Today, we are looking into the best Metaverse cryptocurrencies to invest in. This is our concluding article on the Metaverse investment options. In the earlier articles, we covered other great Metaverse investment alternatives, such as the Metaverse Index Fund (MVI), the Metaverse ETF (METV), and the best Metaverse stocks.
Compared to Metaverse-related stocks, ETFs, or index products, Metaverse cryptocurrencies are probably the most volatile/high-risk investment option. However, with higher risks, come higher potential returns! As such, allocating a certain portion of your Metaverse portfolio to these cryptos is a great option. High-risk assets are not something that you should completely stay away from, even if you prefer a conservative investing strategy.
Allocating a modest part of your portfolio to such assets is a much more balanced strategy than ploughing all your funds into low- and moderate-risk alternatives. By totally shunning high-risk options, you are limiting your portfolio’s potential growth.
In turn, for investors with an appetite for risk, these Metaverse cryptocurrencies might be the ideal product.
What Metaverse cryptocurrencies are available on the market?
Let’s first start by clarifying that the Metaverse is a developing concept with varying definitions, depending on who you ask. As such, there is no clear-cut classification of cryptocurrencies into Metaverse vs non-Metaverse coins. In general, cryptocurrencies of blockchain projects with the potential to be part of the future Metaverse or support it in some form are referred to as the Metaverse cryptos. Popular crypto data aggregation portal Coingecko.com currently lists around 120 cryptocurrencies within its Metaverse category. Below are the current top 10 of these, as measured by market cap.
Top 10 Metaverse Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap
Compared to Metaverse-related stocks, ETFs, or index products, Metaverse cryptocurrencies are probably the most volatile/high-risk investment option. However, with higher risks, come higher potential returns! As such, allocating a certain portion of your Metaverse portfolio to these cryptos is a great option. High-risk assets are not something that you should completely stay away from, even if you prefer a conservative investing strategy.
Allocating a modest part of your portfolio to such assets is a much more balanced strategy than ploughing all your funds into low- and moderate-risk alternatives. By totally shunning high-risk options, you are limiting your portfolio’s potential growth.
In turn, for investors with an appetite for risk, these Metaverse cryptocurrencies might be the ideal product.
What Metaverse cryptocurrencies are available on the market?
Let’s first start by clarifying that the Metaverse is a developing concept with varying definitions, depending on who you ask. As such, there is no clear-cut classification of cryptocurrencies into Metaverse vs non-Metaverse coins. In general, cryptocurrencies of blockchain projects with the potential to be part of the future Metaverse or support it in some form are referred to as the Metaverse cryptos. Popular crypto data aggregation portal Coingecko.com currently lists around 120 cryptocurrencies within its Metaverse category. Below are the current top 10 of these, as measured by market cap.
Top 10 Metaverse Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap
Image source: Coingecko.com
We are going to consider the coins from this list. While we could also look at the smaller players in this niche, the crypto market is very volatile as it is to try to figure out a small-cap coin that might do well in a few years’ time (when the Metaverse is realistically available). As such, it would be safer to consider some of these large-cap projects from the top 10 list.
In our view, not all candidates in the top list are actually true Metaverse coins. As noted above, categorizing a crypto as a Metaverse coin is quite subjective. Some of the inclusions in the top 10 list above are not completely aligned with the Metaverse. The clearest example is Elon Musk’s beloved FLOKI coin. Its main utility is to enable purchases from offline stores. While that does have some connection with the Metaverse, FLOKI can hardly be described as a true Metaverse coin. However, the majority of cryptos in the list are fair game for a Metaverse-oriented investment consideration.
Key categories of the top Metaverse cryptocurrencies
The top 10 list of the Metaverse cryptos is dominated by one specific category – gaming. Four of the top 10 cryptos, Decentraland (MANA), The Sandbox (SAND), Axie Infinity (AXS), and Illuvium (ILV) are play-to-earn (P2E) gaming environments. Users can earn cryptocurrency by playing games within these platforms.
There are also platforms that support gaming environments in some way. For instance, Enjin (ENJ) and Magic (MAGIC) are platforms for creating or using NFTs across various games.
While gaming and game-related cryptos dominate the top 10 list, there is a second category that is distinctly different – crypto projects that provide infrastructural support to the Metaverse and its development. The top Metaverse coin in the list, Internet Computer (ICP), is a network of data centers that utilize blockchain technology as an alternative to traditional web-based cloud providers. By providing this useful service, ICP acts as an important infrastructure layer for the future unified Metaverse environment.
The other infrastructural project in the list is Render (RNDR). Render is a decentralized blockchain-based network where one group of users (resource providers) share their computers’ idle GPU power and another group of users (resource consumers) access the GPU power to complete a variety of 2D and 3D computer rendering jobs.
What are the best Metaverse cryptocurrencies to invest in?
Best Metaverse crypto #1: RNDR
Our top choice for a Metaverse investment crypto is the RNDR token. RNDR is one of the two infrastructural projects among the top Metaverse coins. While gaming platforms get all the glory, largely due to their popular appeal among the vast army of gamers, it is the infrastructure-oriented projects that have the biggest potential to benefit from the arrival of the Metaverse.
The graphics, video, and visual demands of the Metaverse are going to be staggering in terms of bandwidth and graphics resources required. Thus, computer rendering will play a critical role in supporting the Metaverse. RNDR, as the absolute market leader in this niche, is positioned perfectly to benefit from the stratospheric rise in rendering jobs. No blockchain project comes even close to RNDR within its very specific and well-guarded niche – complex computer rendering processing.
Best Metaverse crypto #2: ICP
Our second choice for a Metaverse crypto is ICP, the other infrastructural crypto project in the top 10 list. ICP currently enjoys the highest market cap among all Metaverse projects. Focused on the fundamental infrastructural demands of the Metaverse, ICP, similar to RNDR, stands to benefit significantly over the next few years.
While the top Metaverse gaming platforms are locked in fierce competition with each other, ICP’s niche is less crowded. However, our view is that ICP is more vulnerable to competitive pressures than RNDR. ICP is a dominant blockchain-based cloud provider. However, traditional internet cloud providers, including the well-known giants Amazon and Google, are itching to advance into Metaverse-oriented cloud services provision. These companies are likely to go head-to-head with ICP over the next few years.
Despite the possibility of these competitive pressures, ICP has firmly established itself as the dominant crypto cloud service. ICP might not be in a very specialized niche like RNDR, but the project’s position is solid, and the crypto has great investment potential.
Best Metaverse crypto #3: MANA
We have noted that the gaming/P2E niche of the Metaverse is extremely competitive. However, a diverse Metaverse portfolio without a major gaming environment is likely to be lacking. Out of the top Metaverse gaming environments, Decentraland is not only the largest but also the one closest aligned with the Metaverse concept.
Decentraland’s central tenet is virtual land/real estate trading, ownership, and development. This is what the Metaverse will feature very prominently. The other top gaming environments all have land assets and purchase opportunities. However, Decentraland is an environment built chiefly around the digital real estate concept. Perhaps, this feature has so far ensured the game’s top position among all the Metaverse gaming platforms. This feature is also likely to help Decentraland and its crypto, MANA, maintain and strengthen its position when the Metaverse is closer to becoming a reality.
We are going to consider the coins from this list. While we could also look at the smaller players in this niche, the crypto market is very volatile as it is to try to figure out a small-cap coin that might do well in a few years’ time (when the Metaverse is realistically available). As such, it would be safer to consider some of these large-cap projects from the top 10 list.
In our view, not all candidates in the top list are actually true Metaverse coins. As noted above, categorizing a crypto as a Metaverse coin is quite subjective. Some of the inclusions in the top 10 list above are not completely aligned with the Metaverse. The clearest example is Elon Musk’s beloved FLOKI coin. Its main utility is to enable purchases from offline stores. While that does have some connection with the Metaverse, FLOKI can hardly be described as a true Metaverse coin. However, the majority of cryptos in the list are fair game for a Metaverse-oriented investment consideration.
Key categories of the top Metaverse cryptocurrencies
The top 10 list of the Metaverse cryptos is dominated by one specific category – gaming. Four of the top 10 cryptos, Decentraland (MANA), The Sandbox (SAND), Axie Infinity (AXS), and Illuvium (ILV) are play-to-earn (P2E) gaming environments. Users can earn cryptocurrency by playing games within these platforms.
There are also platforms that support gaming environments in some way. For instance, Enjin (ENJ) and Magic (MAGIC) are platforms for creating or using NFTs across various games.
While gaming and game-related cryptos dominate the top 10 list, there is a second category that is distinctly different – crypto projects that provide infrastructural support to the Metaverse and its development. The top Metaverse coin in the list, Internet Computer (ICP), is a network of data centers that utilize blockchain technology as an alternative to traditional web-based cloud providers. By providing this useful service, ICP acts as an important infrastructure layer for the future unified Metaverse environment.
The other infrastructural project in the list is Render (RNDR). Render is a decentralized blockchain-based network where one group of users (resource providers) share their computers’ idle GPU power and another group of users (resource consumers) access the GPU power to complete a variety of 2D and 3D computer rendering jobs.
What are the best Metaverse cryptocurrencies to invest in?
Best Metaverse crypto #1: RNDR
Our top choice for a Metaverse investment crypto is the RNDR token. RNDR is one of the two infrastructural projects among the top Metaverse coins. While gaming platforms get all the glory, largely due to their popular appeal among the vast army of gamers, it is the infrastructure-oriented projects that have the biggest potential to benefit from the arrival of the Metaverse.
The graphics, video, and visual demands of the Metaverse are going to be staggering in terms of bandwidth and graphics resources required. Thus, computer rendering will play a critical role in supporting the Metaverse. RNDR, as the absolute market leader in this niche, is positioned perfectly to benefit from the stratospheric rise in rendering jobs. No blockchain project comes even close to RNDR within its very specific and well-guarded niche – complex computer rendering processing.
Best Metaverse crypto #2: ICP
Our second choice for a Metaverse crypto is ICP, the other infrastructural crypto project in the top 10 list. ICP currently enjoys the highest market cap among all Metaverse projects. Focused on the fundamental infrastructural demands of the Metaverse, ICP, similar to RNDR, stands to benefit significantly over the next few years.
While the top Metaverse gaming platforms are locked in fierce competition with each other, ICP’s niche is less crowded. However, our view is that ICP is more vulnerable to competitive pressures than RNDR. ICP is a dominant blockchain-based cloud provider. However, traditional internet cloud providers, including the well-known giants Amazon and Google, are itching to advance into Metaverse-oriented cloud services provision. These companies are likely to go head-to-head with ICP over the next few years.
Despite the possibility of these competitive pressures, ICP has firmly established itself as the dominant crypto cloud service. ICP might not be in a very specialized niche like RNDR, but the project’s position is solid, and the crypto has great investment potential.
Best Metaverse crypto #3: MANA
We have noted that the gaming/P2E niche of the Metaverse is extremely competitive. However, a diverse Metaverse portfolio without a major gaming environment is likely to be lacking. Out of the top Metaverse gaming environments, Decentraland is not only the largest but also the one closest aligned with the Metaverse concept.
Decentraland’s central tenet is virtual land/real estate trading, ownership, and development. This is what the Metaverse will feature very prominently. The other top gaming environments all have land assets and purchase opportunities. However, Decentraland is an environment built chiefly around the digital real estate concept. Perhaps, this feature has so far ensured the game’s top position among all the Metaverse gaming platforms. This feature is also likely to help Decentraland and its crypto, MANA, maintain and strengthen its position when the Metaverse is closer to becoming a reality.