Top ERC20 Tokens to Invest in 2024

With much of the Bitcoin halving already priced in, investors are now looking at Ethereum projects that have profit potential. With this in mind, we take a look at the 10 best ERC20 tokens to invest in right now.

As the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum is the most popular platform for developers to build decentralized applications. From DeFi to the Metaverse, Ethereum has proven to be the best place for decentralized technologies in recent years.

Top List of ERC20 Tokens to Invest In

ERC20 is the standard associated with all tokens generated on the Ethereum network. More concisely, ERC20 relates to the token standard that can be used within Ethereum smart contracts. 

Due to the size and scale of Ethereum and its position as the world’s second-largest distributed network, tokens that adhere to the ERC20 standard can offer lucrative investment potential. Here are our top ten ERC20 tokens to invest in 2024 – 

Top ERC20 Tokens to Invest in: A Closer Look

ERC20 tokens form an integral part of the cryptocurrency landscape due to their widespread adoption and reputation for reliability and security. Consequently, ERC20 tokens now make up the backbone of the decentralized industry we know today. From decentralized applications (dApps) to decentralized finance (DeFi), ERC20 protocols dominate the Web3 industry.

1. Ethereum (ETH) ETH -4.25%

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and the leading platform for smart contract and decentralized application (dApp) development. The home of the ERC20 standard, the Ethereum Foundation was the creator of the first smart contract.

Key Highlights: 

• Price as of April 11, 2024: $3,180.87
• Market cap: $390,656,986,740
• Last 24 hours change in price: -4.25% 
• All-time high: $4,867.17
• Ethereum price has increased in the last year with a change of +67.43%

Why Ethereum made it to our top list: 

With 16.2% share of the entire cryptocurrency market, Ethereum is the king of decentralized applications with a massive 10,000 projects currently operating across the network. To date, the Ethereum network has been used to create more than 53 million smart contracts.

2. Binance (BNB)

Native coin of the Binance network, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The Binance ecosystem hosts everything from decentralized marketplaces to educational resources. BNB token holders benefit from reduced fees making this a popular token for traders. 

Key Highlights: 

• Price as of April 11, 2024: $587.64
• Market cap: $87,033,341,496 
• Last 24 hours change in price: -2.45% 
• All-time high: $689.33
• Binance price has increased in the last year with a change of +83.15%

Why Binance Coin made it to our top list: 

As the native token of the largest cryptocurrency platform in the world, Binance, BNB is in constant demand as traders look to offset their fees with the coin. Apart from its functional capability, we like BNB because it offers a solid foundation and increased credibility in an all-too-crowded market.

Research BNB on MEXC

3. Chainlink (LINK)

Founded in 2017 by Sergey Nazarov, Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that enables universally connected smart contracts to access and share real-world data. The Chainlink Network is driven by a large open-source community of data providers, node operators, smart contract developers and security auditors ensuring that decentralization stays core to the project’s ethos.

Key Highlights: 

• Price as of April 11, 2024: $13.88
• Market cap: $8,469,386,264
• Last 24 hours change in price: -2.48% 
• All-time high: $52.89
• Chainlink price has increased in the last year with a change of +93.22%
  

Why Chainlink made it to our top list: 

Without data oracles such as Chainlink, blockchain protocols run the risk of existing as a series of walled gardens. Chainlink fixes this by creating APIs that developers can use to bring a whole wealth of data to life thereby massively increasing the flexibility of blockchain technology.

Research LINK on MEXC

4. Polygon (MATIC)

The original Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, Polygon is a modular and flexible network that supports multiple types of application development. Backed by both Binance and Coinbase, Polygon aims to stimulate the mass adoption of blockchain technology by resolving the problems associated with serving mass markets.

Key Highlights: 

• Price as of April 11, 2024: $0.702
• Market cap: $7,354,272,544 
• Last 24 hours change in price: -4.56% 
• All-time high: $2.91
• Polygon price has increased in the last year with a change of -29.86%
  

Why Polygon made it to our top list: 

Built specifically to scale the Ethereum network, we believe Polygon deserves a place on our top 10 ERC20 tokens due to its ability to process transactions at lightning speed. It achieves this by processing the majority of transactions ‘off-chain’ and packaging them into a single block, thereby increasing speed and reducing costs.

Research MATIC on MEXC

5. Uniswap (UNI) UNI -5.26%

One of the first decentralized trading protocols that pioneered the automated trading of DeFi tokens, Uniswap’s Automated Market Maker (AMM) has proven especially popular in liquidity provision. Holders of native governance token UNI have the ability to shape the future of the project as well as benefit from any potential price discovery.

Key Highlights: 

• Price as of April 11, 2024: $7.62
• Market cap: $4,661,045,698 
• Last 24 hours change in price: -5.26% 
• All-time high: $44.93
• Uniswap price has increased in the last year with a change of +34.92%

Why Uniswap made it to our top list: 

In the competitive world of DeFi liquidity providers, Uniswap continues to provide a faultless experience by providing users with fast transaction times and extremely low fees. Furthermore, as a DEX it doesn’t hold any user funds and it doesn’t have to follow stringent KYC rules, offering traders a decentralized experience and complete anonymity. 

Research UNI on MEXC

6. Filecoin (FIL)

Filecoin is a decentralized file-sharing solution designed as an incentive layer for the Interplanetary Filing System (IPFS). A peer-to-peer network design allows users to pay for data storage and distribution services in $FIL. After raising $205 million during its 2017 ICO, the team behind Filecoin is determined to solve the problem of inefficient file storage and retrieval.

Key Highlights: 

• Price as of April 11, 2024: $5.87
• Market cap: $3,440,122,800
• Last 24 hours change in price: -1.85% 
• All-time high: $236.16
• Filecoin price has increased in the last year with a change of +5.73%

Why Filecoin made it to our top list: 

We like Filecoin because it uses a ‘Proof of Spacetime’ algorithm to store data created by miners. Other features include publicly verifiable cryptographic storage proofs and crypto-economic mechanisms both hosted on a public blockchain. 

Research FIL on MEXC

7. Aave (AAVE)

Open-source decentralized finance solution offering one of the largest liquidity protocols on the market today. Smart contracts handle fund distribution and collateral management allowing Aave users to lend, borrow and earn interest on collateral. The Aave project is fully decentralized with 167,155 token holders worldwide.

Key Highlights: 

• Price as of April 11, 2024: $88.69
• Market cap: $$1,328,039,799
• Last 24 hours change in price: -3.76% 
• All-time high: $664.97
• Aave price has increased in the last year with a change of +23.77%

Why Aave made it to our top list: 

Aave made it onto our top 10 list of ERC20 tokens because it allows users to gain exposure to a wide variety of cryptocurrencies without the need to own them outright. This feature considerably reduces the risk of loss.

Research AAVE on MEXC

8. The Sandbox (SAND)

The Sandbox is a blockchain-based virtual world that allows users to create, build, buy and sell digital assets in a gaming environment. Through a combination of DAO governance and NFTs, The Sandbox continues to build a thriving community with the ultimate aim of introducing blockchain technology into mainstream gaming.

Key Highlights: 

• Price as of April 11, 2024: $0.437
• Market cap: $1,038,509,636
• Last 24 hours change in price: -5.24% 
• All-time high: $8.42
• The Sandbox price has increased in the last year with a change of -25.66%

Why The Sandbox made it to our top list: 

We like The Sandbox virtual universe because it makes full use of the Ethereum blockchain to track ownership of digital land and NFT assets across its platform. Consequently, the more popular the The Sandbox world becomes the more demand there will be for native token Sand.

Research SAND on MEXC

9. Decentraland (MANA)

Formed from an ICO in 2017, Decentraland is a virtual reality platform that allows users to create, experience and monetize content and applications. Users purchase plots of land which they can later build and develop before selling on the open market. With an emphasis on all things decentralization, MANA token holders get to vote on all in-game and organizational policies.

Key Highlights: 

• Price as of April 11, 2024: $0.436
• Market cap: $869,676,335
• Last 24 hours change in price: -5.40% 
• All-time high: $5.85
• Decentraland price has increased in the last year with a change of -20.72%

Why Decentraland made it to our top list: 

Decentraland was one of the first Ethereum projects that found a constructive use for NFTs. The Decentraland universe is split into 90,601 parcels of land each measuring 16m x 16m. This massive virtual real estate allows MANA token holders to build whatever they can dream up and by simply just interacting with the platform, MANA holders can earn even more crypto rewards. 

Research MANA on MEXC

10. Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)

Officially launched on January 31st 2019, Wrapped Bitcoin is a tokenized version of Bitcoin that can operate on the Ethereum network. WBTC consistently maintains a 1:1 ratio with Ethereum. Due to its ERC20 design, WBTC can be used on decentralized exchanges, crypto lending services, prediction markets and other decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Key Highlights: 

• Price as of April 11, 2024: $60,827.82
• Market cap: $10,346,636,532
• Last 24 hours change in price: -4.84% 
• All-time high: $73,593.90
• Wrapped Bitcoin price has increased in the last year with a change of +107.79%

Why Wrapped Bitcoin made it to our top list: 

Finally, Wrapped Bitcoin made it onto our list because it is one of the only ways for developers on the Ethereum network to gain exposure to Bitcoin. This is certain to become increasingly popular as the Ethereum network evolves and investors want to use Bitcoin in an ERC20 setting.

Research WBTC on MEXC

Best New ERC20 Tokens to Buy in 2024

With anticipation building ahead of a positive Ethereum ETF decision, market focus is shifting back to the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. With this in mind, there has never been a better time to invest in ERC20 tokens. Here are 4 of our best new ERC20 tokens in 2024:

Dogeverse

Dogeverse is a multi chain meme coin meaning you can buy the token from six different blockchains. Currently available through Ethereum, Binance and Polygon, support for Avalanche, Base and Solana is in the pipeline. By offering multi chain functionality, Dogeverse benefits from exposure to a larger online community which is sure to prove popular.

Dogeverse successfully launched its presale on the 8th of April and raised more than $300,000 in the first two days. With the upcoming Bitcoin Halving and Doge Day due on April 20th, many experts believe the mainstream spotlight will fall back on crypto in the coming weeks making it the perfect time to buy. Token holders can also benefit from staking with rewards of 600,000% on offer.

15% of the total supply has been earmarked for the presale whilst 10% is reserved for staking rewards. A further 25% is specified for marketing. Buying the coin is quick and easy. All you have to do is head over to the official website, connect your favourite Ethereum wallet and click buy.

To keep up to date on all the latest news and developments, be sure to follow the team on X and join the exclusive Telegram group. For more information about the project, you can read the official whitepaper.

Visit Dogeverse

99Bitcoins Token

99Bitcoins is a popular cryptocurrency education platform with a long pedigree of providing accurate and timely information and learning resources. With new owners now in control of the project, 99Bitcoins has launched its own token and innovative ‘Learn to Earn’ protocol which rewards students for their educational progress.

The native token of the platform is the 99Bitcoins Token ($99BTC) and is used to incentivize and reward students for their work. The project is integrating the Bitcoin blockchain and adopting the BRC20 standard. This will open up the 99Bitcoins platform to a larger market and mean there are more opportunities for the development of dApps and NFTs on the platform.

As you might expect, the total supply is 99 billion of which 10.395 billion are allocated to the presale. Buying the 99Bitcoins token is easy. Simply head over to the official website, connect your wallet and click ok to complete your purchase. The presale has a tiered pricing structure so it pays to buy as soon as you can.

For more information and all the latest news, you can follow the project on X and join the exclusive Telegram channel.

Visit 99Bitcoins Token Presale

Bitcoin Minetrix

Bitcoin Minetrix is an innovative way to gain exposure to Bitcoin mining without costing the earth. Built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, Bitcoin Minetrix rewards token stakers with time on the in-built Bitcoin cloud mining rig. This is not only more environmentally friendly and cheaper than directly mining Bitcoin, but it also means Bitcoin Minetrix users can avoid costly third party mining alternatives.

$BTCMTX holders can also choose to stake the token. If they do, they are rewarded with mining credits which can be spent on Bitcoin cloud mining rig. This has proven to be an attractive alternative to third party mining pools because there are no barriers to entry, the upfront costs are small, there are no fixed contracts or hidden fees and tokens holders can access their tokens at all times. $BTCMTX stakers are not only rewarded in their share of the Bitcoin mined but they also earn a passive staking reward of 60%.

With a mobile application currently in development, there has never been a better time to invest in the project. Tokens can be unstaked at any time giving you complete control over your investment. Although cloud mining is nothing new, Bitcoin Minetrix negates the need for expensive mining pool fees and any infrastructure investment.

Obtaining the Bitcoin Minetrix native token is quick and easy. Simply head to the official presale website and connect your wallet. To keep up to date with all the latest news and updates be sure to follow the project on X and join the exclusive Telegram channel.

Visit Bitcoin Minetrix

Sponge V2

Sponge V2 is an upgraded version of the popular Sponge meme token. However, this time token holders also have the chance to stake their tokens for passive staking rewards. Should the relaunch go according to plan, the team behind Sponge V2 anticipate another 100x price increase when the token launches on mainstream exchanges such as Binance.

To get hold of the Sponge V2 token you must firstly buy the original Sponge token. Secondly, you must stake the token in order to earn Sponge V2. You will not only will you receive the Sponge V2 token but you will also benefit from staking rewards of 173%.

With a massive online community of 11,500 holders, more than $8 million of Sponge has been staked so far. To further encourage new investors, the team behind the project are also offering a 100% purchase bonus in Sponge V2 tokens. For more information you can check out the official website. To keep up to date with all the latest news and updates, follow the project on X and join the exclusive Telegram channel.

Visit Sponge V2

Methodology: How We Rated The Best ERC20 Tokens

Having a sound methodology is crucial in producing results that are both accurate and tangible. Without sound reasoning, it is impossible to come to concrete conclusions. Sound methodology always underpins quality statistics. To arrive at our conclusions we have looked at a variety of factors that each investor must consider before buying any of our featured projects.

Highest Growth Potential – 25%

• Likely Adoption: We assessed the likelihood of the product gaining real-world mass adoption over the next 5-10 years.
• Investment Potential: We also looked at how the coin appealed to professional investment managers and what the medium to long-term view was.
• Crypto Longevity: Finally we considered the likely timeline for the longevity of the cryptocurrency market.

Recent Market Performance – 25%

• Recent Price Trend: We analyzed the coins’ price movement over three and six-month periods, considering both the short and long-term trends.
• Market Capitalization: We looked at the market capitalization of each cryptocurrency reflecting both its position and significance in the market.

Level of Utility – 20%

• Practical Application: We looked at real-world use cases and determined whether the project had any unique features or applications that set it apart.
• Technological Innovation: We considered the underlying technology of the cryptocurrency and we looked for any recent innovations that contribute to the tokens’ usefulness.

Developer Activity – 15%

• Team Reputation: We looked closely at the track record of the developer team behind the project. Cryptocurrencies that are developed by experienced teams often produce a more well-rounded product.
• Transparency: We assessed how transparent the team was at sharing product updates, the progress of development and any obstacles they faced along the way. The more the community knows about the project the more confident they are when making crucial investment decisions.

Community Support – 10%

• Community Engagement: We looked at the level of community adoption and analyzed the level of engagement on social media, community forums and noticeboards. An engaged community often points to confidence in the product and strong support should things go awry.
• Adoption Rates: Higher adoption rates suggest a broader ecosystem so therefore we considered how widely the cryptocurrency was currently being used by merchants and businesses as well as traders and investors.

Alignment with Current Trends – 5%

• Compliance: We checked to see if the product complied with current legislation, especially in the geographic markets in which the product was most popular.
• Narrative: We also checked to see whether the coin was still relevant in accordance with ongoing and popular narratives in the crypto space.

What is an Ethereum (ERC20) Token? 

An ERC20 token is a specific type of token that has been built for compatibility with the Ethereum blockchain. All ERC20 tokens follow a rigorous set of standards. All tokens adhere to the same set of rules meaning they all function in a consistent and predictable manner.

This standardization allows all ERC20 tokens to interact with each other and Ethereum applications seamlessly. Aside from digital currencies, ERC20 tokens can also be used as: 

• Utility tokens – To grant access to a particular product or service within an ecosystem
• Security tokens – To represent ownership in a real-world asset such as a company or digital property.
• Stablecoins – Cryptocurrencies that are pegged to real-world assets such as currencies to provide price stability.

Due to their standardization and ensuing widespread adoption, ERC20 tokens have become a popular way for developers to create new cryptocurrencies and applications on the Ethereum blockchain.

What are the Advantages of Buying ERC20 Tokens?

Investing in ERC20 tokens has become popular due to the extremely wide variety of projects available. With such a broad range of novel ideas and concepts, investors can target specific sectors within the cryptocurrency space. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages. 

Ease of Access on Wallets and Exchanges

Due to their overwhelming popularity, ERC 20 tokens are widely supported by most of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets which makes it easier to buy and sell the tokens compared with other standards. This ensures trading liquidity remains high for ERC20 tokens and competition among application developers is healthy and strong which is ultimately good for the market.

The Popularity of the Ethereum Blockchain

The ERC20 token standard has fueled a surge in Ethereum ecosystem development. In the last 5 years, the cryptocurrency space has seen a massive rise in the number of DeFi protocols, decentralized exchanges and NFT marketplaces all thanks to the flexibility and user-friendly ERC20 token standard.

Furthermore, the best Ethereum tokens are renowned for their robust security and reliability which has further fueled the industry’s recent growth. The popularity of the token is twofold – as the tokens rise in popularity, so does the strength of the Ethereum network which in turn attracts more ERC20 developers.

Integration with Ethereum-Based Platforms

Because all ERC20 tokens follow the same rules, integration with Ethereum-built platforms is seamless. Some of the most widely used destinations for ERC20 tokens include exchanges, DeFi applications and NFT marketplaces. This integration unlocks a world of possibilities for ERC20 tokens.

In the ever-evolving world of Web3 development, sometimes it is hard to keep up to date with all the latest developments. However, we believe the following avenues hold the strongest potential for ERC20 tokens – 

• Payments – ERC20 tokens have proven to be extremely popular in the gaming industry with a number of projects featuring in-game economies built to the ERC20 standard.
• Governance – With the rising popularity of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) more and more ERC20 tokens are being used to grant voting rights within Ethereum-developed distributed systems.
• Store of Value – Due to tried and tested security protocols, an increasing number of ERC20 tokens are being used as investment vehicles in the same way traditional finance views stocks and bonds.

With one popular universal standard, blockchain development has evolved at a rapid pace over the last 5-6 years. The ERC20 standard has enabled developers to build new protocols easily, quickly and at a lower cost which has meant the doors to innovation and experimentation have been thrown open to all.

Such a wide range of innovation has led to a feature-rich range of experiences for users of Ethereum blockchain products.

What are the Drawbacks of Buying ERC20 Tokens?

As with any new and popular product development things rarely go according to plan. If the Ethereum blockchain is to keep hold of its envied number two position, it must iron out a number of issues moving forward. Therefore, while ERC20 tokens offer exciting possibilities there are also a number of downsides to consider – 

Dependence on the Ethereum Network

All ERC20 tokens roughly adopt the same protocol design and network structure. Despite its reputation for security, a single point of failure could be devastating for the ERC20 family. 

Although recent developments have concentrated on improving Ethereum’s security (eg EIP3675 aka ’the Merge’), such a broad sweeping product design is still attractive to hackers with questionable motives. 

High Gas Fees From Network Congestion

The runaway success of Ethereum and the ERC20 token standard has been hindered by a poor reputation for high gas fees and growing network congestion. Gas refers to small amounts of ETH that are required to process transactions.

Recent Ethereum Improvement Protocols (EIPs) have sought to challenge these costs, but high fees and congested network traffic continue to inflate fees, especially during peak hours. 

However, since the network transitioned to a Proof-of-Stake design model in 2022, the computational costs and energy consumption have been reduced by 99%. With a focus on keeping costs as low as possible, this is one of the primary areas that Ethereum developers are focussing on right now.

Smart Contract Risk

Smart contracts are automated agreement contracts that are the power behind many ERC20 tokens and decentralized applications. They form the cornerstone of ERC20 development and offer both efficiency and transparency.

However, they also hide hidden dangers which can be extremely damaging. Firstly, any code vulnerabilities can be targeted by hackers which can lead to the theft of funds or manipulation of the contract functionality.

Unlike traditional contracts, any such error is irreversible due to the immutable nature of the blockchain. In the wake of this, smart contract auditors have witnessed record business as protocols look to test their code for vulnerability. However, as ever, vigilance is crucial and ensuring all code is watertight before it is deployed could potentially save developers a lot of money in the long run.

Conclusion

As the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum has an established position in the blockchain industry and is the number one destination for developers looking to build decentralized applications and use smart contracts. 

Ethereum has several competitors (eg Algorand, Cardano and Polkadot) however, with a market cap of $390 billion, Ethereum is almost 6 times the size of its nearest competitor Solana. 

The size of the Ethereum ecosystem demonstrates the popularity of the platform and as more developers build on the network, its security and stability increase exponentially. With rumors of a potential ETF being launched this year, it would be foolish to suggest that Ethereum will be replaced any time soon.

Therefore we can expect the ERC20 token standard to remain the go-to place for Web3 and smart contract developers. For a close look at the best options for storing ERC20 tokens, be sure to read our article on the best ERC20 wallets.

FAQs

What is the best ERC20 token?

Given the size of market dominance (16.2%), the historical growth and the potential for investment returns in the near to long term, we consider Ethereum as being the best ERC20 token to invest in right now.

What is the most expensive ERC20 token?

Ethereum is the most expensive ERC20 token currently trading at $3,027.93.

Are ERC20 tokens safe?

With a well-earned reputation for safety and security, ERC20 tokens are some of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market today.

What is the most popular ERC token standard?

While there are a number of ERC standards that provide guidelines for the development of smart contracts and dApps (decentralized applications) that can be used to create, manage, and exchange tokens on the Ethereum network, we found that ERC20 was by far the most popular standard on the market today.

References

• Bitcoin ‘Halving’ Rally Is Already Partially Priced In, Marathon CEO Thiel Says (Bloomberg)
• An Introduction to Smart Contracts and Their Potential and Inherent Limitations (Harvard)
• Ethereum Merge: How one big cryptocurrency is going green (BBC)
• https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum (Coinmarketcap.com)
• One Corner of Crypto Is Back Near a Record High After a $15 Billion Surge (Bloomberg)
• https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/gas (Ethereum.org)