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“Unicorns” are used by venture capitalists to refer to firms valued at more than $1 billion.
This is because these startups have solid fundamentals and in many cases a first-mover advantage that helps them gain value rapidly, making them ideal investment opportunities for yield-seeking funds.
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While the world's attention has been focused on the Coronavirus pandemic, the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and the recent r/Wallstreetbets social investing phenomenon, the crypto sector has quietly ascended to a total valuation of over $1.2 trillion.
There are currently more than 55 unicorn projects that have a market cap of over $1 billion. The top 18 projects by market cap.
Recent Bitcoin (BTC) evangelism from the likes of Michael Saylor, Mark Cuban and Elon Musk are helping shine a spotlight on the nascent crypto industry, and with it comes the discerning eye of institutional investors who will quickly want to look beyond BTC to what other promising opportunities exist in the space.
Some of the top projects include smart contracts, decentralized finance protocols, privacy tokens, oracles, and even humor-oriented meme coins. Here are some of the best crypto unicorn projects as mainstream institutions make their entrance to the cryptocurrency markets.Top crypto unicornsBitcoin is still the biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, while it has surpassed $843 billion in market cap and holds more than 61% of the market.
The longest-running blockchain possessing the strongest mining network of all cryptos, Bitcoin (BTC) is likely to be the first port of call for investors.
Market cap percentage as a percentage of total market value.
Source: CoinmarketcapSimilar to how many current crypto enthusiasts entered the market, Bitcoin will be the initial introduction to the concept and pave the way for further exploration.
The second leading choice is Ethereum (ETH), at a current market cap of $196 billion, as it is the most widely deployed smart contract platform in the world and the home of most of the top DeFi protocols.
Similar to how many of the current crypto faithful got involved in the space, Bitcoin will be the “gateway coin” that introduces the concept and leads to further exploration.
Ethereum (ETH), with a current market cap of $196 billion, is the obvious second choice as it is the most-utilized smart contract platform and home to a majority of the top DeFi protocols that have surged in popularity in recent months.
Other legacy projects that have survived multiple bull-bear cycles and achieved unicorn status include Litecoin (LTC), which has emerged as a reliable value transfer alternative to the higher fees and longer block times of BTC, and the privacy-focused Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC), which paved the way in bringing anonymity to blockchain transactions.
Uniswap’s UNI token was originally airdropped on the interface to users who took a chance on the protocol while it was still in development, however now users can purchase UNI tokens on all major centralized and decentralized exchanges.
Furthermore, the protocol was backed by venture capitalists to allow for further development.
Its current market cap of $5.9 billion and token price of $19.79 makes Uniswap one of the coolest plays in the market.
SushiSwap, another unicorn competitor to Uniswap, is currently valued at $1.8 billion.
Uniswap’s UNI governance token was initially airdropped to users of the interface who took a chance on the protocol while it was still in development, but now the token can be found on all major centralized and decentralized exchanges.
As DEXs have allowed the growth of DeFi, lending protocols are now providing the highest value for total value locked (TVL) and the higher token values. Maker (MKR), AAVE and Compound (COMP) are the leading platforms with the highest TVL. A total of $15.63 billion is presently deposited in smart contracts that interact with the protocols. Its market caps range from $2.1 billion to $5.98 billion.
Investors have become increasingly attracted to staking protocols that remain a good investment regardless of the high yields. Listed companies in DeFi are likely to pique the interest of investors looking for long-term growth prospects.
The recent record-high gas fees have opened the door for other platforms to deliver layer-2 solutions, so that there's a real need for oracles that can communicate data securely across platforms.
Maker (MKR), AAVE and Compound (COMP) are the leading platforms when measured by the total value locked (TVL) in the protocol. Since it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 31 , DOT has grown its market cap to $18.8 billion, and Kusama has joined the unicorn club after the market cap just broke the $1 billion mark for the first time on Feb. 6.
Recently, Cardano, also a 2017 ICO-era project, has been seen growing in interest following its implementation of smart contracts and hints of future DeFi-related ventures. Cardano's market cap is $19.8 billion at present, and the integration of DeFi could drive its value higher since the digital currency has yet to engage the liquidity offered by decentralized exchanges.
Having been the first-movers in the field, THETA introduced blockchain-based video streaming (on Feb. 4) and recently added smart contract functionality, which enables the creation of non-fungible tokens, while also launching the Thetaswap DEX.
As more participants move into the crypto space and new blockchains emerge to fill certain niches, communication between these separate blockchains will become essential to the overall health and continuous growth of the industry.
Source: CoinGeckoChainlink (LINK) is the top oracle project based on protocol integration and valuation.
Today, LINK is valued at $10.37 billion and the project's recent integration with Kraken is expected to add importance to the project.
The Graph (GRT) and UMA have only recently reached unicorn status, in response to the 2021 bull market. 6.
Interestingly, Cardano (ADA), one of the 2017 ICO-era projects, has also started gaining momentum in recent weeks following the addition of smart contracts to the protocol and hints of future DeFi related endeavors.
In addition to the announcements on multiple partnerships, GRT has also provided links to DOT and BINANCE Coin (BNB).
Theta captured the first-mover advantage when it comes to blockchain-based video streaming and the project has recently added smart contract functionality, the ability to create non-fungible tokens, and they launched the Thetaswap DEX on Feb. 4.
Oracles join the party
These projects may turn into unicorns in the near future as the decentralized finance sector approaches its early stages, so there is likely plenty of value that can be found in them. These views and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Cointelegraph.com.
Each investment or trading step involves some level of risk, so you should perform your own research before making a decision.
Chainlink (LINK) is the top oracle project in terms of protocol integrations and its valuation. These startups typically have strong fundamentals and oftentimes a first-mover advantage, which is good news for yield-seeking funds looking for opportunities to invest.
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The current market cap of the top 18 projects differs from the 25 projects that currently comprise the unrealized value. Today there are 55 unrealized value projects.
The ‘unicorn’ herd will expand
Bitcoin burst onto the financial scene more than twelve years ago and has steadily forged a path to prominence that governments and the global financial system can no longer ignore.
Those projects no longer focus solely on making cryptocurrency a global form of exchange.
Some of the top projects include smart contract platforms, decentralized finance protocols, privacy tokens, oracles and even humor-oriented meme coins.
Uniswap's main competitor, SushiSwap, has also been classified as unicorn with a valuation of $1.8 billion.Bitcoin, the OG of cryptos, is the cornerstone of the crypto space. With a market cap of $843 billion, it accounts for 61% of the total market value of cryptocurrency. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
