Grayscale logo with Bitcoin coins.
Grayscale, the asset manager behind the world’s second-largest Bitcoin ETF, has revealed a list of 20 cryptocurrencies to watch in the last quarter of 2024. Compared to its previous list, six new names have been introduced.
Although it includes famous names such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, the manager claims that all assets have high volatility and should be considered high-risk investments. One of the reasons cited is the US presidential election, scheduled for November.
Grayscale focuses on established cryptocurrencies, but also brings in lesser-known names
Founded in 2013, Grayscale has become a benchmark in cryptocurrency funds. Before its Bitcoin fund was converted into an ETF, the manager managed 619 thousand bitcoins (R$ 221 billion).
Even with 364,000 bitcoin outflows since January, GBTC is still the 2nd largest ETF on the market today. In addition, it also manages the largest Ethereum ETF in the world and dozens of funds for other currencies.
In a note published this week, the manager revealed 20 cryptocurrencies for investors to follow in the 4th quarter of 2024, divided into different categories.
Unsurprisingly, at the top of the list are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Toncoin, four of the 10 largest cryptocurrencies on the market.
In relation to Artificial Intelligence, a sector that has been gaining strength, there are Near, Akash Network and Bittensor. Focused on scalability are Stacks (linked to Bitcoin) and Optimism (linked to Ethereum).
“Optimism, a layer 2 of Ethereum, is helping to scale the Ethereum network and has developed a framework for building scalability solutions called “Superchain,” used by Coinbase’s BASE and Sam Altman’s Worldcoin.”
The DeFi sector continues with the same names, Uniswap, Aaave and Maker (which has undergone a rebranding to Sky) and Aerodrome. Helium appears in the DePin category (acronym for Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks), Celo in the stablecoin sector, and UMA Protocol, linked to Polymarket, in prediction markets.
“Celo and UMA benefit from unique adoption trends: stablecoin usage and prediction markets.”
Rounding out the list are Chainlink, Sui, Arweave, and Lido DAO.
“Sui is a third-generation blockchain developed by a team of former Meta engineers,” Grayscale wrote. “Two months ago, Sui underwent a network upgrade that increased its transaction speed by 80%, surpassing Solana; this has led to a recent surge in the network’s adoption.”
In the image below, the cryptocurrencies highlighted in gray are those that were added in this new report.
Grayscale lists 20 cryptocurrencies to keep an eye on in the last quarter of 2024. Source: Grayscale/Reproduction.
From the previous list, the manager removed the cryptocurrencies Render, Mantle, ThorChain, Pendle, Illuvium, and Raydium.
Finally, the manager notes that the cryptocurrency sector may be pressured by macroeconomic events, with particular emphasis on the US elections. Given this, she recommends monitoring these scenarios.