You’ve probably heard the saying before that investors make most of their money in bear markets, not bull markets. And there are a couple of reasons for that: Buying on sale when investors are selling, holding in thought times, and finding great projects.
And that last one, that’s our focus today. Bear Market Altcoin Gems. So today, we look for diamonds in the rough. Let’s take a look at these projects.
1) Polygon
Our first choice is Polygon and its MATIC token. Polygon is one of the longest-running side chains for ETH. But that’s not all it is. It’s a Layer 2 solution for ETH and hosts many apps and games on its chain.
We’ve done a few videos featuring them including one of our great 2 min explainer videos and a recent full-length video on what they are up to. So we won’t rehash all those details here but we will hit some highlights:
- Its Hermez service is one of the leading zk-SNARKS services in crypto. SNARKS is one of the most popular ways of presenting zero-knowledge proofs. These proofs are essential for both privacy and security for Layer 2 solutions. We also think that this part of the crypto-economy will grow faster than the rest of the industry. We are bullish on ZK projects and Polygon
- They have lots of investor backing and confidence. During this brutal bear market, they raised $450 million. It was one of the most sought-after project investments in the industry. Importantly, it means 2 things:
- Investors are confident in the project and
- Polygon has lots of money in their war chest to outlast this tough market we are in.
- They’ve expanded into digital IDs. We see this as another area that could grow faster than the market.
Polygon ID is live 🔥
Today, we’re announcing the launch of the first Polygon ID integration: @0xPolygonID x @0xPolygonDAO!
Polygon ID is a self-sovereign identity solution powered by ZK cryptography that brings huge potential for DAO governance.
Read on! 🧵
[1/10] pic.twitter.com/XDdBpBiHxn
— Polygon – MATIC 💚 (@0xPolygon) June 22, 2022
- At the time of writing this article, MATIC is a huge bargain right now at 54 cents, off from its all-time high of $2.92 in December. Just a repeat of its previous high, something very likely for Polygon to reach, is already a 5x on your investment.
This is one of those cases of buying quality at a bargain. And if you are looking for further trading discounts on your purchases or want to win BIG Bonus amounts sign-up with the AB-Exclusive MEXC campaign. Only 2 days left.
2) Mina Protocol
Our next gem, like Hermez for Polygon, is also in the zero-knowledge area. Mina Protocol. Mina uses zk proofs on its PoS network and its smart contracts are zk apps too. This means you own your data as you use zero-knowledge proofs to prove the required information in an app. Its native MINA token is used for transactions and governance.
Again, privacy is the big watchword here for this blockchain. By using zk-SNARKs to verify chain activity for new users, Mina can maintain the lightest blockchain in crypto. The entire chain is only 22kb. Not one block, the entire chain. So anyone who participates can easily become a full node helping to keep the network decentralized and secure.
Why do We like Mina Protocol?
The privacy theme is big. We think the trend towards privacy will grow faster than the market over the next couple of years. The idea of using zk-snarks is a real innovation. It’s like taking a picture of the chain and sending that around for verification instead of making each node download the entire chain to verify it. ZCash, which is the 3rd largest privacy coin project uses zk-snarks too.
After Loopring, which aggregates rollups, and Polygon, Mina is the top zk-rollup project. But forget about the tech for a second. What counts about Mina is it’s a leading privacy protocol. It’s priced at a fraction of either its privacy peers or its zero-knowledge peers, yet it has both.
This is all we think about! 💭
Privacy is seen as the No.1 advantage of #ZeroKnowledge tech according to this report. And Mina's zkApps provide a way to easily program such ideas, in a scalable way and at a flat fee.https://t.co/0BJIjZ8HFw https://t.co/KCohbUpsmj
— Mina Protocol 🪶 (@MinaProtocol) June 16, 2022
Mina also has lots of strong backers including FTX and the controversial 3 Arrows Capital. But in this case, 3 Arrows has invested the money in MINA already and their separate lending/liquidity issues should not affect its investment in MINA. If you like the privacy angle or the speed and agility of lightweight chains, then you should give Mina a look.
And remember one of the best places to buy Mina and these other gems is MEXC. During our promotion with them, you can earn up to $6,500 in bonuses so sign up today.
3) Cronos
Next, we have an exchange coin, CRO. The nice thing about exchange coins is regardless of market direction if you think people will continue trading they can be a good buy. In this case, CRO is the coin for the Cronos chain, which operates Crypto.com.
We see exchange coins as being bullish on the industry as a whole. People buy and sell in all market conditions. And exchanges earn fees in both directions. Therefore, these are the reasons why we think this project has a lot of potential:
- #1 debit card: This is one of crypto’s best use cases for someone to choose to ‘unbank’ themselves. You get to pay at places that accept Visa/Mastercard but you’re paying with crypto. We see this as a high-growth area in the next couple of years.
- Cronos Chain is now EVM-compatible: Cronos don’t need to try to be #1 or try to be an “Ethereum killer” to get lots of added benefits and adoption to their chain. After all, smart contracts aren’t their primary business. But they will use them for DeFi, NFTs, and other services that complement their exchange offerings.
- Regulatory Approval: Crypto.com has received approval from an important license authority in Singapore. These kinds of announcements are very important to boost adoption.
https://t.co/vCNztABJoG is proud to announce it has received in-principle approval from @MAS_sg for its Major Payment Institution License.
Full details👇https://t.co/vi2Kz87sdV pic.twitter.com/yQ5Qx0Bsih
— Crypto.com (@cryptocom) June 22, 2022
- They strive to be leaders: We like that they are being aggressive in this market. Here are some examples:
- They just announced a new $100 million accelerator program.
- They are recruiting for the first group of companies right now.
- The chain wants to become a big hub for DeFi, Games, and Metaverse offerings.
- CRO has a big discount now: At the time of writing this article, CRO is down 80% from its November high of 96.5 cents to its current 12.5 cents. Like with Polygon, just getting back to its ATH and you are looking at a 7x return from here. Very doable.
4) Immutable X
Immutable X calls itself the first Layer 2 for NFTs on Ethereum. The idea here is for games in the P2E model or if they just want to make money selling tools, weapons, and skins, to be able to mint those NFTs for free. When games can mint for free, they can more easily and cheaply scale.
Building on IMX is some of the biggest gaming developers & IP holders: GameStop, TikTok, Opensea, Illuvium, Ember Sword, VeeFriends & more.
We can't wait to help developers onboard the next billion mainstream users.
🌟Apply at https://t.co/D1cEyyBiBp
6/6
— Immutable | $IMX ⓧ (@Immutable) June 17, 2022
Other features include:
- Ethereum-based security
- Simple SDK and API builders
- Carbon neutral
- Use of zk-rollups. Again with more on the zero-knowledge theme.
Why Do We Like Immutable X?
Immutable X is the leader in the gaming infrastructure of minting NFTs to scale. They have a huge marketplace for trading game NFTs. And they support or integrate with many games including Disney, Marvel, Guild of Guardians, Illuvium, and more.
Like Cronos, they’ve launched a developer fund too. An aggressive move in this market. A fund of $500 million will support the acceleration and adoption of Web3 games.
We're launching the @Immutable Developer & Venture Fund worth $500M to accelerate the adoption of Web3 games & projects.
Learn more ➡️ https://t.co/iUs5uYQsIq
Continue the thread below. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/u5rPPsApAt
— Immutable | $IMX ⓧ (@Immutable) June 17, 2022
And lastly, and not surprisingly, their IMX token has taken a big hit. Down 90% from its high in November, IMX currently trades at 88 cents. That’s 34% off its low from just a couple of weeks ago of 69 cents. And IMX doesn’t even have staking yet, but it’s coming soon. One of the easiest ways to develop token utility and Immutable X has value before even offering to stake.
Finally, they say they want to be the center of the blockchain gaming revolution. And they are positioning themselves to be exactly that.
5) Efinity
Last on our list for today is another old favorite, Efinity. Efinity is ‘the cross-chain superhighway of NFTs on Polkadot’. They won the 6th parachain slot on Polkadot and their parachain is up and running. The goal is NFT interoperability across chains.
It’s hard to talk about Efinity and not talk about Enjin since Enjin developed the Efinity blockchain. Therefore, Enjin developed the ERC-1155 token standard for ETH that we all use for NFTs. And most of their activity is on ETH. But they saw a need for a faster, cheaper blockchain for minting and moving NFTs. Especially for games and metaverse. So Efinity was born.
Why Do We Like Efinity
We are bullish on Polkadot. Most DOT parachains are in a great position to succeed and make crypto more interoperable. Therefore, here are some other reasons why we think you should keep an eye on Efinity:
- Efinity is in the games and metaverse sector: There are some projects like Acala and Centrifuge that are looking at DeFi and lending to interoperate. This is a sector we expect to grow faster than the industry. Betting on infrastructure ‘the picks and shovels’ is smarter than trying to pick individual winners from the games themselves.
On the other hand, although Enjin is a big project, Efinity is not. Its market cap is $58 million, which makes it the smallest on this list. It’s 3x smaller than Immutable X. Although small caps are riskier in this environment, we think the downside for Efinity is limited. Especially with their parachain victory and implementation which will last them almost 2 years before they have to renew.
-
Efinity continues to advance with announcements:
A leading esports NFT marketplace like Ikonic will only help market Efinity to the public and help it grow.
🚨BIG NEWS🚨
IKONIC, the world's first dedicated Esports NFT marketplace, today announces its adoption of Efinity, an NFT parachain built by @enjin.✊#blockchain #crypto #Web3 #NFTs #Bitcoin #Ethereum #gaming
Learn More👇https://t.co/iqeDi4un5X pic.twitter.com/5Hn0LM0PQn— IKONIC (@official_ikonic) May 5, 2022
One of their more ambitious updates is a new wallet coming out soon. The beta is already out for Android that will link all major NFT chains together. A multi-chain NFT marketplace is coming soon too.
On the other hand, from its ATH a year ago in August, it’s down 95% to 15 cents. That’s 30% higher than its low of 11 cents about a week ago.
Therefore, if you like what the Enjin team is about but think you missed your chance there, the same team and same level of execution are happening with Efinity. So you have a chance to get it early here.
Conclusions
And that’s our look at 5 bear market gems. We have 2 from gaming and metaverse with Immutable X and Efinity. We have 2 from privacy with ZK setups in Polygon and Mina.
And we have 2 large caps with Polygon and CRO, which we like due to it being an exchange coin. All these projects are ones we are confident can survive this market and increase in value over the next 2 years. What do you think? What do you like right now? Tell us in the comments.
And don’t forget the giveaway we have going on with MEXC. All 5 of these coins are available to buy, sell or trade there. You can win up to $6500 in prizes and money added to your account if you sign up for a new account and fund it to make a trade. Check it out.
For more cryptocurrency news, check out the Altcoin Buzz YouTube channel.
Find the most undervalued gems, up-to-date research and NFT buys with Altcoin Buzz Access. Join us for $99 per month now.