Remember the heady days of 2021 when Bitcoin (CRYPT: BTC) surged above $60,000 and the overall crypto market hit new highs? There were many people who said they wished they had bought bitcoin when it was $20,000 or wished they had bought it ether (CRYPT: ETH) under $2,000. After the 2022 sell-off, patient, risk-tolerant long-term investors can do just that as prices have returned to these levels. Here are three cryptos I would regret not buying during the slump.

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1. Bitcoin

Bitcoin has shown some signs of life lately, rallying 33% from the 52-week low of $17,664 it hit in June. Bitcoin is still a long way from its all-time high of over $68,000 last November, and I like the fact that investors don’t have to try to “catch a falling knife” now that the largest digital asset by market cap has stabilized and it looks like it looks like it’s gaining momentum again.

As the original cryptocurrency and largest digital asset, with a market cap approaching $450 billion, Bitcoin is a blue-chip cryptocurrency that I would buy during this pullback. When the stock market falls, it’s a great time to open or add to reduced positions in top global companies, and the crypto market is no different – during this downturn, investors can take a position in Bitcoin at a reduced price, rather than betting on smaller altcoins with questionable benefits that are 95% below all-time highs that they will likely never reach again.

Bitcoin’s Lightning Network has made using and transacting with Bitcoin easier and more accessible than ever. companies like block (NYSE:SQ) use Lightning to enable their customers to get paid in Bitcoin and to round up credit and debit card purchases for Cash Card users. These services make bitcoin more accessible to the general public than ever before and can help it gain even more acceptance.

I like the idea that all investors hold at least a small amount of bitcoin in their portfolios. The 21 million bitcoin hard cap that will ever exist stands in stark contrast to the inflationary nature of all other global currencies. Bitcoin is a global network that anyone in the world with an internet connection can participate in, so it remains an attractive asset for individuals in countries where their currency has suffered serious inflation over the years, such as Turkey and Venezuela . Bitcoin’s increasing ease of use and its global appeal as a decentralized asset with limited supply make it an attractive investment to put at least some investment in, especially during the current market downturn.

2. Ethereum

Ethereum has rallied over 100% from its June cycle low, but the second-biggest cryptocurrency is still 60% off its all-time high. Ethereum also benefits from a major upcoming catalyst in The Merge, its long-awaited shift from proof-of-work consensus to proof-of-stake. After completing a successful test run on its Goerli testnet, The Merge is now expected to take place between September 15th and 16th. The conversion will make Ethereum less energy-intensive and therefore more climate-friendly. It will also make Ethereum more decentralized, which proponents say will make it more secure. Additionally, Ethereum will no longer be an inflationary asset and will instead take on a deflationary nature, which should make it scarcer over time and increase in value as demand increases. Some observers also point out that Ethereum will become more scalable with the implementation of sharding. Finally, more users can earn staking rewards by participating in the Ethereum network. With this series of improvements in the wake of a major catalyst, Ethereum is another blue-chip cryptocurrency I added during the dip.

3.Solana

With a market cap of $15 billion Solana (CRYPTO:SOL) is much smaller (and much newer) than Bitcoin and Ethereum, but is also worth a position during the current downturn for investors looking to diversify and move a little further down the risk curve. Solana is down 84% from its all-time high, but is also slowly picking up steam, with a 56% gain since hitting its cycle low in June.

Solana is establishing itself as a smaller but viable competitor to Ethereum in the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with leading Solana marketplace Magic Eden recently achieving unicorn status with a valuation of over $1 billion in a private funding round Has. OpenSea, which is considered to be at the forefront of the NFT market, recently opened up its platform to Solana NFTs, having previously only offered Ethereum and Ethereum polygon (CRYPTO:MATIC) NFTs. Solana is now the second largest protocol for NFTs in terms of secondary sales, behind Ethereum. Solana is home to a talented team of developers, and its use is not just limited to NFTs or DeFi applications like many other cryptos — Solana developers are even working on a phone that will make it easier to interact with decentralized applications when using a mobile device. This phone is slated to launch in early 2023, priced at $1,000. While this may seem a bit esoteric to some observers, I’m reluctant to rule out Solana, as co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko and other key Solana figures have all had previous Solana experience Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM)which manufactures semiconductors for the mobile phone industry.

The crypto bear market has created an opportunity to initiate positions in the two main assets driving the entire industry, Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as emerging challengers like Solana, at steep discounts from where they were trading just a few months ago or to expand. For risk-tolerant investors, this could be the right time to invest a percentage of their portfolios in cryptocurrency with some smart buys.

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Michael Byrne has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Block, Inc., Ethereum, Polygon, Qualcomm, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.