2 Cryptocurrencies to Buy and Hold Through 2030

Several top cryptocurrencies hit their all-time highs last year. At the time, expectations for cooler inflation and lower interest rates drove many investors back toward that riskier market. But this year, many of those cryptocurrencies fizzled out as inflation stayed hot and the Fed raised its benchmark rates for the first time in three years. The death of the CLARITY Act, which aimed to provide a clearer regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, exacerbated that pressure.

However, that pullback could represent a buying opportunity for investors who expect the crypto market to warm up again by the end of the decade. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ether (CRYPTO: ETH), the two largest cryptocurrencies, are still your best bets on that recovery.

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin, the world's most valuable cryptocurrency, is mined with the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. More than 20 million of Bitcoin's maximum supply of 21 million tokens have already been mined, and the last token should be mined by 2140.

But every four years, Bitcoin's rewards are halved, making it more difficult to mine profitably. That's why Bitcoin was originally mined with CPUs and GPUs, but is now mined with fleets of powerful application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners at dedicated data centers.

That scarcity makes it more comparable to gold than to many other cryptocurrencies, but it's easier to transfer and split into smaller units ("satoshis") than gold. The introduction of Bitcoin's spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in early 2024 also made it easier for retail and institutional investors to invest in the token without managing crypto wallets and keys.

At $82,000, Bitcoin still trades far below its record high of about $126,000 from last October. However, three tailwinds could drive it higher by 2030. First, the rising U.S. debt -- which hit $40 trillion this summer -- could drive investors toward safe-haven assets like gold. If Bitcoin stabilizes and maintains its reputation as "digital gold", it could benefit from that shift.

Second, Bitcoin's next halving in 2028 will reinforce its scarcity. Lastly, more institutional investors could accumulate Bitcoin as a hedge against the devaluation of fiat currencies. So while Bitcoin might remain volatile, it's still a solid long-term investment.

Ether

Ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, is the world's second most valuable cryptocurrency. It was once mined like Bitcoin, but it transitioned to proof-of-stake (PoS) in 2022.

As a PoS token, Ether can no longer be mined -- but it can be staked (locked up to earn interest-like rewards) on the blockchain. It also supports smart contracts, which are used to develop decentralized apps (dApps) and other crypto assets.

Ether is used to fund the "gas fees" for those transactions -- so the larger Ethereum's developer ecosystem grows, the more valuable Ether becomes. Ethereum is already the world's largest developer-oriented blockchain, with over a million lifetime developers, and it could have plenty of room to expand as it's used to tokenize more real-world assets (RWAs) and handle economic transactions and identity verification services for autonomous AI agents.

Ethereum faces competition from faster Layer-1 (L1) PoS blockchains, including Solana and Cardano. Still, it's upgrading its Layer-2 (L1) blockchains -- which bundle together transactions and process them off-chain at higher speeds -- to keep up.

At $2,400, Ether also trades far below its all-time high of about $4,950 from last August. However, its recent "Glamsterdam" update could attract more developers by increasing its gas limit (which reduces per-transaction gas fees) and making its blockchain more scalable. Therefore, if you believe more developers will embrace dApps, AI agents, and RWAs, it could be a great time to load up on Ether as the bulls look the other way.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.