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A popular crypto analyst is naming his top altcoin picks as the crypto markets head into a new year.<\/p>\n
In a new interview with Altcoin Daily, Into the Cryptoverse founder Benjamin Cowen tells<\/a> the channel\u2019s 1.8 million YouTube subscribers that layer-1 blockchain projects are his primary focus of interest.<\/p>\n First and foremost is leading smart contract platform Ethereum (ETH).<\/p>\n \u201cObviously there\u2019s Ethereum, but that\u2019s sort of the \u2018altcoin index.\u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n You want your altcoins to outperform Ethereum or at least oscillate against it. Look at their ETH values over the macro scale.<\/em><\/p>\n MATIC I think is a good project, layer-2 scaling I think is important. <\/em><\/p>\n But also Cardano, Polkadot, Avalanche.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The multi-chained scaling solution Polygon (MATIC) has gone on an epic run in 2021, rising from $0.03 to a new all-time high of $2.88 last Saturday. MATIC<\/a> has since corrected and currently trades for $2.49.<\/p>\n Also high on Cowen\u2019s list is scalable decentralized blockchain platform Cardano, whose native token ADA ranks 6th by market cap. The altcoin has seen a roller coaster of price action, launching from $0.18 to a summer high of $2.91. Currently, ADA<\/a> is valued at $1.33.<\/p>\n Cross-chain interoperability protocol Polkadot (DOT) ran from a January low under $10 to highs above $47 in May and $54 in November, but has since corrected heavily and DOT<\/a> now trades for $26.56.<\/p>\n Last on Cowen\u2019s list of favorites is layer-1 smart contract platform Avalanche<\/a> (AVAX). The AVAX token started 2021 trading for around $3.50 but has gone on a series of epic rallies, ultimately grinding up to an all-time high of $144.96 in late November. The 11th-ranked crypto asset is exchanging hands for $101.04.<\/p>\n Moving on to his honorable mentions, the popular chart guru likes smart contract platform Solana<\/a> (SOL), which started the year under $2 and soared to nearly $260 back in November. The altcoin is valued $170.84 at time of writing.<\/p>\n \u201cSolana, I think it\u2019s decent, it\u2019s a little more centralized than I would like. <\/em><\/p>\n But it doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s necessarily a bad thing for some people, because some people just prefer that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Cowen remains interested in oracle network Chainlink (LINK) despite native token LINK\u2019s disappointing numbers in relation<\/a> to ETH.<\/p>\n \u201cChainlink is an interesting one because it\u2019s one that did really well in the bear market. <\/em><\/p>\n I hold it and it\u2019s not met my expectations this market cycle.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m looking for that one to do something good in 2022 because frankly, it\u2019s down 90% against Ethereum over the last 18 months.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Chainlink started the year under $12 and reached an all-time high of $52.70 back in May, before crashing to $20.10 and ultimately $13.88 by July, before grinding its way back up in recent months.<\/p>\n LINK has had a rocky past month, reaching a high of $26.81 before crashing to $17.61 and then climbing back above $24 briefly. Chainlink<\/a> is trading for $19.62 at time of writing.<\/p>\n In contrast, Ethereum<\/a> has seen a breakout year, rising over 400% from $730 to its current valuation of $3,647.<\/p>\n Last on the list of runner-ups is Ethereum competitor Terra (LUNA) whose native token LUNA underpins a suite of decentralized stablecoins. LUNA<\/a> began the year at $0.64 and has witnessed major gains. Currently, it\u2019s trading for $83.41.<\/p>\n Cowen wraps up by saying,<\/p>\n \u201cThe main projects that I follow are Cardano, Polkadot, Avalanche, MATIC, LUNA, Solana.<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s really hard to go wrong if you just look at the top 10 or 20. Get layer-1s, a couple of layer-2s, an oracle.<\/em><\/p>\n I think that\u2019s a great crypto portfolio right there.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n