Bitcoin breakthroughs, Ethereum upgrades, and more top tokens

From record-high prices to major Ethereum upgrades, it has been a bullish few weeks in crypto. In this blog post, we’ll round up eight trending cryptos like BTC, ETH, BNB, and SOL, as well as native stablecoins USDT and USDC - and how you can access these assets in Valora.

TL:DR;

• Trending Tokens: Unlike fiat currencies backed by the federal government and central banks, cryptocurrencies are digital currencies operating on a public blockchain. Some of crypto’s most famous assets include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), and Chainlink (LINK).

• Popular Stable Assets: A stablecoin is any cryptocurrency with value pegged to “stable” asset classes like fiat currencies, commodities, or via algorithms to reduce price volatility. Tether (USDT) and USDC have risen in popularity due to secure pricing and utility.

• How to access them in Valora:  Crypto and the leading blockchains are constantly growing and evolving. Valora makes it easy to access a variety of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, all from a user-friendly, self-custody wallet designed for your phone. 

Trending Tokens

Unlike fiat currencies backed by the federal government and central banks, cryptocurrencies are digital currencies operating on a public blockchain. Some of the leading chains and their native tokens have become almost synonymous with crypto, but what are they, and why are they so popular? Here’s what you need to know:

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin (at the time of publishing) continues to break new record all-time highs in price, driving a surge of excitement across the crypto space. As the original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is the most recognizable name in digital currency. Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto and has consistently grown in adoption despite significant price volatility. 

Earlier this year, the SEC approved the trading of Bitcoin ETFs, providing direct access for traditional investors. As of this week, Bitcoin has surpassed silver as the 8th largest asset by market cap in the world. 

2. Ethereum (ETH)

Introduced by Vitalik Buterin in 2014 & launched in 2015, Ethereum is the first and leading smart contract blockchain and the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. As the first smart contract blockchain, Ethereum was the first blockchain to be designed for building decentralized applications - software applications that allow people to transact and interact directly with one another, P2P (Peer-to-Peer).  The Ethereum blockchain uses Ether (ETH) as its native currency - one of the most widely recognized cryptocurrencies in the world. 

At the time of publishing, ETH maintains a $487.7B market cap and will launch the Dencun upgrade on March 13, 2024. This update will reduce gas fees and allow L2 transactions to settle on Ethereum through “blobs,” a new, more gas-efficient transaction type.

3. Binance (BNB)

Binance is one of the most recognized brand names in cryptocurrency. Both an ecosystem and the largest crypto exchange, Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao in 2017. BNB, the Binance token, was originally an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain before later transitioning to its own blockchain. Binance quickly grew to be the largest crypto asset exchange in the world by trading volume, and the BNB token is used for various purposes, including gas, transaction fees, smart contract deployment, and even buying goods and services through Binance’s network of vendors and partners.

BNB has also been on the rise in the past week, progressively approaching its previous record high. 

4. Solana (SOL)

Solana is a decentralized smart contract platform that uses SOL to pay for transactions. Founded by Anatoly Yakavenko and Raj Gokal in 2018 and launched in 2020, Solana is known for high transaction speeds and scalability, aspects that have led to interest from builders seeking to create fast, user-experience-focused applications, from gaming to trading. One of its key features is the Proof of History (PoH) consensus mechanism, which, combined with Proof-of-Stake (PoS) allows for faster and more efficient transaction processing. Similar to Ethereum, Solana is both a platform and a cryptocurrency (SOL.) SOL is available to buy/sell on exchanges and hold in crypto wallets.

More recently, Solana’s $7 billion meme coin explosion has caught the market’s attention - with popular coins like WIF, BONK, and the newer $SMOG causing a massive surge in market cap. Solana also made headlines this week for reaching a record number of new addresses per day - surpassing Ethereum in terms of daily transactions. 

5. Avalanche (AVAX)

Similar to Ethereum and Solana, Avalanche is a programmable smart contracts platform for decentralized applications. Launched in 2020, the Avalanche network is known for three blockchains: X-Chain, C-Chain, and P-Chain - each with specific use cases. Avalanche’s most distinctive feature is its use of interoperable, high-performance blockchains that seamlessly interact with each other. Avalanche uses its native token, AVAX, to pay for gas fees. 

In the past week, AVAX has jumped in price, with interest possibly driven in part by the new integration with the popular game MapleStory.

6. Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink (LINK) is a decentralized oracle network built on Ethereum. As an oracle network, Chainlink provides smart contracts with secure, tamper-proof data from off-chain, “real world” sources. It was co-founded in 2017 by Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis as a means to enable universally connected smart contracts.

Chainlink enables cross-chain communications through middleware, known as an oracle. It complements the Ethereum network by helping to bridge the gap between smart contracts and real-world applications - creating “hybrid smart contracts” where users can interact or transact directly with one another based on reliable, trusted off-chain information. 

Popular stable assets

A stablecoin is any cryptocurrency with value pegged to “stable” asset classes like fiat currencies, or commodities. The “stable” pegged value of these assets can be set by 1:1 minting of an underlying, collateralized asset or commodity or via algorithms that programmatically reduce price volatility. Stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USDC have risen in popularity due to their stable value, making them a trusted, reliable means of exchange.

7. Tether (USDT)

Tether is an Ethereum token and stablecoin anchored at $1 USD per coin. As the largest stablecoin in the world, and the third largest cryptocurrency following Bitcoin and Ethereum, Tether holds a market cap of over $100 Billion - only the fifth crypto to achieve this milestone. Launched in 2014, Tether is one of the oldest USD stablecoins and was the first fiat-backed stablecoin, allowing people all over the world to hold and transfer value in USD across different cryptocurrency applications. Tether is a key player in both centralized and decentralized banking, owning more US treasuries than most countries. While potentially subject to US regulations, they remain committed to providing an accessible and reliable digital currency solution - offering a growing alternative to fiat currency in emerging markets and countries battling rising inflation. Tether’s USDT stablecoin is backed 100% by Tether’s reserves - collateralized by a variety of cash and cash-equivalent assets.

Since 2014, Tether has grown significantly, with native USDT available on nearly every major blockchain, including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and soon - Celo. 

8. USD Coin (USDC)

USDC is a regulated, fully-collateralized digital dollar and the second-largest stablecoin by market cap.  Like Tether, the USD Coin is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and backed fully by cash and cash-equivalent assets. 

USDC was originally launched by Circle and Coinbase in 2018 as founding members of the CENTRE consortium. Since then, USDC has grown in adoption as a popular, trusted alternative to USDT, promoted as a “regulated” stablecoin backed 100% by liquid cash and cash-equivalent assets. In 2023, the CENTRE consortium was dissolved, bringing issuance and governance of the USDC stablecoin in-house to Circle. USDC is now available natively on 15 blockchain networks, including Algorand, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Celo, Ethereum, Flow, Hedera, NEAR, Noble, OP Mainnet, Polkadot, Polygon, Solana, and Stellar. 

*Remember that all crypto assets are subject to market conditions. Whether you use a wallet or exchange, it is important to do your research to ensure you are making the right decision. 

How to get started in Valora

Crypto and the leading blockchains are constantly growing and evolving. Valora makes it easy to access a variety of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, all from a user-friendly, self-custody wallet designed for your phone. 

We’ve rounded up the latest features that allow you to purchase, hold, and swap your favorite assets.

1. Ethereum on Valora

Ethereum is now available for the entire Valora community. Once you add Ethereum assets to your wallet, you gain access to a host of new actions - whether it be sending ETH to your friends, swapping on the Ethereum network, or browsing an endless array of Ethereum-based dapps - all in one simplified experience. 

Open your home screen and tap “Buy” on your quick actions menu, then tap “Ether” at the top of the list of assets to add ETH to your wallet. Alternatively, you can swap any of your assets for ETH using Valora’s in-app swaps feature.

2. In-app swaps

Valora’s swaps feature enables you to swap between 45+ popular cryptocurrencies on Celo and Ethereum. Swap top assets like wBTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, AVAX, LINK, USDT, and USDC, right from your phone!

Simply tap “Swap” on your home screen in Valora to get started. 

3. Just added: USDC

USDC is now available on Valora. Community members around the world can send, receive, and swap one of the largest and most widely used stablecoins with low-cost transactions in seconds. 

Download Valora and tap “Buy” on the home screen to purchase USDC, or "Swap" into USDC using Valora’s built-in swaps feature.

*NEW* Now and for a limited time, you can purchase USDC with Naira at no cost! Just select Fonbnk as your provider.  

4. Coming soon: USDT

Coming soon! Tether recently announced that USDT would natively deploy on Celo. This update means that you will be able to swap and transact with this top stablecoin from your Valora wallet.

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We are actively working on expanding which chains and tokens are available on Valora. Stay tuned as more updates are coming soon! 👀