Best DeFi Coins to Buy in 2024

This guide will introduce you to the best DeFi coins to invest in today. We will tell you why they are worth buying and where to buy them. We will also discuss whether they are worth buying at the moment by looking at the key benefits of adding them to your portfolio.

The guide will also introduce you to the best DeFi wallets and provide you with a step-by-step guide to buying DeFi coins on one of the best crypto exchanges around.

10 Top DeFi Coins to Buy in 2024

After a thorough analysis of the decentralized finance niche, our analysts settled on the following as the top DeFi coins to buy today. These haven’t just performed exemplarily well in the past. They are also hugely popular and have a promising future.

• Ethereum (ETH) – Overall Best DeFi Coin to Buy Now
• Uniswap (UNI) – Best DeFi Coin for Liquidity Mining
• Defi Swap (DEFC) – Popular DeFi Platform with Some of the Highest APY
• Pancakeswap (CAKE) – Largest DeFi Platform on the Binance Smart Chain Network
• Maker (MKR) – Highly Decentralized Crypto Lending Platform
• Sushiswap (SUSHI) – Best Uniswap Alternative
• Aave (AAVE) – Borrow and Lend Cryptos at Highly Competitive Rates
• Lido DAO (LDO) – Fast Rising DeFi Staking Protocol on the Ethereum Network
• dYdX (DYDX) – Make Money Staking and Margin Trading on one of the Largest DEXs
• Compound (COMP) – Crypto Lending Platform with One of the Highest Total Value Locked

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

Below, we will discuss each of these DeFi coins at length, examining how they work and why they are worth buying today. We will then discuss where to buy DeFi coins and look at the best crypto wallets.

A Closer Look at The Best DeFi Coins to Buy Right Now

When vetting top DeFi platforms in search of the best DeFi coins to buy, our analysts considered a number of factors. These looked at the altcoin’s past price action, adoption rate and popularity of its DeFi platform, and the DeFi platform’s user-friendliness. They also took into account the DeFi coin’s expected future price performance.

Here is an overview of what our analysts and the majority in the crypto community consider the next cryptos to explode in the DeFi niche:

1. Ethereum (ETH) – Overall Best DeFi Coin to Buy Now

Ethereum is arguably the most popular and most valuable DeFi coin. Launched in 2015, it is also one of the oldest and most reputable DeFi tokens. Four key considerations informed our decision to feature Ethereum on our list of the DeFi coins to buy today.

First is the fact that it has performed exceptionally well in the past. Note that at its peak price of $4890 in November 2021, ETH was trading more than 1630000% above its ICO price.

Secondly, it makes it here because you can earn passively staking ETH tokens. The second most valuable crypto asset recently switched to the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and this allows investors to earn when they stake ETH. You may choose on-chain ETH staking, which pays up to 4% in interest.

You may also choose third-party staking platforms that pay higher – double-digit percentage – rewards.

Thirdly, ETH makes it here because the Ethereum network is home to the largest and most vibrant DeFi ecosystem. Virtually all the most popular DeFi platforms are hosted on the network. This implies that their increased use cases and value gain have a direct impact on the demand and price of ETH.

Lastly, we list ETH among the hottest cryptos in the DeFi niche to invest in today because it has a promising future. Throughout the 2022 bear market, a lot of developments took place within the Ethereum ecosystem.

These are yet to have an impact on the ETH price prediction. But as soon as the market starts recovering, we expect the rush to price in these developments. This and ETH’s resilience are then expected to catapult the token’s price and your investment to unimaginable heights.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

2. Uniswap (UNI) – Best DeFi Coin for Liquidity Mining

Uniswap is arguably the most popular and fastest-growing decentralized exchange. Like most of the best crypto exchanges in the US, Uniswap facilitates online crypto trades. It also offers alongside token swaps and liquidity pooling. But unlike CEXs, Uniswap leverages smart contracts to match trades in place of the traditional order book.

Uniswap was also the first DEX to implement the Automate Market Maker (AMM) model proposed by Vitalik Buterin.

Established in 2018, Uniswap has so far processed crypto trades worth more than $1.3 Trillion. It has also been integrated into 300+ DeFi, dApp and other crypto programs, with more integrations and partnerships expected down the road as crypto adoption grows.

These developments have had a significant impact on UNI’s price, making it one of the best beginner cryptos to buy today. They have not only helped it maintain an overall uptrendng price action but are expected to continue driving up UNI’s price in the foreseeable future.

We feature Uniswap among the best cryptos to buy today because it lets you earn doubly. First, when you contribute liquidity to the different pools hosted on Uniswap, you earn a portion of the fees collected by that pool. Secondly, while your DeFi coins are locked in the Uniswap liquidity pols, they may appreciate in value.

You may also want to invest in DeFi coins like Uniswap because it is trading at a highly discounted price – more than 90% below its May 2021 highs. There nevertheless is a level of consensus among analysts and investors that Uniswap will rebound and recapture this peak price during the next bull market.

This would translate to an 1100% rally for both the UNI token and your investment.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

3. Cronos (CRO) – Established Exchange With the Best DeFi Wallet

CRO is the native token of the Cronos network and a utility token for the popular Crypto.com exchange. It features among the best future cryptos to buy today primarily because of their promising future. We also list it here because the Cronos network exposes you to multiple DeFi platforms that you can leverage to earn higher-than-average returns on your crypto investment.

There are several advantages to investing in the CRO DeFi coin. First, it has performed exemplarily well in the past, has proved its resilience, and is expected to sustain this overall uptrending price action into the foreseeable future.

Secondly, you stand to earn high interest – between 10% and 14% APY – on staked CRO tokens. You will also qualify for between 3% and 30% off trader fees on the Crypto.com exchange when you stake CRO coins.

We also list CRO among the best altcoins to buy right now because the Cronos network provides its users with a free DeFi wallet. This mobile app exposes you to the DeFi world and the Web 3 ecosystem. Here, you get to interact with multiple passive income generators that offer double- to triple-digit percentage interest and rewards.

The investment opportunities available here include staking, liquidity mining, saving, and yield farming.

As is the case with Ethereum, CRO stands to benefit the most from a richer and more vibrant DeFi ecosystem. As more DeFi programs with high interest and rewards pop up, the number of DeFi wallet users will increase – and so will the demand and price of the CRO tokens.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

4. Pancakeswap (CAKE) – Largest DeFi Platform on the Binance Smart Chain Network

Pancakeswap is the largest decentralized exchange on the Binance Smart Chain network. It was originally designed to counter the Eth-based Uniswap’s popularity and dominance of the DEX niche. It, however, has gone on to become one of the fastest-growing DEX platforms in the DeFi ecosystem.

Its CAKE token has also performed exceptionally well in the past, proved its resilience, and has a promising future. These qualities informed our decision to feature CAKE among the best DeFi coins to invest in today.

It also makes the cut to this list because it presents you with multiple ways of making money off your crypto investment. For starters, you can stake CAKE tokens on-chain or via third-party platforms and earn double-digit percentage returns.

You also earn when you contribute liquidity to the Pancakeswap pools. Most of the liquidity pools charge a transaction fee of 0.25%. As much as 68% of this fee is distributed to liquidity providers.

Lastly, we list it here because it is already trading more than 97% below its May 2021 highs. Like most of the DeFi Coins on this list, CAKE is expected to rebound and recapture this price level during the next bull market. This would translate to a 3700%+ gain on your current investment.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

5. Maker (MKR) – Highly Decentralized Crypto Lending Platform

MKR is the utility and governance token for the Maker DAO and the Maker Protocol – one of the most popular decentralized crypto exchanges. We feature it here because it is one of the most lucrative DeFi coins.

At the time of writing, for example, the MKR token is selling more than 5600% above its introductory price – even though this represents an 80% dip from its May 2021 highs.

The MKR token’s popularity has been soaring and so have the use cases for the DAO’s stablecoin- DAI. Moving forward, these are expected to help MKR sustain its overall uptrending price action.

As soon as the market starts recovering, analysts and the majority of the crypto community are confident that MKR will race towards a new all-time high. And by the time it recaptures its 20201 highs, it will have grown your investment by more than 5000%.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

6. Sushiswap (SUSHI) – Best Uniswap Alternative

Sushiswap is a Uniswap hard fork engineered by a pseudonymous individual – simply known as Chef Nomi. It, too, is a decentralized exchange that leverages smart contracts and the Automated Market Maker (AMM) model to cut the middleman out of crypto transactions.

After breaking away from Uniswap in September 2020, Sushiswap launched SUSHI tokens at an ICO price of $0.64. Six months later, the DeFi coin had rallied by more than 3800% to set the current all-time high of $23. The downtrending crypto market has, however, sent its prices crashing and SUSHI currently trades 97% below this all time.

The massive price dip notwithstanding, we still feature SUSHI among the top DeFi coins to buy today because of its unmatched resilience. It also makes it to this list because its popularity, adoption, SUSHI token uses, and the number of liquidity pools on the DEX have all been increasing.

This has analysts convinced that SUSHI is ready to rebound and that it might recapture the May 2021 highs during the next bull rally.

It also makes it here because it presents you with the opportunity to earn a double income on your crypto investment. First, you make money when either SUSHI or the altcoin you have locked in a Sushiswap liquidity pool gains value. You also make money when you share the transaction fees earned by the pool to which you contribute liquidity.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

7. Aave (AAVE) – Borrow and Lend Cryptos at Highly Competitive Rates

Aave is one of the most popular crypto lending and borrowing platforms in the crypto-verse. It is also one of the five DeFi platforms with the highest Total Value Locked (TVL) – $7+ Billion at the end of the first half of 2023.

Further, the AAVE token has been one of the best performing DeFi coins, maintaining an overall uptrendng price action – even though it currently trades 90%+ below its May 2021 all-time high.

There are three primary ways of making money on the Aave protocol. First, you stand to earn competitive interest – when you supply liquidity to the crypto lending platform. Secondly, you receive a reward when you stake AAVE coins to secure the network.

Lastly, you can borrow crypto from Aave, use it to make money and repay at a competitive interest. Note that the Loan-to-Value ratio on the platform can be as high as 80%.

But these aren’t the only things that make AAVE DeFi coin worth buying. It also makes it here because it is resilient and has a promising future. This has our analysts convinced that AAVE will eventually break above the 2021 highs, which would mean 1200%+ gains on your investment.

Not forgetting that – like all other DeFi coins on this list – you earn doubly when you stake or lend cryptos on the platform while their price is on an uptrend.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

8. Lido DAO (LDO) – Fast Rising DeFi Staking Protocol on the Ethereum Network 

Lido Finance is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) designed to simplify crypto staking. At the moment, you can stake three of the best altcoins – Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon.

The reward for this investment currently averages 3.6%, 6.4%, and 4.2%, respectively. You may also invest in the LDO – the native token for the Lido DAO – and earn interest when you lend these assets to other Lido platform users.

Launched in 2020, LDO is a relatively new crypto and DAO. Its growth has nevertheless been phenomenal. Its simple interface and commitment to security have seen millions turn to the DAO to stake more than $14 Billion worth of ETH, MATIC, and SOL tokens.

The LDO token has also proved its resilience by maintaining an uptrending price action. Our analysts thoroughly examined such Lido DAO and token fundamentals as their popularity, security, growing crypto adoption, and demand for ETH staking services.

They arrived at the conclusion that LDO is only trading 85% below its August 2021 highs because of the extended bear market. This implies that as soon as it confirms recovery, LDO is expected to rally by 800%. This should help it recapture the all-time high before aiming for a new record.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

9. dYdX (DYDX) – Make Money Staking and Margin Trading on one of the Largest DEXs

dYdX is a non-custodial decentralized crypto exchange hosted on the layer-2 of the Ethereum blockchain network. The exchange launched in 2019, but the DYDX tokens native to this ecosystem only launched in September 2021.

The fact that the dYdX DeFi coin launched at the height of the 2021 bull market explains why the coin has recorded significant overall gains and trades more than 90% below its all-time high of $27.

The non-custodial nature of the dYdX exchange implies that you cannot earn by contributing liquidity to the DEX. Nevertheless, the DYDX token still makes it to our list of the best DeFi coins to buy right now because of its promising future. It also makes it here because it gives users a chance at double income.

While you cannot stake regular cryptos on dYdX, you can stake DYDX tokens in the DEXs Safety Staking Pool to secure the platform. There are no minimum stake amounts and contributors are eligible for a share of the 2.5% of DYDX total token supply dedicated to rewarding users who stake the asset on the platform.

The fact that it launched at the height of the market rally has investors and analysts convinced that we are yet to see its true peak price. And given its popularity and growing user base, they expect DYDX tokens to rally by the 1400% needed to recapture the 2021 false peak before setting the pace for a new all-time high during the next bull run.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

10. Compound (COMP) – Crypto Lending Platform with One of the Highest Total Value Locked

Launched in 2018, Compound is an established DeFi platform and one of the most popular crypto lending platforms. It has consistently topped the list of top 10 DeFi platforms with the highest TVL – standing at $2.9 Billion at the end of the second half of 2023. It is also massively popular, with an estimated daily user base of 110+ million crypto investors.

 

A number of factors help Compound and its COMP tokens appeal to DeFi investors. First is the fact that it lets you earn when you lend or borrow crypto on the platform. When lending, you stand to earn interest as high as 3.11% APR. Borrowers can, on the other hand, access up to 83% of their collateral, with the loan interest averaging 4%.

Through crypto lending, you get to double your income if the crypto’s price appreciates while being lent on the Compound platform. You may also earn by investing in and staking COMP tokens – on- or off-chain. Plus, the COMP token’s price is expected to escape the current dip – 95% below an all-time high – and rally to new highs during the next bull market.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

What are DeFi Coins?

DeFi is short for Decentralized Finance. This is an umbrella term used to refer to peer-to-peer crypto platforms that offer financial services in the crypto-verse. Most of these platforms are hosted on Ethereum and such popular smart-contract blockchain networks as Solana and Cardano. DeFi coin, on the other hand, refers to the utility token for these DeFi platforms.

DeFi coins come in handy in facilitating the payment of transaction fees within the DeFi environment. These DeFi coins can also be staked to secure the decentralized financial services-providing platform.

They can also be used to facilitate the smooth running of the platform. For example, UN tokens locked in one of the UNI-paired liquidity pools are used to facilitate UNI-paired crypto swaps. At the time of writing, data from CoinMarketCap indicates that there are more than 500 DeFi coins in the crypto-verse.

These are native to DeFi platforms that offer a diverse range of financial services, including staking, yield farming, saving, crypto lending, crypto borrowing, and liquidity mining. The majority are currently trading at highly discounted prices, making them the best cryptos to buy before the next bull market.

Are DeFi Coins a Good Investment?

Yes, DeFi coins are a good investment because they have historically outperformed conventional investments. Several rallied 1000X+ during the last bull rally and went on to prove their resilience during the 2022 bear market.

Below, we look at the top reasons you should consider investing in DeFi coins today.

Earn lucrative ROI

DeFi coins form a significant part of the best-performing cryptocurrencies. By investing in some of the most promising DeFi coins that we have discussed above, you are exposing your capital to higher-than-average gains. As soon as the crypto market confirms recovery, for example, we expect several coins to rally multiple folds. The likes of MKR are, for instance, expected to appreciate by 5000%+.

Potential for double incomes

You should also consider investing in DeFi coins if you are looking to earn doubly from your capital. First, you earn interest or rewards when you stake, lend, contribute liquidity, or borrow. You also earn when a rallying market or natural forces of demand and supply push up the value of your staked or lent crypto.

Participate in crypto innovation

Most DeFi platforms are DAOs and will, therefore, let you influence the growth of the platform through voting. You may even suggest changes to the DeFi platform. Others will let you keep the DAO secure through staking. If you wish to take a proactive step in influencing the direction of the crypto-verse, invest in DeFi Coins.

Low transaction costs

You may also want to buy DeFi coins if you wish to keep the crypto trading fees at a minimum. Most offer crypto conversion and swapping services either for free or at highly competitive fees.

Highly accessible

In addition to being highly lucrative and making it possible for you to actively contribute towards the advancement of the crypto industry, DeFi coins are easily accessible. They are listed with virtually all the most popular and deeply liquid exchanges. This makes them easy to buy and liquidate.

Buy crypto anonymously

Note that most DeFi platforms aren’t regulated. Therefore, they don’t ask for identity verification when creating a trader account, making it possible for you to buy DeFi coins anonymously.

Access a wide range of financial services

By investing in DeFi coins and DeFi platforms, you unlock access to a wide range of decentralized financial services. These include staking and crypto ending and their interest rates and rewards are higher than conventional investments.

Factors to Consider When Searching for the Best DeFi Coins

Here are a few factors you need to give utmost consideration to when looking for the best coins to buy within the DeFi ecosystem.

Interest/reward

The primary goal of inversing in DeFi coins is maximizing your crypto investment. Therefore, compare the interest rate or rewards that come with investing in particular DeFi coins and only settle with the most rewarding.

DeFi service type

You will also want to check the financial service offered by a DeFi platform before investing in its DeFi coin. These range from staking to crypto lending. Then, compare the lucrativeness and risk levels associated with the service and only go for the most secure yet rewarding coins.

Past and expected future price action

Confirm how your crypto asset has performed in the past. Check its price drivers. Assess its resilience and check what analysts, investors, and forecasters believe it will be worth in the foreseeable future. Only go after DeFi coins with the most promising future.

Sustainability

Your preferred DeFi coin should be anchored on a safe and scalable DeFi platform with a sustainable business model. Avoid DeFi coins that don’t have the backing of a DeFi platform with a scalable and sustainable business model.

Popularity and adoption rate

Cryptos with a large community of followers tend to outperform undiscovered cryptos. Further, confirm how many other DeFis are integrating into the DeFi platform and the number of both on- and off-chain brands that welcome the DeFi coin as a payment option. These go a long way in pushing up the altcoin’s price.

Where to Buy DeFi Coins

We have already mentioned that DeFi coins have been listed with some of the most popular and deeply liquid crypto exchanges. Below, we introduce you to some of the best places to buy top DeFi coins right now.

eToro – Overall Best Place to buy DeFi Coins

eToro is a multi-regulated crypto brokerage licensed by the SEC, CySEC, FCA, and even the ASIC. It has a solid reputation for security, user-friendliness, and affordability. Having been in operation since 2007, the crypto trading platform has never been hacked.

eToro also maintains a straightforward client onboarding process as well as a highly navigable trading interface. Plus, it charges a fixed crypto trading fee of 1% of the trade volume.

These, and the fact that it supports a decent selection of crypto assets – among them top DeFi coins – are part of the reasons that make it the best place to buy DeFi tokens. Some of the DeFi assets that you can buy on eToro include Compound, Uniswap, Aave, Maker, and Ethereum.

eToro also offers on-platform crypto staking services for its UK and US platform users. At the moment, you can stake Cardano and Tron tokens on the platform at an interest rate of between 75% and 90%.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

Crypto.com – Best DeFi Exchange with a Popular DeFi Wallet

Crypto.com lists 200+ cryptocurrencies on its platform – including virtually all the DeFi coins we have listed here. It, too, has a beginner-friendly onboarding process, a straightforward crypto-buying process, and charges highly competitive trading fees. These range between 0.26% and 0% and can drop by a further 30% if you have staked CRO tokens on-chain.

Crypto.com also makes it to our list of the best DeFi coin exchanges because it is committed to the security of client funds and data. For starters, the exchange claims that it doesn’t share client data with third parties. Additionally, crypto.com stores your coins offline and presents you with a secure mobile wallet app for iPhone and Android.

It is also one of the few exchanges that publish their proof of reserve audit reports. You may also like buying cryptos in the DeFi niche on Crypto.com because it gives you access to a free DeFi wallet. Here, you get to interact with thousands of DeFi and DeFi investing platforms with above-average rewards and interests.

You can also stake directly on the Crypto.com website and earn as much as 12.5% on altcoins like Polkadot, 7% on stablecoins, and up to 1.5% on Bitcoin.

How to Buy The Best DeFi Coins for Beginners 

You now know that DeFi coins are worth investing in and have a few reasons why you should consider adding them to your portfolio. We have also just mentioned that eToro is one of the best places to buy these coins.

Below, we will teach you how to buy cryptos and DeFi coins safely on eToro. It is straightforward and you only need $10 to start investing.

Step 1: Register an eToro account

Open the eToro.com website on your browser. Alternatively, download the eToro mobile trading app. Hit the “Join Now” button on either platform and complete the user registration form that appears.

It will ask for such basic details as your name and age, phone number and email address, country of residence and postal code, trading experience and disposable income. Then, come up with a unique username and strong password for this account.

Step 2: Verify your identity

eToro is a multi-regulated crypto exchange and is therefore required to subject all its platform users to KYC checks. Simply submit a clear photo of a government-issued identification that bears the names used to create the eToro trading account.

Step 3: Deposit funds

Log in to your crypto trader account and hit the “Deposit Funds” icon on your user dashboard. From the list of deposit options that appear, choose one and follow the prompts to fund this account with at least $10.

Step 4: Search for DeFi coins

After the cash deposit is reflected in your trading account, use the search bar on the website to find your favorite DeFi coin. Simply enter the name or ticker symbol of the DeFi Coin you intend to invest in and hit the “Trade” button that pops up.

Step 5: Buy DeFi coins

Next, click on the “BUY” option against your preferred DeFi coin. Use the trading tab that appears to customize this trade by indicating how much to invest in the digital asset. Hit the “Open Trade” button to execute this trade.

Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.

Step 6: Set up the eToro Money Wallet App

The private keys for the DeFi Coin you just purchased are deposited to the exchange-based wallet by eToro. To move these crypto to a third-party DeFi wallet or DeFi platform where they can be staked or lent out, you will first need to download eToro’s free wallet app for iOS or Android.

Use the credentials created in Step 1 above to log in and link the eToro Money wallet with the eToro trading account. Move the assets to the wallet app from whence you can transfer them to your preferred DeFi platform.

Best DeFi Wallet

When investing in DeFi coins, you will also need a highly reputable and safe crypto wallet. Note that good DeFi wallets don’t just keep your cryptos secure. Some integrate passive investing DeFi services such as staking and savings.

Of all the crypto wallet options around, we encourage our readers not to leave their cryptos in an exchange. We also encourage you to avoid hot wallets and, in their stead, seek out highly reliable non-custodial wallets, especially reputable hardware wallets.

For DeFi investing, however, we would recommend the following wallets:

• com DeFi wallet: This is the official DeFi wallet for the Crypto.com exchange. It not only keeps your DeFi coins safe but also gives you access to a dApp browser that exposes you to 500,000+ Tokens and tens of reputable DeFi platforms.
• Trust Wallet: The Trust Wallet is the official DeFi wallet app for Binance crypto exchange. It, too, keeps your DeFi coins safe but also features a dApp browser that gives its users access to 1+ million tokens and hundreds of DeFi platforms.
• Metamask: Metamask is a third-party wallet that is specially designed to hold Ethereum and Ethereum-based tokens. In addition to keeping your crypto safe, it also lets you buy, swap, and send DeFi tokens.

Conclusion – Best DeFi Coins to Buy Right Now

DeFi coins are one of the most lucrative cryptocurrencies of the last decade. Today, more crypto investors are turning to these assets because they not only have a promising future but also because they let you earn doubly.

In this guide, we have studied how to invest in cryptos within the DeFi ecosystem, looked at the top DeFi coins to buy right now, and shared tips on what to look for when searching for the best DeFi coins.

Want to start investing in any of the DeFi coins we have discussed above? Use the step-by-step guide to buying crypto on eToro that we have outlined above.

Reviewed and Fact Checked by Kamal Masri, Crypto Writer and Investment Analyst.