3 Cryptocurrencies You Should Know About for Investing in 2018

With the cryptocurrency market cap reaching all-time highs in 2017, it's no surprise that more and more investors are looking to get into the game. But with over 1,300 different cryptocurrencies to choose from, it can be tricky to know which ones to focus on.

Here are three cryptocurrencies that are worth watching in 2018.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency and still the most popular. As of January 2018, it had a market cap of over $200 billion.

One of the things that makes Bitcoin so appealing for investors is its liquidity. You can buy and sell Bitcoin on exchanges around the world, and it's relatively easy to do so.

Another appealing thing about Bitcoin is that it's a deflationary currency. That means that the total number of Bitcoins that will ever be in circulation is capped at 21 million. So as more people adopt Bitcoin, the value of each individual coin is likely to increase.

Ethereum

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, with a market cap of over $100 billion as of January 2018.

What makes Ethereum different from Bitcoin is that it's a platform for running smart contracts. These are contracts that execute automatically when certain conditions are met. This could be something as simple as automatically transferring money from one account to another, or something more complex like a contract that automatically buys and sells stocks based on predetermined criteria.

Ethereum is still in its early stages, so it's a good cryptocurrency to watch in 2018.

Ripple

Ripple is a cryptocurrency that was designed to facilitate cross-border payments. It's been adopted by a number of banks and other financial institutions, and as a result, its value has been increasing rapidly.

As of January 2018, Ripple had a market cap of over $100 billion. While that's still a fraction of Bitcoin's market cap, it's worth keeping an eye on Ripple in 2018 as it continues to gain traction in the financial world.