Top 13 Cheapest Cryptocurrencies to Invest in December 2024

Renowned for its rapid transaction processing, XRP is a standout among other digital payment protocols. Its lower market cap of $82.10 billion in comparison to giants like Bitcoin makes it a more accessible investment for those looking to step into the crypto market.

XRP stands out in its functionality: the crypto can be used to handle micropayments, which could enable new types of internet business models, such as monetizing web content or paying for streaming services on a per-use basis. It has been therefore been touted as a means to facilitate faster and more cost-effective cross-border payments, and is often considered to be a crypto with the potential to offer a genuine alternative to traditional financial models. Moreover, the XRP ledger offers real-time settlement, allowing for the completion of transactions within seconds.

Praised for its rigorous peer-reviewed research foundation, Cardano is a forward-thinking crypto that champions a more sustainable blockchain ecosystem. Its affordability, with a market cap of $34.72 billion, is matched by its potential to build a secure and scalable decentralized future.

Cardano is the brain-child of Charles Hoskinson. Like Ethereum, Cardono is a smart contract driven platform, often distinguished by its scientific philosophy and research-driven approach.

The team overseeing the protocol adopts a methodical progression in its development. This approach emphasizes peer-review and high-assurance coding practices, aiming to ensure that changes and updates are thoroughly vetted and tested before implementation.

From a whimsical meme to a crypto with serious traction, Dogecoin continues to defy expectations with its strong community support and growing use in online transactions. DOGE is a testament to how even lighter-hearted assets can hold a significant market cap in the digital economy, ($9.12 billion).

In 2021, electric carmaker Tesla began to accept Dogecoin as part of a test run. The company would later go on to accept the memecoin officially in 2022, along with Bitcoin. While Tesla eventually halted all support for Bitcoin and sold off most of its holdings, the company continues to accept Dogecoin as payment.

Aiming to decentralize digital entertainment and content creation on the internet, TRON combines high scalability and efficient transaction processing. Its community-driven initiatives like “HackaTron,” fostering innovation in areas like DeFi and GameFi, make it a compelling choice for investors interested in technology-driven digital assets.

Tron holds a large amount of USDT on its blockchain. At times it has even surpassed the amount of USDT held on Ethereum and accounts for almost half of the total supply of Tether.

As a solution enhancing Ethereum’s scalability, Polygon has carved out a niche in supporting decentralized apps and NFTs. Its lower market cap of $4.51 billion makes it a promising choice for those betting on the future of Ethereum’s ecosystem.

The Polygon ecosystem is promoted as the “value layer” of the internet. Some of its products consist of public chains, zk technology, and a rollups as a service development kit (CDK). Some of the projects that are already utilizing Polygon’s CDK are Astar, Immutable, OKX, and Canto.

Another meme-based crypto, Shiba Inu’s affordability and enthusiastic community base make it an intriguing, albeit speculative, choice for investors. SHIB stands with a market cap of $15 billion.

The memecoin made headlines when the creator(s) of the project sent a significant amount of SHIB to Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin. However, this was merely the beginning of a chain of noteworthy events.

Vitalik went on to burn more than 410 trillion SHIB, about $6.7 billion at the time. He also gave 50 trillion to an India Covid relief fund. The price of SHIB immediately spiked to a level it has not been able to reclaim since ($0.00008616).

Focusing on streamlining cross-border transactions, Stellar offers a practical use case in the global financial system. It is an affordable option for those interested in the impact of blockchain on traditional banking, with a market cap of $15.27 billion. XLM has experienced a significant valuation spike since its March 5, 2015 launch. Here are some of the key applications for which XLM has been promoted:

• XLM aims to enable quick and inexpensive cross-border transactions.

• The Stellar network supports micropayments by allowing for transactions with very low fees, which can be beneficial for small-scale transfers.

• Stellar’s platform is designed to extend financial services to parts of the world that are currently underserved by traditional banking systems.

A rising star in the blockchain world, Kaspa promises high-speed transactions and scalability. Its growing market cap of $3.78 billion indicates increasing investor interest, making it a noteworthy choice for those looking to diversify with newer technologies.

Kaspa is a proof-of-work cryptocurrency that utilizes a unique consensus mechanism, GHOSTDAG, an off-branch of Nakamoto consensus. In its implementation, Kaspa allows for orphan blocks to co-exist, faster confirmation times, and faster block times (one block per second).

Backed by the renowned Crypto.com, Cronos aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the crypto industry. Its lower market cap of $4.63 billion offers a gateway for investors to engage with a platform that’s expanding the utility of cryptocurrencies.

Holding CRO gives you special perks and is built on the Cronos blockchain. Cronos is crafted to bolster the creator economy through web3 applications, encompassing DeFi and gameFi. It is an Ethereum-Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible blockchain that utilizes Ethermint and is built using the Cosmos SDK.

Utilizing unique hashgraph technology, Hedera excels in speed and security. Its market cap of $5.26 billion reflects the growing interest in alternative blockchain technologies prioritizing efficiency and sustainability.

Hedera is a public platform allowing developers to create secure applications with fast consensus. It’s governed by leading global companies like Google, IBM, and Boeing. It acts as a layer for applications and public networks to securely send verifiable messages, a feature that is particular useful for applications in 2024.

Unlike most meme coins, PNUT was not born from a meme. Rather it was created after the internet sensation, P’nut, a male eastern gray squirrel, that made headlines when it was taken from its owners and euthanized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

In less than a month it amassed a market cap of over $1 billion, much higher than many other projects that have been around for a lot longer. As a result of internet virality, it has become a popular asset, all while maintaining a cheap price.

Algorand is generalizeable blockchain. It was created by award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali in 2017. It came to prominence being one of the first pure proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains, which allows anyone to earn and validate the blockchain without a significant amount of experience.

Although it has been around for some time, it has consistently traded for under $4.00 since its inception, making it one of the cheapest cryptocurrencies to invest in.

The Sandbox is a popular Ethereum game that was founded in the early days of the metaverse hype. It allows users to create a virtual world and integrates non-fungible tokens into the gaming experience. It uses a play-to-earn model and decentralized autonomous organization to keep users involved.

It has been around for some time and achieved its all-time high, upwards of $6.00, during the 2021 bull run. Since then, it has consistently traded for under $1.00, making it a cheap cryptocurrency to invest in.