Top six cryptocurrencies under $2 that overtake Bitcoin

Bitcoin price has been surging so quickly in the past few years, reaching a high above $64,800. With the rising popularity of decentralized finance (DeFi) and altcoins, many investors consider other cryptocurrencies that may provide better upside and a lower entry price. 

In the past year, Bitcoin has gained 572.2%. Looking at digital currencies with lower absolute prices, these crypto assets may provide even higher returns than BTC. All of the following digital currencies to be discussed have already outperformed the pioneer cryptocurrency in the past year and are currently trading below $2. 

The lower price enables investors to have a higher purchasing power of units of the digital asset. With only $2,000, investors can buy up to 1,000 coins. If the cryptocurrency ever reaches above $20, that is already over ten-fold on the original investment. 

Dogecoin (DOGE)

The canine-themed digital asset was created as a joke to mimic the rising price of Bitcoin. Since then, Dogecoin has taken off and even received an enormous push from Elon Musk’s endorsement on Twitter. The meme-based cryptocurrency has rallied many times following Musk’s tweets about DOGE.

Dogecoin issues 5 billion new DOGE each year and currently has a total of 128 billion tokens, averaging around an annual increase of 3.9%. The cryptocurrency is trading at $0.49 at the time of writing and has a total of over $64 billion in market capitalization, ranking fifth among the top digital assets. DOGE is up by 20,457% over the past year. 

Ripple (XRP)

Ripple has had a long history following its creation in 2012. In December 2020, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, the creator of XRP. The securities regulator alleged that the blockchain firm illegally sold XRP tokens as securities without registering with the authorities. 

Despite the ongoing legal battle, Ripple aims to be a real-time payment settlement system. The cryptocurrency is trading at $1.53 and has a vast community supporting the digital asset in spite of the SEC case. XRP currently has a market cap of over $70 billion. 

Cardano (ADA)

Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum before 2.0, Cardano uses a consensus mechanism based on a proof-of-stake validation. All ADA holders can stake their Cardano and get rewarded. This process uses significantly less electricity than mining cryptocurrencies like BTC. 

Cardano continues to roll out new smart contract capabilities and applications that run on its platform. Founded by IOHK, the blockchain network is moving toward a fully decentralized system. ADA is currently trading at $1.81, with a market cap of over $58 billion. As adoption continues to grow for the cryptocurrency, the token could rise in value. 

VeChain (VET)

VeChain is a blockchain platform focused on enhancing supply chain management and business processes. Several large enterprises have already been using the blockchain network to track their inventory. 

VeChain also works with numerous universities worldwide in blockchain research and development, including Stanford University and MIT. With a market capitalization nearing $14 billion, the cryptocurrency trades for only $0.21. Despite its low absolute price, VET has surged by over 5,000% in the past year. 

Stellar Lumens (XLM)

Stellar Lumens acts as a blockchain protocol catered toward payment systems, easing money transfers around the world. Since 2017, Stellar started working with the Ukrainian government to develop a national digital currency. 

Founded by Jed McCaleb, who served as the CTO for Ripple, Stellar received initial funding from payments startup Stripe and donations from organizations including BlackRock, Google and FastForward. The digital asset currently trades at $0.70 with a market cap of over $16 billion. XLM has climbed by over 1,000% in the past year. 

Polygon (MATIC)

Polygon, which recently rebranded from the Matic Network, is a multichain scaling solution for Ethereum. MATIC is an Ethereum-based token that powers the Polygon Network, providing faster and cheaper transactions on the Ethereum blockchain using Layer 2 sidechains. These sidechains run alongside the Ethereum main chain.

Polygon has a wave of new partnerships recently, including the integration of the Ocean Protocol and Aave. MATIC has recorded multiple new all-time highs recently and is now trading at $1.10. Despite having the lowest market capitalization of $6 billion among the cryptocurrencies mentioned above, its aim to reduce high ETH gas fees could propel the token’s price higher in the future. MATIC price has climbed by over 7,000% in the past year.