The surge in XRP and ADA over the past two weeks has taught me humility. Earlier this year, I sold my XRP and ADA holdings to move funds to newer alternatives. Some alternatives such as SUI, ZEUS and BRETT performed well, while others such as SUIMAN, LIKE and FET did not.

XRP, ADA, and other traditional currencies are outperforming many of my picks , but it’s too late for me to actively pursue them. I salute everyone reading this who had the courage to hold onto these currencies when no one in the crypto community was talking about them.

If you follow anyone on YouTube today, I bet you've heard a lot of bragging. Regardless of the channel, I feel like the influencers probably actually believe their stuff doesn't stink.

But the reality is that in the past month, someone may have mentioned any coin, and there is a good chance that the price of that coin will go crazy rise. Ironically, mentioning a coin by a big influencer creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, driving up the price. I wish I had a monkey throwing darts at CoinGecko's printout and comparing it to my portfolio.

I'm almost certain they're all selling their own bags, and that's okay. I do the same thing in my article, so I can't judge. However, crypto YouTubers (rightfully so) have much larger audiences than I do. After all, how many people besides you have read it?

I mention this because we must understand that no one in this field knows more than anyone else. I follow many crypto analysts and no one expected the surge in HBAR, ALGO, ZIL or XLM. I'm just as bad because I recently disparaged many of these legacy projects in an article titled "If You Own These Cryptocurrencies, Start Panic."

I made a mistake in that article, but I won’t blame myself too much. I wrote My 10 Favorite Cryptocurrency Investments . It is up 68% since writing, while BTC is up 46%. I still love all of these tokens, so if you haven’t read it yet,Might be worth a look.

This is a long preface, and if you've read this far, I really appreciate your persistence. I’m going to share five altcoins that I’ve recently purchased or added to my existing bag that I’m not fully committed to yet. I'll go from the most conservative to the most adventurous. Additionally, all of these tokens are available on Coinbase and/or Kraken.

Token #1: AVAX Current price: $51.34 Current market cap: $21 billion

Avalanche has not been as successful as other Layer 1 (with actual users), For example Solana, Sui or Tron. Here are some of the reasons why I love AVAX right now.

It is currently trading 65% below its all-time high.

It has gameplay and a layer 1 narrative, and gaming has yet to take off. But big influencers are promoting gaming heavily, so I think it's only a matter of time before capital comes into the industry. This should be good for AVAX.

Many people from the last cycle remember how AVAX took off. AVAX is available on most top exchanges, making it easy for retailers to purchase.

Token #2: NEAR Current Price: $7.31 Current Market Cap: $8.9 Billion

Like Avalanche, Near Protocol has been a mediocre Layer 1. Additionally, like AVAX, NEAR is approaching its highest point in a year. Here’s why I love NEAR right now.

It is currently trading 64% below its all-time high.

It has AI and layer 1 narrative, and AI hasn't taken off yet. There are hundreds of small AI projects that should draw attention to the field of AI. I expect this will attract more investors to NEAR.

While I haven’t heard too many influencers focus on NEAR, based on its AI expertise, high user base, and small number of issued tokens, It's easy to create a narrative.

Token #3: GALA Current Price: $0.052 Current Market Cap: 1$900 million

GALA is one of the biggest names in crypto gaming. It has a massive gaming ecosystem and the GALA token can be used for in-game purchases and NFTs. Here are a few reasons why I love GALA.

It is currently trading 93% below its all-time high.

This is one of the top projects in the gaming category. As mentioned, gaming should be taking its turn in this cycle, and rather than trying to find a single game, I'd rather view this as speculation on the industry.

Low unit deviation. Retailers favor low-priced cryptocurrencies.

Coin #4: ARKM Current Price: $2.38 Current Market Cap: $585 Million

Arkham is one of the most respected and well-known analytics platforms in the crypto space. Mentions of Arkham appear frequently in crypto news and X posts. Here are some other reasons why I recently purchased an ARKM.

It has few competitors. Additionally, its token is the native currency on its platform.

The project is backed by notable investors such as OpenAI co-founder, Palantir co-founder, Tim Draper and Wintermute.

Many people don’t know that Arkham has tokens. They provide a valuable service; perhaps at some point in this cycle the fundamentals will earn respect.

Coin #5: VANRY Current Price: $0.17 Current Market Cap: $283 Million

Vanar Chain is a layer 1 blockchain. Unlike other chains, its fixed cost per transaction is just a few cents. This makes it an excellent choice for AI, gaming, and mixed reality. Here are some more things I love about VANRY.

For a Layer 1 listed on a primary exchange, its market capitalization is lower. Additionally, the coin has been trading for less than 1 year, so price discovery is awaited.

I've heard several influential people I respect mention thisit. The low unit deflection combined with this means it pumps quickly.

Their website shows Vanar is being developed in partnership with Nvidia and Google Cloud. I can't find details on this, but if it wasn't associated, I doubt it would be on their website.

Key Takeaways

I feel confident enough in these cryptocurrencies to add them to my portfolio. The risk/reward for these tokens is attractive and can be purchased on exchanges in the United States.

While I don’t know if they can go up 1000%, they are diverse enough to outperform the overall cryptocurrency market.

If you are exploring the cryptocurrency space, you will be bombarded with advice. Keep in mind that these suggestions are all because someone is promoting their package (as in my case) or receiving money to support the project.

Please tell me what you think in the comments. If you liked this article, please clap; it helps me and motivates me to write more.