What are the traits of a legitimate cryptocurrency project? Apart from being based on a solid, dynamic idea, it should be backed by a strong team and ideally, VC funding. It’s always better if the team does a little more than just releasing the whitepaper, and has a working version of the product that solves real problems. And if it’s not open-source, the crypto community will probably just ignore it.
Besides, it should have lots of publicity so people actually know about it.
In the past few years, we’ve seen dozens, if not hundreds, of blockchain projects that claimed to be the next Bitcoin or Ethereum killer. Most of them are long-forgotten, but there are a few that keep on reaching milestone after milestone, that stick to their roadmaps, and are making a good name for the whole crypto industry.
Today we’ll review the 5 most talked about crypto projects of 2020 and see what the hype is all about.
- Chainlink
Chainlink is not a newcomer and has been conquering the crypto space since 2014. They managed to raise $32 million by running an ICO campaign and some of you have probably even held their LINK tokens in Lumi. However, this year has been especially prosperous for the project and it’s time to put in a word for it.
If you run a platform powered by smart contracts, you know the pain of connecting them to real-world data via APIs. Single node solutions are not ideal as you have only one node to rely on.
Chainlink is an oracle network that works on connecting blockchain space and off-chain data sources, and making this process smooth and secure. Plus, it’s decentralized which means one point of failure is no longer an issue.
Chainlink’s solution is perfect for the emerging DeFi industry as it helps in building decentralized infrastructure by operating a network of secure nodes, as well as providing reliable data, an advanced level of security, and collective problem-solving efforts based on the concept of the open-source model. Stablecoins, lending platforms, DEXs – all of them can benefit from implementing Chainlink’s solution. And since the DeFi space is flourishing, it’s no wonder Chainlink is in demand and LINK’s price has been on the rise.
- VeChain (VET+VTHO)
Founded in 2018 as a fork of Ethereum, the VeChain protocol is now based on Thor blockchain. VeChain helps with making transactions transparent, efficient, and more accountable. Main use-cases include IoT, supply chains, and other business processes.
There are two native tokens in the VeChain ecosystem: VET for payments and voting and VTHO for everyday use as a gas fee for running Thor-powered smart contracts. It implements the Proof of Authority consensus algorithm that doesn’t require as much energy as PoW blockchains and allows relatively easy upgrades.
Supply chains have been researching blockchain tech for a while now and have already started using it to enhance business processes and that’s one of the reasons that can explain the rising popularity of the VeChain project. Besides, the company has been actively striking up strategic partnerships in various fields from travel companies to e-commerce.
- Yearn Finance (YFI)
The idea behind Yearn Finance is that it automates lending and undertakes the hard job of researching various protocols to make a decision on which one you should bet on. You can use the YFI token to generate income from depositing stablecoins, such as Tether, DAI, TUSD, or USDC. And by the way, since recently, you can hold and exchange YFI in Lumi Wallet too.
Nowadays, holding is no longer trending, people want to make their money work. That’s probably why so many investors got excited about the idea of receiving returns on their assets and transferred them to the Yearn Finance protocol once the projects established a couple of important partnerships with financial market protocol Aave and derivative exchange FTX.
- Cosmos (ATOM)
Calling themselves the Internet of Blockchains, Cosmos Network is yet another DeFi project that has been regularly mentioned as a promising one. The goal of Cosmos is quite ambitious – it wants to solve three main problems that blockchain has been dealing with for years: scalability, usability, and interoperability. Now, how do they do that?
When talking about interoperability, Cosmos is serious about delivering on their promises. A few weeks ago, in partnership with NEO, ONT, and NEAR, it launched interoperability protocols that will allow developers to build on top of any blockchain of their choice.
- YAM
But not every talked-about blockchain project has a happy ending. Recently the crypto community was shaken by the news about YAM – another DeFi loaning platform that failed miserably.
Started off as an ambitious yield farming platform, in just the couple of days after its launch YAM attracted about $60 million. However, the success didn’t last – a few days later they found a bug in YAM’s smart contract, and once the news was announced the value of the token crashed from $167 to zero.
DeFi-skeptics used the YAM case as an example of the invalidity of the whole DeFi space and its potential danger. A lot of crypto experts criticized the project from the start, calling it a “pump and dump” setup, and scam. Whatever it was, YAM’s code has never been properly audited and the team, together with their supporters from the DeFi space, failed to fix the issue on time.
What had been your favorite coin of 2020 and what you think will dominate in 2021? Let me know in the comments.