Six Top DeFi and Crypto Investments

With all the noise in the crypto/DeFi space, it’s hard to know what crypto projects are safe. Should you invest in a hot new coin you heard about on twitter? Is Bitcoin a boomer coin? What should you look for in crypto investments? Here is a list of six top DeFi and cryptocurrency protocols to watch when you’re starting your investment journey.

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1. Bitcoin. Bitcoin was the first major decentralized cryptocurrency, and continues to dominate the crypto conversation. Introduced in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin was the first peer-to-peer digital asset that acted as a medium of exchange and store of value using cryptography instead of a centralized intermediary. Bitcoin is often referred to as “digital gold” or “gold 2.0,” because it is technically more scarce than gold, since gold supply is slowly increasing while the amount of bitcoin is locked at 21 million. Many consider bitcoin the ultimate hedge against inflation for this reason.
2. Ethereum. Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency. It was created by Vitalik Buterin in 2013, and most of the DeFi movement has been built on top of the Ethereum blockchain due to its smart contract functionality (smart contracts are self-executing contracts with terms between buyer and seller written into the code) and universal coding language, Solidity. 
3. Wrapped Bitcoin. Wrapped Bitcoin is an ETH token that brings Bitcoin to the Ethereum network. There is no real bridge connecting the Bitcoin network to the Ethereum network, so those who want to use Bitcoin in the DeFi ecosystem (which mostly exists on the Ethereum network or protocols running on the Ethereum Virtual Machine), can use wrapped Bitcoin on the Ethereum blockchain. It is backed 1:1 with Bitcoin, and a good way for Bitcoin enthusiasts to take advantage of these the (relative) stability of Bitcoin in the Ethereum ecosystem.
4. PAX Gold. PAX Gold is a digital token backed by physical gold. Each token is backed by one fine troy ounce of gold stored in Brink’s vault, a state-of-the art precious metals storage facility. The beauty of this token is the security it offers. A national ranking auditor checks the tokens in circulation with the gold in the vault, so you never have to worry about the devaluation of your investment against the price of gold.
5. Avalanche. The Avalanche code powers the Avalanche blockchain, a powerful protocol for decentralized applications, developing the DeFi ecosystem, and smart contracts. The Avalanche Blockchain is one of Ethereum’s major rivals, as its mission is to have a higher transaction output that can be maintained as they scale. 
6. Tetraguard. Tetraguard is a basket reserve composed of Bitcoin, Ethereum, PAX gold, and the fee-token Quadron. Tetraguard has two unique reward mechanisms: it’s fee-token, Quadron, and dual reserve. Quadron works by collecting a 1% transaction fee when the token is bought and sold, and distributing it on a pro-rata basis to all holders. The secondary reserve is held within the fee-token; 20% of each new token purchased is automatically deposited into the Quadron reserve, in addition to the 1% transaction fee collected. Tetraguard also has an innovative automatic Liquidity Pool driven by the built-in market maker to the Tetraguard smart contract. This contract automatically routes transactions to exchanges to find the best price and helps grow the value of the token. 

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