Forget Bitcoin, Here are 3 Cryptocurrencies to follow in 2018

Cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Getting onboard is the best security you can have; if only you are the dare-devil risk taker. Here are some of the promising cryptocurrencies to watch in 2018 and beyond.

1. Einsteinium

If you want something really unique, put Einsteinium and its aptly dubbed EMC2 coin on your radar. At one point, EMC2 had risen by well over 200,000% during 2017, but it has since pulled back a bit after a parabolic run. The buzz about Einsteinium is its focus on becoming a charitable fund for scientific, technological, educational, and blockchain-based studies. Every time a block reward is paid out to miners for proofing transactions, the Einsteinium Foundation receives 2.5% of that reward. 

Approximately 80% of the funds received go toward research, with the remaining 20% used for marketing and donations. The Einsteinium community gets to vote every so often on what project they believe should be funded next. And best of all, mining EMC2 is relatively simple compared to other cryptocurrencies, suggesting anyone could potentially get involved. 

2. Binance Coin

Want an alternative way to consider taking advantage of the cryptocurrency craze? Consider Binance Coin (BNB), which is the official coin of the Binance cryptocurrency marketplace where the trading of cryptocurrencies (no fiat currencies) takes place. Not only would an investor presumably benefit from an increase in trading volume, but transaction fees on Binance that are paid in BNB as opposed to Bitcoin receive a big discount of up to 50% in the year of use, as well as smaller staggered discounts through the first four years.

Furthermore, Binance recently announced plans to buy back up to 100 million BNB in the first quarter of 2018. When a publicly traded company buys back its own stock, it often inflates the value of the remaining shares by making existing shares scarcer. That same ideal could hold true with Binance Coin if up to 100 million BNB are permanently taken out of circulation. 

3. Steem Dollars

Last, but not least, if you want something really off the cuff, consider Steem Dollars. Steem Dollars are one of three virtual coins attached to the Steemit social network, which rewards content creators when their work gets upvoted, as well as those folks who do the upvoting of others' work. Steem Dollars aren't something you can buy on any cryptocurrency exchange. In fact, they can't be traded on any of them. 

You first have to create popular content on Steemit, and are then rewarded with 50% of your "pay" being in Steem Dollars. What's really neat about Steem Dollars is that they're theoretically pegged to the U.S. dollar to somewhat reduce downside volatility -- but they earn a handsome 10% interest rate per year. Are you earning a 10% interest rate right now on your cash? Probably not! At any time, you can choose to convert your Steem Dollars to Steem, and then cash out those Steem coins for actual U.S. dollars.