Over the past few years, the world has known the consequence of the blockchain congestion problem: a slow execution of transactions. This has motivated developers worldwide to look for a solution to the issue. The market has started talking about “Ethereum killers” in this context.

This definition is probably overly provocative. Although Ethereum has known problems of chain congestion, the ETH 2.0 (or Ethereum 2.0) project should bring important news to the field. Meanwhile, the market is experiencing growing competition, with obvious benefits for blockchain users and crypto enthusiasts.

This article will mention some of the cryptocurrencies labeled as “Ethereum killers” with excellent growth potential in 2022. However, the content of this review should not be viewed as financial advisory. On this matter, we encourage readers to do their research before investing in the markets. 

This being said, let’s jump into crypto investment ideas for 2022.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano is an open-source project to create a public blockchain platform whose consensus comes with a Proof of Stake (POS) method. The POS system consists of the concrete demonstration of the possession of cryptos.

There is currently a great deal of interest around its currency, known as ADA. ADA is the exchange token in Cardano’s peer-to-peer intelligent contracts, and it is one of the most popular altcoins on the market today.

Like all tokens that came after Bitcoin, it aims to improve its system scalability, speed, and level of security. Therefore, we are talking about a third-generation cryptocurrency that exceeds even the technology of Ethereum.

Created by the co-founder of Ethereum, Charles Hoskinson, Cardano’s goal is to create a more sensitive blockchain to environmental sustainability. If you have followed the events of Bitcoin and Tesla Inc., you will know well how the market is concerned about the ecological impact of cryptos. 

Unfortunately, the environmental aspect is a bad business card for the cryptocurrency industry. Nevertheless, this issue has dramatically influenced the most influential investors, who have gladly turned to Cardano. With a structure backed by academic researchers, Cardano and ADA have all the characteristics to succeed in 2022.

Polkadot (DOT)

Polkadot is a project designed to join several cryptocurrency networks. It is commonly referred to as a multi-chain system because it can interact with more than one blockchain.

Its ultimate purpose is to act as a framework for all blockchains that support the technology. The idea is to take care of the messy and expensive cryptocurrency mining processes and allow developers to focus on creating dApps and smart contracts.

Two blockchains can connect via Polkadot and work in parallel as “parachains”. The purpose of this operation may be, for example, to access proof-of-stake validation of transactions.

Blockchains linked to Polkadot can use their own POS mechanism, decide when and how to update their code, and execute dApps. It is essentially a freedom of choice that allows chains to maintain their security and incorporate new protocols.

When Bitcoin and Ethereum dominated the market, no one felt the need to connect different chains. However, with the rise of alternatives to the two market giants, this has become an absolute necessity. In 2022, therefore, it is reasonable to expect growth in the popularity of the cross-chain sector.

Tezos (XTZ)

The Tezos project is the first in the crypto industry to present a self-upgradeable open-source blockchain.

Its primary purpose is to create decentralized applications (dApps) and Smart Contracts governed by its users. The evolution of the project is not based on the mining process but the peer-to-peer mechanism. Other than that, the initiative grows on its Liquid Proof-of-Stake (LPOS) technology and the On-chain Governance system.

The project was unveiled to the public in 2014 via a white paper developed by the heads of the Tezos Foundation.

The document focused on the proposed computational energy distribution through peer-to-peer technology. It came with a thorough analysis illustrating the multiple advantages offered by this method, still poorly exploited by blockchain ecosystems.

The technology used by Tezos and its extremely democratic functioning gives an essential value to the entire initiative. Moreover, compared to other projects, Tezos seems to have the strength to create a new ecosystem capable of slowing Ethereum’s race to success in 2022.

Solana (SOL)

Solana’s idea consists of creating a cryptocurrency that can solve the main problems of the previous blockchains. Apart from this, Solana wants to offer a system suitable for developing the DeFi sector, creating dApps and smart contracts.

In this perspective, the Solana cryptocurrency project began in 2017. Based on a new technology, the development of Solana was completed in only three years. During this phase, the project’s team paid great attention to developing a fast and reliable network.

Solana is based on a blockchain network developed on a protocol allowing over 50,000 operations per minute. Therefore, we are talking about an average of 1,000 transactions per second, making Solana one of the most efficient and fastest chains in the entire crypto universe.

But how is it possible to achieve such high speed in a notoriously congested sector? The secret lies in a new type of algorithm that takes the name of “Proof of History” (POH), combined with a POS system. 

A futuristic payment method cannot, in any way, afford to operate in a system that is too slow. Precisely for this reason, we believe that Solana is among the most exciting projects to follow during 2022.

Crypto 2022 – What about the other altcoins?

The altcoins mentioned in this review are just the tip of the iceberg of a rapidly growing sector. We could also have noted, for example, promising initiatives of the calibre of Stellar (XLM), Binance Coin (BNB), Avalanche (AVAX), given the success already achieved in 2021.

What is certain is that in 2022 we should observe a strengthening of trends that are already forming. The attention to a green blockchain, the search for rapid transaction systems, and the exploration of the Metaverse are just some of these.