What makes investing in cryptocurrencies so attractive for many is the potential for almost unlimited upside. Even cryptos that have already seen 10-fold returns could still have another 10-fold in them as soon as the next bull-market rally arrives. Because so many cryptos are trading at rock-bottom prices right now, many of them could reclaim former highs as soon as market sentiment improves.
But we're not just looking for cryptos with the potential to double or triple in value. We're looking for the types of investment plays that can transform you into a crypto millionaire. Choose the right crypto, and you could be retiring early. Polygon (CRYPTO: MATIC), Cosmos (CRYPTO: ATOM), and Chiliz (CRYPTO: CHZ) are three cryptos that should be on your investment radar right now.
Polygon
At the top of the list is Polygon, which is the top Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). By investing in Polygon, you gain access to all the upside potential of Ethereum but at a much lower price entry point. Ethereum has traded almost as high as $2,000 this summer thanks to all the positive sentiment surrounding the Merge, a project to improve the blockchain. In contrast, Polygon is still trading for less than a buck. At that low price, it's perhaps no surprise that Polygon more than doubled in value this summer as investors sought out additional ways to make money on the Merge.
Image source: Getty Images.
The really exciting aspect of Polygon is how much potential it will have after the Merge. It is much more than just a leveraged bet on Ethereum. Thanks to partnerships with companies like Disney, Polygon is rapidly transforming into a very exciting play on the future of Web3, the metaverse, and blockchain gaming. It's not unreasonable to think that a $1 investment today could soar in value during the next few years if Disney decides to include Polygon in future entertainment projects.
Cosmos
While many casual crypto investors might never have heard of Cosmos, it has emerged as a very popular coin for crypto staking. On crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), for example, Cosmos is just one of a handful of coins you can stake for passive income. You can now earn a 5% annual percentage yield by staking Cosmos.
OK, OK, you're probably thinking: 5% annual returns is not going to make me a millionaire. Maybe not. But Cosmos is exciting for another reason: It's also a massive leveraged bet on the "multichain" future. What this means in lay terms is that the future will consist of hundreds if not thousands of different blockchain projects, all of them connected to create value. And Cosmos will be the glue for all of those blockchains as well as for all the decentralized apps built on those blockchains. As such, Cosmos is calling itself the "Internet of Blockchains."
Even big institutional investors are starting to pay attention to Cosmos. For example, New York-based money fund manager VanEck recently put out a $140 price target on Cosmos. That would be almost a 13-fold return given today's price of about $11.
Chiliz
Another option that could make you a millionaire is Chiliz, a next-generation crypto used by sports teams and sports leagues for fan engagement. Over the past month, Chiliz was up more than 125%, and it seems to be gaining tremendous momentum as it signs up more and more sports teams around the world. Chiliz (via its fan engagement platform, Socios.com) has already partnered with top football, basketball, and soccer teams to offer fan tokens.
The concept of the fan token is simple but powerful: Once you acquire a fan token, you can participate in decisions about the team, take part in special VIP events, and gain access to private membership opportunities. The more fan tokens you own, the more valuable they become. To buy these fan tokens, you first need to buy Chiliz. So you can think of Chiliz as a type of cryptocurrency that has special perks and privileges included. What makes Chiliz so compelling as an investment is its huge, worldwide scaling opportunity. Trading at just $0.20 these days, Chiliz could be a 10-fold investment opportunity.
Retiring as a crypto millionaire
These three cryptocurrencies have the key characteristics that we are looking for: They have very compelling future growth stories, they have very affordable entry points, and they all are showing huge upside potential even in the middle of a "crypto winter." All it takes is for a few things to go right, and you could be turbocharging the returns in your investment portfolio with these fast-growing, up-and-coming cryptos.
10 stocks we like better than Polygon
When our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*
They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Polygon wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
*Stock Advisor returns as of August 17, 2022
Dominic Basulto has positions in Ethereum and Polygon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Coinbase Global, Inc., Cosmos, Ethereum, and Polygon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
