If you’ve been watching the crypto markets lately, you may be wondering when the next big price surge will happen. Since Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) spike from October to December, there’s been a bit of a cool-off period. The hype around Web3 cryptos and metaverse coins has tempered as prices stayed flat for the past two months. Understandably, enthusiasm has waned among retail investors waiting for the next breakout.
However, savvy investors know crypto moves in cycles. Winter never lasts forever. We could enter a new era of massive gains for the most innovative blockchain projects when conditions align again.
No one can guarantee when the next bull run will occur or how high any coin may go. But by identifying transformative crypto projects early and holding through market swings, it’s possible to realize exponential returns over time. Here are three Web3 cryptos to look into:
Golem (GLM-USD)
Golem (GLM-USD) operates a P2P network, allowing users to tap idle computing resources to handle intensive tasks like machine learning and graphic rendering. It’s like a decentralized AWS Lambda, essentially. The booming demand for data-crunching leaves Golem to provide an enticing alternative to closed ecosystems like Jeff Bezos’s.
Sure, with a market cap of around $203 million, no one’s yet comparing this to the trillion-dollar Big Tech cloud dogs. But success for Golem does not mean overtaking any of them. If decentralized services capture even a sliver of cloud spend, early coins like GLM could deliver fat returns to patient believers.
Only a small number of professionals regularly using Golem for critical functions like AI computing and animation rendering can drive a lot of growth. We live in an increasingly decentralized world — it’s easy to envision creators and engineers embracing an open-source alternative. The growth runways make me think 100x gains for GLM holders over the next 5-10 years are well within reach.
Storj (STORJ-USD)
Decentralized data storage is another niche for Web3 cryptos that I have high hopes for. Storj (STORJ-USD) operates on a similar thesis — allowing network participants to share excess drive space in exchange for crypto rewards. And I believe this coin has breakout potential as well.
Here’s why: while Filecoin (FIL-USD) dominates the buzz around blockchain-based storage, Storj sports key advantages like a much lower market cap at $267 million and a deflationary tokenomics structure. Storage demand is climbing exponentially. So, if decentralized networks capture even a tiny slice of this growth, deflationary coins like STORJ could massively outrun inflationary tokens.
The team announced revenues have jumped 226% year-over-year thanks to partners like Toysmith, Acronis and Amove testing the platform. A University of Edinburgh study clocked Storj transfer speeds up to 800 Mbps — a 2-4x improvement over the previous year.
To me, data like this shows the technology is scaling quickly. With web hosting, file sharing and storage demand booming, it’s easy to envision Storj becoming a legitimate player. Much like Golem, this aims to decentralize a vital backbone of the internet rather than building some wacky metaverse.
iExec RLC (RLC-USD)
iExec RLC (RLC-USD) aims to develop a distributed cloud infrastructure for high-performance computing using blockchain and smart contracts.
In a nutshell, iExec lets users tap underutilized computing resources across the internet to handle complex jobs — kind of like Folding@Home but for parallel processing instead of disease research.
The team leverages technologies from INRIA and CNRS to aggregate spare internet bandwidth. By paying resource providers in RLC tokens, they’ve built a decentralized market for the demand for cloud computing.
Much like Golem and Filecoin, the endgame here is wresting control over cloud power from the Amazons and Googles. And to me, it’s not a matter of if decentralized computing crashes the party – it’s a matter of which blockchain platforms are best positioned once this trend accelerates.
With legacy cloud spending topping $563.6 billion in 2023 alone, RLC cracking even the smallest slice could catalyze enormous growth. And with a market cap of around $153 million, this token remains mainly under the radar for most crypto investors.
Yet, as blockchain technology penetrates the computing landscape, I think the builders positioned early stand to create legendary wealth over the long term. Timing is everything, like buying Amazon stock in the late 90s or Bitcoin in the early 2010s.
So, slowly accumulating coins like RLC while I watch this narrative play out makes sense. Because once this trend goes mainstream, ubër-patient investors could ride life-changing gains.
On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
