2022 was tough on crypto prices, but ETH, LDO, MATIC, DAI and ATOM all made a positive impact on the industry.
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Bitcoin and Ether and the crypto market had a rough 2022 from a price perspective, but traders are hopeful that 2023 will include bullish developments that push crypto prices higher.
Despite the market-wide downturn, a handful of altcoins continued to make a positive contribution to the crypto space and , the term altcoin is no longer a derogatory term.
Let’s explore the top altcoins that made a difference in 2022.
Ether’s price hit a yearly high at $3,835 on Jan. 2 and has struggled to regain footing . The Ethereum network is the top project in 2022 not because of Ether’s price action, but for its fundamentals and for . The on Sept. 15, 2022 and while many feared the merge to could cause issues, the .
The main advantage of PoS is that it is much more energy-efficient than because it does not require expensive and energy-intensive hardware to validate transactions. This reduces usage costs for the end user and makes it a more sustainable and scalable solution for Ethereum's long-term growth. The Merge also reduced the Ethereum network’s energy .
Some post-Merge due to its emissions schedule becoming deflationary. Although daily active users have increased for the network, emissions have remained inflationary and from yearly highs.
In 2023, investors are hopeful that increased transactions on the network creates higher demand for Ether and that this translates to a boost in the altcoin’s price.
Lido’s in Ethereum PoS as validators by providing a simple interface for betting without having to reach the high threshold the network requires to stake.
Since launching, Lido has earned $158.8 million in fees from their staked Ether protocol. At the peak, Lido saw 823 daily active users on Sept. 17.
These partners use Polygon in various ways, including integrating the Polygon network into their infrastructure and using Polygon to offer distributed ledger technology (DLT) for their products and services.
In 2022, Cosmos focused on solving the interoperability and communication challenges that exist between different blockchains. On Jan. 1, Cosmos had 74 active developers and this figure more than doubled, reaching a peak of 154 on Nov. 30.
Overall, Cosmos has the potential to be an important infrastructure layer for the crypto ecosystem, helping to facilitate the exchange of value and information between different blockchain networks and enabling a more interoperable future.
With the Ethereum network , Lido will have a busy Q1 and all the Ether staked in the platform will have the option of being withdrawn. Aztec Connect, the creator of Lido protocol also recently to build an encrypted blockchain.
Mass adoption requires traditional companies and brands to get involved in crypto. Polygon has a major focus on partnerships and some of the relationships developed in 2022 include , , and .
Notable companies, , also chose to launch NFTs on Polygon. In addition to Cointelegraph, former President , , and all launched NFT collections on Polygon.
Some traders expect a due to on-chain metrics showing traction and bevy of future partnerships. Despite all of Polygon’s growth, the Ethereum network still intakes more fees.
Polygon’s focus on combined with their partnerships, earned them a spot as a top altcoin project in 2022 .
In a year that saw and perish, Dai has shown resilience. Unlike centralized stablecoins, DAI is a decentralized stablecoin that provides transparency, censorship resistance, and the ability to operate outside traditional financial systems.
While DAI is not new to the crypto space, the decision to such as treasuries and bonds earns them a spot as a top altcoin. According to an from Sebastien Derivaux, a crypto scholar, this decision generated 75% of all DAI revenues (600 million.)
In a year plagued with cross-chain casualties, Cosmos’ (IBC) has so far . The success and fund managers at VanEck.
While 2022 is a year , positive factors in mass arose. The altcoins with a focus on building will continue to propel crypto’s future in 2023 and beyond.
