Which cryptos to buy and when: The straight answers with no ax to grind

Stock market volatility has been bleeding into the crypto markets…

We’re inching steadily closer to Bitcoin’s halving, an event expected to shake up the crypto sphere …

And the greed/fear propaganda of yesteryear is back.

How do you navigate through this labyrinth of market confusion and misinformation?

Simple. You use cold, hard data and objective, independent, non-conflicted logic.

That’s what we do. And that’s how we come up with our Weiss Crypto Ratings.

Here’s a quick summary of the three coins that get our top ratings right now …

Bitcoin (BTC)

Technology/Adoption: “A”
Market Performance: “D-”
Overall Rating: “B+”

A decade ago, Bitcoin created a decentralized monetary system and declared independence from any institution, both public and private.

Now fast forward 11 years. You should see three important developments ...

First, you see Bitcoin functioning as a fully digital payment system owned and controlled by absolutely no one.

No asset, whether digital or not, has ever performed that function in that way — with one possible exception: Gold.

But in modern times, that function for gold has been little more than a dream held by a minority — never a reality experienced by a majority. Until now.

Second, you see how that unique feature has propelled Bitcoin’s growth from zero to a worldwide asset currently worth approximately $114 billion. Why? Because Bitcoin offers a legitimate alternative to fiat money. It is neutral and borderless. And it was created to be an answer to a global debt crisis.

Third, you see that new challenges have emerged … new blockchain technologies have been created to address them … never-before-imagined possibilities have burst onto the scene … and the crypto-asset industry that Bitcoin launched has moved far beyond the simple peer-to-peer payments it once aimed to revolutionize.

And that leads us to ...

Ethereum (ETH)

Technology/Adoption: “A”
Market Performance: “E+”
Overall Rating: “B+”

While Bitcoin was the world's first public blockchain, Ethereum was the first major improvement.

Ethereum used the same technology that made Bitcoin successful and took it one step further. It allowed developers to create virtually any application through “smart contracts.”

Thus, Ethereum is viewed as the world's first globally distributed public computer.

But it wasn’t done with just improving Bitcoin. Ethereum is determined to improve itself.

Currently, Ethereum is so popular that the network is routinely overloaded. Transaction times can sometimes become agonizingly slow. Transaction fees can often be exorbitantly expensive.

But, provided it can be fixed, this is a good problem to have because ...

Chronic congestion signals vast and growing adoption, arguably the single most important factor in the long-term success of any cryptocurrency.

And it can be fixed. Developers are working on an upgrade: Ethereum 2.0. The hope is that with this upgrade, transaction time will drop to between three and six seconds.

Bottom line: We have already upgraded Ethereum's Technology grade once. And further upgrades are very possible as we get more clarity on how all this will play out. This combined with its high adoption rating make Ethereum very attractive.

Cardano (ADA)

Technology/Adoption: “B+”
Market Performance: “E+”
Overall Rating: “B-”

Cardano is one of the most complex of all the cryptos we rate. Like other third-generation cryptos, Cardano aspires to be a new and improved version of Ethereum.

But what most sets it apart from the crowd is the way developers are going about building it out: Slowly and methodically.

Why? Because they place top value on getting stuff right the first time.

Compare that to teams that are hell bent on rushing new features to market ... sitting back … and waiting to see what breaks down under the stress of real-world usage.

The latter may be a tolerable strategy for software confined to non-mission-critical applications like gaming.

But it’s intolerable for serious use-cases to which Cardano aspires to provide: Critical infrastructure to the global financial system.

And this dedication to getting things right attracts top-level mathematicians, engineers and computer scientists. For them, it's a chance to work side by side with the best of the best. And this is reflected in one of the highest Technology scores of all the cryptos we rate.

In many ways, Cardano is setting new standards for what distributed ledger technology should look like.

What to Do Now

First, if you’re a long-term investor willing to ride out any near-term storms, this is a good time to get in at relatively good prices.

Second, be sure to watch for your Weiss Crypto Alert issues. And if you’re reading this online, be sure to sign up to get them in your inbox.

Third, learn all about our Weiss Crypto Ratings. They are the only crypto ratings issued by a financial rating agency.

Plus, to our knowledge, they’re the only ones created with total independence and no conflicts of interest.