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The cryptocurrency market is quite volatile. So much so that last year was marked precisely by the rise and fall of virtual currencies. And that's where two questions come in: is it good to invest in these assets thinking about long periods? Furthermore, what are the best cryptocurrencies to invest in for the long term?

Cryptocurrency in the long term

And one answer was unanimous among professionals: cryptos do serve as long-term investments.

“After all, the direction that cryptocurrencies are taking is often based on interpretations of what the future will be like. For example, in relation to the understanding of currency, the economy, the internet itself and technology. Therefore, investing in cryptocurrencies in the long term is indeed advisable”, says Felipe Martorano, CNPI analyst.

On the other hand, for Gabriel Fioravante, professor at FIA Business School, the only cryptocurrency in the long term is bitcoin (BTC). “Because of its entire structure and inflation contingency mechanisms. As for other cryptos, we must always maintain greater proximity to the projects behind the asset. This is because, in many cases, these plans end up being finalized [and money can be lost]”, he explains.

What are the best cryptocurrencies to invest in for the long term?

But, unlike Fioravante, the other experts interviewed believe that other virtual currencies may also be interesting for longer periods.

“The cryptocurrencies that are best suited for the long term are those that actually have a project that provides a solution using blockchain. In addition, another factor to analyze is the time that a crypto has been around. The older it is, the greater its capitalization and consequently its trust in the market”, points out Marcelo Magalhães, CEO of Ribus.

That said, what are the best cryptocurrencies to invest in for the long term?

According to Felipe Martorano, the ideal is to start with bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH). “This way, the investor is unlikely to have permanent losses,” he believes. In addition to these, other good cryptocurrencies in the long term are: polygon (MATIC) and stacks (STX).

“Investors who prioritize the usability of cryptocurrency, choosing tokens with well-defined purposes, rather than focusing solely on the hype or narrative of the moment, are more likely to achieve above-average performance in the long term,” points out Martorano.

Inside Cryptocurrencies in the Long Term

And of course, before you go out there and invest part of your wealth in one of the best cryptocurrencies for long-term investment, you need to know them.

After all, as we said at the beginning of this report, virtual currencies are quite volatile. So, it is necessary to understand the project behind cryptocurrencies, the possible financial returns and whether they are in line with your objectives.

So, to help you get a little more up to date on the world of digital currencies, we’ve put together a brief summary of each one. And as a bonus, we’ve also included the average yield of cryptocurrencies last year. Check it out:

Bitcoin (BTC)

With an average return of over 155% throughout 2023, bitcoin (BTC) was the first digital currency that was fully decentralized and independent of the traditional financial system.

It is a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic money that provides the user with the ability to send and receive money from anywhere in the world. This at any time of the day and without the need for a single intermediary.

“Bitcoin (BTC) is considered digital gold and has a maximum supply of 21 million coins. This guarantees its integrity, in addition to working on its direct relationship with its controlled inflation model,” says Gabriel Fioravante.

To learn more about this virtual currency, just check out the article we published here.

Ethereum (ETH)

With an average financial return of 90% last year, ethereum (ETH) is a decentralized open-source platform capable of running smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) through its own blockchain network.

“Unlike the bitcoin network, the ethereum network is fully programmable. Which means that developers can use it to create any type of application and generate more and more demand and value for the network”, explains Martorano.

We also produced an article about ethereum (ETH) which you can see here.

Polygon (MATIC)

Created 7 years ago, this cryptocurrency – which had an average financial return of over 28% last year – is a second layer solution (Layer2) of the Ethereum network. The project aims to solve the main problems of scalability and high fees of the network.

“Its purpose is to allow developers and users to create and run decentralized applications (dApps) at an affordable cost without compromising important security and decentralization points of the Ethereum network,” says the analyst.

To learn more about polygon (MATIC), just click here.

Stacks (STX)

With more than 616% average return in 2023, stacks (STX) essentially represents a secondary layer (Layer 2) of bitcoin (BTC). And which was designed for the execution of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps).

“Its main advantage lies in the ability to use bitcoin (BTC) as the main asset for settling transactions. This results in more efficient and, above all, safer operations,” comments Martorano.

According to the expert, Stacks (STX) features an innovative mining mechanism. “This is because users transfer the base currency, BTC, to mine STX. This establishes the security of the Stacks blockchain using BTC itself as the foundation,” he explains.

Thus, Martorano says that stacks (STX) has considerable potential to become a crucial tool in the cryptocurrency market. “The aim is to integrate the agility of Ethereum’s smart contracts with the security of one of the most established and decentralized networks in the world: Bitcoin,” he says.

Can the yield cycle repeat itself?

Therefore, after discovering which are the best cryptocurrencies to invest in for the long term, the question that remains is whether the cycle of good financial returns can happen again.

For example, an investor who bought crypto 10 years ago and did well, can we say that this is happening again? See what the professionals interviewed have to say.

“In my opinion, there is still room for new investors to enter the world of cryptocurrencies and start investing. It is likely that Bitcoin (BTC) will not reach a 100x appreciation again like it did 10 years ago. But it will continue to stand out as a promising asset class. With much more potential for appreciation and asset protection than the traditional stock market,” believes Felipe Martorano.

However, the expert says it is important to emphasize that 100-fold appreciations will still occur in other cryptoassets with lower market value. “Therefore, anyone who wants to see such exponential appreciations as Bitcoin (BTC) 10 years ago will need to take more risks.”

In Marcelo Magalhães’ view, the crypto market repeats cycles. “Several cryptocurrencies that emerged after Bitcoin (BTC) provided million-dollar opportunities for early investors. So, if you evaluate a project well, understand the fundamentals and realize that they really bring solutions through technology, you can indeed take advantage of another wave,” he says.

Finally, Gabriel Fioravante’s opinion is not so optimistic. “We can never say that assets will continue to rise. After all, we treat cryptos as a variable income market. In turn, bitcoin (BTC) has several mechanisms linked to supply and demand, and has a tendency to seek new price levels”, he concludes.

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