Best Cryptocurrencies Under 1 Cent

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Contributor, Benzinga
March 29, 2021

Want to jump straight to the answer? You can buy sub-penny cryptocurrencies on eToro!

Just because a cryptocurrency is worth less than a penny doesn’t mean it’s worth investing in. It doesn’t even mean that you’ll be an early investor either; many sub-penny cryptocurrencies have market capitalizations worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars.

This is due to the amount of coins in circulation. Some cryptocurrencies have a maximum supply of a quadrillion tokens, so these assets won’t be reaching $1 per coin any time soon. Read more to learn how to buy cryptocurrencies under a penny, and remember that most of these coins are high risk investments.

Disclosure: ²Sum of median estimated savings and rewards earned, per user in 2021 across multiple Coinbase programs (excluding sweepstakes). This amount includes fee waivers from Coinbase One (excluding the subscription cost), rewards from Coinbase Card, and staking rewards. ³Crypto rewards is an optional Coinbase offer. Upon purchase of USDC, you will be automatically opted in to rewards. If you’d like to opt out or learn more about rewards, you can click here. The rewards rate is subject to change and can vary by region. Customers will be able to see the latest applicable rates directly within their accounts.

What Are Altcoins?

The term altcoin refers to cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. The term stems from “alternative coin.” However, most investors don’t consider Ethereum an altcoin, as it’s large market cap and robust DeFi ecosystem put it in a category of its own.

Many subcategories of altcoins exist within the cryptocurrency industry. One of the hottest categories of altcoins right now are meme coins, like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and Floki Inu. If you’re investing over the long term, then staying away from trending meme coins may be a good idea. 

Some more promising types of altcoins include DeFi (decentralized finance) tokens like Uniswap, Aave, Compound and MakerDAO. These cryptocurrencies have real utility, and they generate revenue through smart contracts on Ethereum.

One of the newest categories of altcoins are Binance Smart Chain tokens. These tokens are only available on PancakeSwap, and many of them have prices far under 1 cent. However, many of these coins don’t have a minimum viable product, and their values are purely determined by speculation.

Recommended lecture: BEST CRYPTOCURRENCIES UNDER $1

Market Capitalization vs. Token Price

Although getting into a cryptocurrency like SafeMoon at a price of $0.0000039 per token may be appealing, what really matters is market capitalization when it comes to a cryptocurrency’s growth potential. SafeMoon has an initial supply of a quadrillion tokens, so even if SafeMoon grows to be worth a trillion dollars (by market capitalization) each token would still be worth less than a cent.

How To Use a Decentralized Exchange

Some altcoins, like SafeMoon and Shiba Inu, can be acquired through a decentralized exchange (DEX). To use a a DEX, you’ll need to download an Ethereum wallet on your computer; MetaMask is the best option, as it has a Google Chrome extension that makes it easy to interact with Uniswap’s and PancakeSwap’s exchanges. 

Uniswap

Since your MetaMask wallet will be set to Ethereum’s network by default, Uniswap is slightly easier to use than PancakeSwap. All you have to do is send Ethereum to your MetaMask wallet address and you’re good to go.

Once your funds are in MetaMask, go to Uniswap.org and navigate to “pools.” Instead of making an account with Uniswap, you'll need to connect your wallet to the website. After connecting your wallet, search for the token you want to purchase and enter the amount you want to buy.

Once your transaction is approved, the tokens should appear in your wallet within a few seconds. You may need to add the cryptocurrency token’s address to your wallet to track your funds which can be done through MetaMask’s interface. 

PancakeSwap

Before you use PancakeSwap, you’ll need to connect your MetaMask wallet to Binance Smart Chain. If you need help connecting your wallet to PancakeSwap, check out how to buy SafeMoon for more detailed information.

After connecting to the BSC network, you can connect your wallet to pancakeswap.finance. Once connected, you can trade BEP-20 tokens through PancakeSwap in a similar way to trading tokens on Uniswap.

Best Cryptocurrencies for Less Than a Penny

  • Dent (DENT) has created a global marketplace for mobile data as well as eSIM cards for users to access the internet. Since the project is blockchain-based, users are able to truly own their mobile data and only pay for what they need. The project has already acquired over 25 million users, and each Dent token costs just under ⅓ of a cent with a market cap of around $300 million.
  • HOLO (HOT) offers alternative distributed ledger technology for hosting smart contract platforms. What's more, HOLO is environmentally friendly. Sustainability has gained importance in light of Elon Musk’s comments on Bitcoin’s energy consumption, causing coins like HOLO get more attention. You can buy HOLO today for less than a cent, coming in at a significant discount from its all-time high price of almost 3 cents.
  • IOTA (MIOTA) has a current market price just under $1, and this price is technically for 1 million IOTA. The platform differs from other cryptocurrencies because its distributed ledger technology isn’t actually a blockchain; this allows for quick payments and immense scalability while maintaining the security of distributed ledger technology. In the future, IOTA aims to be the medium of exchange for the internet of things (IoT) for processing micropayments, an industry with huge growth potential. The best exchange to get your hands on IOTA is eToro.
  • Shiba Inu (SHIBA) has gained popularity after Dogecoin tweets from celebrities like Elon Musk. While Shiba is seen as a meme coin, it's more functional than Dogecoin. Also, its market capitalization is much smaller than DOGE. Since Shiba Inu is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, the platform aims to build a DeFi ecosystem called ShibaSwap. ShibaSwap will let investors stake their Shiba Inu tokens for interest in the near future. You can buy Shiba Inu today on Webull.

Cryptocurrency Exchanges 

Since most of these sub-penny cryptocurrencies are smaller market cap coins, they aren’t available on all U.S based exchanges. binance offers a ton of cryptocurrency offerings, but most investors prefer U.S based exchanges like Coinbase, eToro and Webull.

Dent, HOLO, Iota and SafeMoon require a Binance account to invest. To make a Binance account, you’ll need to provide personal identification information to abide by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. It may take a few weeks to get approved for a Binance account, but given the variety of cryptocurrencies on the platform it’s well worth the wait.

If you’re looking to get into Shiba Inu, then you’ll need to open an account with Coinbase, eToro, or Webull. Webull is currently offering free Shiba Inu tokens to new users on the platform for a limited time. Once you’ve purchased Shiba, you’ll be able to send it to a cryptocurrency software wallet to use your funds on ShibaSwap to earn interest. 

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Store Your Cryptocurrency Safely

Since centralized exchanges hold custody of your cryptocurrency, they’re big targets for hackers. If an exchange is hacked, then any funds stored on the exchange could be seized. Many cryptocurrency exchanges have had security breaches in the past, leaving investors coinless.

To mitigate this risk, you should store your cryptocurrency in a crypto wallet that you have complete control over. The 2 most common cryptocurrency wallets are hardware and software wallets. Software wallets are applications that encrypt your cryptocurrency on your device, whereas hardware wallets are physical devices that store your crypto offline.

Since hardware wallets store cryptocurrency off the internet, it’s the safest way to store cryptocurrency. If you’re investing a significant amount of money into crypto or plan to hold your tokens over the long term, then a hardware wallet is the way to go.

Best Hardware Wallet: Ellipal Titan

The Ellipal Titan is among the most secure and easy to use hardware wallets on the market. Unlike other wallets, the Ellipal Titan doesn’t have bluetooth connection or even a USB connection. Instead, the Ellipal Titan uses QR codes to send and receive crypto, adding a level of security other wallets simply don’t have.

The wallet has multicurrency capabilities, meaning you can store a variety of crypto in the wallet without needing several devices. The Ellipal Titan resembles a smartphone, with a large touch screen that allows you to track your crypto portfolio. What’s more, Ellipal currently has a sale on their flagship wallet, saving you $30 off the normal price.

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Cryptocurrency Markets

Heading into 2022, cryptocurrencies are trading significantly below their all-time high prices. While the short-term sentiment remains bearish, many long-term investors are still bullish on the asset class. Despite this sustained positive sentiment about blockchain applicability, the volatility present in the current markets can be partly explained by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Additional news surrounding a potential tightening of policy from the EU regarding proof of work coins could also be a factor here.

Unlike the stock market, digital assets trade 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For this reason, it’s probably a good idea to track your investments using a portfolio tracker app or accept that you’re in for the long-term so you simply don’t need to check day-to-day pricing. For the most up-to-date crypto prices, check out our table below.

Altcoins vs. Bitcoin

Generally speaking, altcoins are more risky investments than Bitcoin. Bitcoin has much more mainstream adoption than any other cryptocurrency. It also has the largest market capitalization of any cryptocurrency on the market. If you don’t think that the altcoin you're buying will outperform Bitcoin over your investment horizon, then you may be better off simply buying Bitcoin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

Can I invest $1 in cryptocurrency?

A

Certain apps such as WeBull allow you to invest as little $1 in cryptocurrency.

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