year and favorable macroeconomic dynamics following the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate reduction on September 18.

Ethereum, having increased by 13% this year, has not matched Bitcoin’s performance but still outshines many other cryptocurrencies. The Grayscale Crypto Sectors Market Index (CSMI) has experienced a slight year-to-date decline of about 1%, with the Smart Contract Platforms Crypto Sector Index falling around 11%, indicating that Ethereum’s performance remains relatively robust compared to its counterparts.

Despite facing challenges, Grayscale continues to recognize Ethereum as the leader in the Smart Contract Platforms sector, boasting the highest number of applications, developers, and fee revenue.

Top 20 Cryptocurrencies for the Upcoming Quarter

For its quarterly Top 20 cryptocurrency list, Grayscale conducts a thorough analysis of hundreds of digital assets. This list represents a diverse selection of assets with significant potential for the upcoming quarter.

Among the highlighted performers are Sui (SUI), Bittensor (TAO), Optimism (OP), Helium (HNT), Celo (CELO), and UMA Protocol (UMA). Below is a comprehensive list of additional assets that Grayscale is closely monitoring.

Sui, a blockchain developed by former Meta engineers, has gained attention following a recent network upgrade that improved its transaction speed by 80%, now exceeding Solana’s performance.

Optimism, a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum, plays an essential role in enhancing the Ethereum network’s scalability. It has introduced a framework known as the “Superchain,” which is employed by various platforms, including Coinbase’s Layer 2 BASE.

Celo and UMA are leveraging unique trends, with Celo emphasizing stablecoin applications and payment solutions in developing regions, particularly targeting Africa. The platform has recently outperformed Tron in stablecoin transactions, while UMA serves as an oracle network for numerous decentralized applications like Polymarket.

Helium’s positioning in the Top 20 emphasizes Grayscale’s focus on industry leaders with sustainable revenue models. The project has distinguished itself as a pioneer in decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), expanding its network to over one million hotspots while generating notable fee revenues.

Bittensor, which operates at the intersection of AI and cryptocurrency, has gained recognition within Grayscale’s evaluations, primarily due to enhancements in market structure, providing a decentralized platform for AI innovation.

In this quarter’s revisions, Grayscale has removed several assets from its list, including Render, Mantle, ThorChain, Pendle, Illuvium, and Raydium. Although Grayscale sees inherent value in these projects, the updated Top 20 list aims to offer investors better risk-adjusted returns in the forthcoming months.

At the time of this writing, the highest performer in Grayscale’s top 20 list is Bittensor’s TAO token, which has experienced an impressive 86% increase over the last fourteen days and a remarkable 841% surge year-to-date, currently trading at $536.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com