First, a recap of 2021: Crypto has had a wild ride this year. From increased institutional and retail adoption to China cracking down on crypto transactions, no other investment asset class has drawn so much market attention.

Through it all, bitcoin kept hitting all-time highs, and it remains the most valuable and widely talked-about cryptocurrency. Yet, on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, some of the top-performing cryptocurrencies have been altcoins likeethereum,up 500%, and cardano, up 1,000%.

Investors seeking similar windfall-like returns must sift through thousands of cryptocurrencies with varying specialties and differing degrees of utility, adoption and promise. In such a diverse market—valued at more than US$2.6 trillion—how can investors decipher which cryptocurrencies to invest in? We’ve saved you the trouble. Here’s what the experts picked.

The best cryptocurrencies for 2022

Ethereum (ETH) – The master of all

Ethereum, or ether, has handily outperformed bitcoin so far this year, a trend experts say will likely continue. Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at financial consultancy firm Century Financial, says ethereum’s strong performance is underpinned by two key factors.

First, ether has a high level of real-use potential. It’s the native cryptocurrency of the ethereum blockchain, which is the main platform for smart contracts, a fast-growing segment of the cryptoverse.

Smart contracts are self-executing agreements that live on the blockchain and use ether as their transactional currency. Ethereum is forecasted to continue holding the largest share of the smart contracts market, which is projected to reach US$345 million by 2026. 

Second, the recent ethereum upgrade, known as the Altair upgrade, has been well received by investors, as it makes the network more scalable and secure. The upgrade is in addition to the successful implementation of ethereum’s “London hard fork” a few months back. This change to ethereum’s underlying code led to record interest in its staking rewards program, says Valecha.

The London upgrade is a significant step in ethereum’s transition from a more energy-intensive proof-of-work (POW) model to an energy-efficient proof-of-stake (PoS) model, scheduled for completion in 2022. 

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