With the cryptocurrency markets showing signs of growth for the first time in many months, now is a good time to pick up some new coins/tokens or add to what you already have. But, with over 1200 available, which ones should you hold 2019?
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Now is an exciting time to get into the crypto space because there are lots of affordable options. However, there are currently at least 1,200 different types of coins listed on Coinmarketcap. Which ones will prevail? Which group of coins will survive for the long term? What coin/token should you have now for the year 2019?

These are tricky questions because we can only speculate. The technology of the blockchain is obviously here to stay and will be used more and more often in the near future. But which coins/tokens will still be operational in a year from now is much harder to know.

As much as possible you should try to look at the big picture when assessing the future of different coins a full year from now. My approach is first to consider what types or groups of coins hold potential for adoption in the near future. For example, I think privacy coins are a solid bet for future uptake. Another group of coins worth looking at are those involved in the integration of social media and blockchain technology. Such bridging projects — projects bridging conventional technology with blockchain and cryptocurrency — will be an important driver for blockchain adoption in the near future.

With these thoughts in mind, below are some cryptocurrencies worth looking into for 2019.

#### Ethereum

No doubt Ethereum will still be one altcoin to beat in 2019. ETH has become the new standard to beat in low fees and fast transactions. There are also so many ERC20 tokens based on the Ethereum network at the moment that it will thrive for the foreseeable. ETH is something any crypto investor should think about having in 2019.

_Buy ETH on_ [_Binance_](https://bit.ly/2EqGqdZ) _or_ [_Kucoin_](https://bit.ly/2uhEX0V)

#### Privacy Coins

Privacy coins are popular in the cryptocurrency world for practical and political reasons. Practically, many people like the idea of being able to transact privately without being surveilled by the state or private corporations. Politically, many cryptocurrency enthusiasts oppose the intrusion of the state into our personal lives and support projects that undermine that power or make it more difficult to apply.

If you are interested in looking more into privacy coins, I recommend XMR or PIVX. Both of these are strong projects that have existed for a while. For something newer, you could also look into XSPEC as it will be on another level than the others if it can pull off what it proposes.

_Buy XMR and PIVX on_ [_Binance_](https://bit.ly/2EqGqdZ) _or_ [_Kucoin_](https://bit.ly/2uhEX0V)

_Buy XSPEC on_ [_Livecoin_](https://livecoin.net/?from=Livecoin-tzCtyXnV)

#### Social Media Integration and Monetization

One area where there is immediate potential for blockchain adoption are projects that are trying to bridge existing technology with blockchain. One area where there is a lot of development in this regard is social media integration and monetization. The best projects to look into in this regard I think are TRX, which recently acquired BitTorrent and KIN.

_Buy TRX on_ [_Binance_](https://bit.ly/2EqGqdZ) _or_ [_Kucoin_](https://bit.ly/2uhEX0V)

_Buy KIN on_ [_Fatbtc_](https://www.fatbtc.com/)

#### Investing in New Chains

While Ethereum and Bitcoin are the most famous blockchains, there are a number of newer competitors. Some of these are vying to be faster and more efficient than BTC and ETH. Others are tailoring their chains to specific use cases, such as highly regulated markets. If you are interested in investing in new chains, look more into ITC (also known as “China’s IOTA”), IOTA, EOS and ADA.

_Buy EOS and ITC on_ [_Kucoin_](https://bit.ly/2uhEX0V)

_Buy IOTA and ADA on_ [_Binance_](https://bit.ly/2EqGqdZ)

#### Coins Trying to Replace Fiat

The first use case for blockchain technology was executing decentralized financial transactions through the use of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency designed for this purpose but since it’s inception several other coins have been developed that are also hoping to replace traditional state-based “fiat” currency. If you are interested in this use case for blockchain, consider looking into XRP, which is also trying to replace fiat.

_Buy XRP on_ [_Binance_](https://bit.ly/2EqGqdZ)

#### Trading Algorithms

As the popularity of cryptocurrency trading grows more people are looking to maximize their profits through increasingly sophisticated trading strategies. Given the incredible volatility of cryptocurrency prices right now, many day traders make profits use trading algorithms programmed to track markets trends and make trades under pre-set circumstances. If you are interested in trading algorithms and aid in trading, you can look more into COV (or COVX depending on the exchange and CND.

_Buy COV on_ [_Kucoin_](https://bit.ly/2uhEX0V)

_Buy CND on_ [_Binance_](https://bit.ly/2EqGqdZ)

#### Utility Tokens

If you are interested in the various kind of applications that are being built on top of blockchain technology, you might want to consider researching utility coins. Utility tokens are used within specific applications, typically to access to a company’s product or service. If utility tokens are interesting to you I recommend looking into THETA and TEL as they both have good potential for the future.

_Buy THETA on_ [_Binance_](https://bit.ly/2EqGqdZ)

_Buy TEL on_ [_Kucoin_](https://bit.ly/2uhEX0V)

#### Exchange-Specific Coins

Many are predicting that the crypto winter will end in 2019. If this happens it means that many enthusiasts who had taken a break from trading will return. It also means new traders will enter the cryptocurrency space. For these reasons, I think an interesting investment for 2019 is exchange-specific coins. These are coins that are used within specific trading platforms to pay fees. Many exchanges have their own token but I would suggest looking into Binance’s BNB and Kucoin’s KCS this year.

_Buy KCS on_ [_Binance_](https://bit.ly/2EqGqdZ)

_Buy BNB on_ [_Kucoin_](https://bit.ly/2uhEX0V)

#### Conclusion

There are lots of other coins and tokens that are worth looking at for 2019. The few I mentioned does not exhaust the list. Nonetheless, my goal was to provide some useful starting points to make researching your own investments easier. Good luck!

_Subscribe to my_ [_Medium_](https://medium.com/@minadown) _and_ [_Twitter_](https://twitter.com/minad21) _channels if you want to learn more about blockchain and cryptocurrency projects.  
   
If you have any questions about this article, please comment in the section below. Thank you!_

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