Budget-Friendly Digital Assets Worth Your Attention: 7 Crypto Picks That Could Explode in 2024

Bitcoin’s recent climb toward $87K has dominated crypto headlines, yet it remains out of reach for many retail investors. This raises an important question: where can traders find cheap crypto assets with genuine upside potential? The answer isn’t in picking random penny coins—it’s about identifying projects with real utility, solid fundamentals, and undervalued price points.

Why Cheap Doesn’t Mean Worthless

The distinction matters here. There are millions of worthless tokens trading for near-zero prices, but there’s a different category entirely: established projects with strong communities, working products, and meaningful market capitalizations that simply trade at low price points. These represent genuine opportunities for investors seeking exposure to crypto without massive capital requirements.

Bitcoin’s dominance comes with a $1.74 trillion market cap, making it practically the gold standard of crypto. But abundance of opportunity exists elsewhere in the ecosystem for those willing to look deeper.

The Real Opportunities: 7 Undervalued Crypto Assets

1. Ripple (XRP) – The Payment Innovator

XRP has carved a distinctive niche as a cross-border payment solution designed to modernize the outdated SWIFT infrastructure. Since its 2012 launch, the platform has facilitated instant transfers across multiple currencies without intermediaries—a compelling use case that remains relevant today.

XRP hit $3.65 at its 2018 peak but now trades at $1.84, representing a 50% discount from its all-time high. With a fully diluted market value of $184.47 billion and a maximum supply capped at 100 billion units, XRP offers an interesting entry point for payment-focused investors. The token’s utility within Ripple’s ecosystem provides tangible value beyond mere speculation.

2. Cardano (ADA) – Scalability Through Engineering

Founded by Charles Hoskinson in 2017, Cardano represents the proof-of-stake movement’s more research-focused approach. The blockchain’s engineering emphasizes efficiency, supporting up to 2 million transactions per second—a significant technical achievement.

ADA once reached $3.09 during the 2021 bull run but has retreated to $0.35, creating what some view as a compelling accumulation opportunity. With a $12.81 billion market cap placing it among the crypto elite, ADA’s relatively low price makes it accessible for position-building. Recent performance has been challenging (-61.92% over the past year), but the underlying technology and team stability suggest longer-term potential.

3. The Graph (GRT) – Indexing the Blockchain Era

Often described as “Google for blockchains,” The Graph operates as a crucial indexing protocol for blockchain data retrieval. Launched in 2018 with its token release in 2020, GRT has become essential infrastructure for the Web3 ecosystem.

Trading at $0.04—a dramatic 98% pullback from its $2.84 all-time high—GRT’s $387.50 million market cap positions it within the top 100 cryptocurrencies by value. Despite steep declines, the project’s governance structure and importance to the broader ecosystem suggest its low current price may present a substantial buying opportunity for long-term believers.

4. TRON (TRX) – Decentralization’s Frontier

TRON’s mission to decentralize internet infrastructure through delegated proof-of-stake consensus distinguishes it in a crowded field. Justin Sun launched the platform in 2017, initially building on Ethereum before transitioning to its independent blockchain in 2018.

Currently priced at $0.28 against its $0.43 all-time high, TRX commands a $26.34 billion market cap—placing it as one of the world’s most valuable digital assets by market value while maintaining a relatively approachable price for individual investors. Year-to-date performance of +7.81% suggests steady momentum despite market volatility.

5. Stellar (XLM) – The Cross-Border Specialist

Stellar operates as an open-source payments network optimized for rapid, economical cross-border transfers. Established in 2014 and bolstered by partnerships with major institutions (MoneyGram, Circle, Franklin Templeton), XLM has proven its staying power through multiple market cycles.

At $0.21—roughly 76% below its 2018 peak of $0.88—XLM offers exposure to a battle-tested platform. Despite a challenging -44.13% annual performance, the network processes billions of transactions and maintains strategic partnerships that underpin its value proposition. This makes it particularly interesting for those betting on digital payment adoption.

6. Gala Games (GALA) – Gaming’s Blockchain Gateway

GALA provides a blockchain gaming platform where users genuinely own in-game assets and items. The token serves as the currency for purchasing NFTs and acquiring gaming assets within the ecosystem.

Trading at just $0.01—representing a 98.8% discount from its $0.82 November 2021 peak—GALA demonstrates gaming crypto’s market repricing. Yet the token still attracts over $401K in daily trading volume, indicating continued trader interest. A $285.33 million market cap places GALA within the accessible tier for retail investors exploring the intersection of crypto and gaming.

7. Ankr Network (ANKR) – Web3 Infrastructure Play

Ankr specializes in simplifying Web3 development through blockchain-based cross-chain infrastructure. Founded by Chandler Song in 2017, the platform supports both decentralized finance and decentralized application development, featuring a staking protocol (Stkr) that addresses Ethereum 2.0 liquidity needs.

Currently at $0.01 (a 95% drop from $0.21 ATH), ANKR’s $62.87 million market cap and $449 million in total value locked demonstrate real ecosystem participation. The network’s -83.39% year-over-year decline reflects broader market headwinds, but believers view the technology as foundational for the next phase of Web3 development.

The Investment Reality Check

Finding cheap crypto that could deliver meaningful returns requires distinguishing between hype and fundamentals. These seven projects share common traits: established market presence, real technological innovation, meaningful communities, and trading prices that appear disconnected from their underlying value propositions.

However, low prices alone don’t guarantee returns. Each represents a specific bet—whether on payment systems, blockchain efficiency, data indexing, gaming integration, or infrastructure development. Successful positioning requires understanding what each project solves and whether that solution will matter to the market moving forward.

The lesson remains constant: conduct thorough research before deploying capital, consider your risk tolerance, and build positions aligned with your actual investment thesis rather than chasing prices alone. The crypto landscape offers opportunities across price points, but finding ones that will truly explode in 2024 demands strategy beyond simply buying whatever costs the least.