Why Bitcoin, Cardano, and Polkadot Surged Higher Today

Today, the cryptocurrency market is (finally) moving in the right direction for investors. As of 1:30 p.m. EST, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), and Polkadot (CRYPTO: DOT) all surged higher. Bitcoin was up by 3%, pacing the overall market. However, altcoins Cardano and Polkadot saw more substantial gains, rising 6.3% and 4.9%, respectively, over the past 24 hours.

Year-end risk-on sentiment has seeped into equity and cryptocurrency markets, with a Santa Claus rally leading many top tokens higher today. As the market leader, Bitcoin's price action tends to reflect broad investor sentiment perhaps more closely than other altcoins.

For ADA, founder Charles Hoskinson has recently highlighted some intriguing growth prospects for the Cardano network in 2022. An open-source project structure, end-to-end Microfinance project, and a range of other Cardano improvement proposals are on the table. These prospective growth projects appear to have investors excited.

Polkadot received a boost yesterday following some Twitter banter regarding the rust programming language, which happens to underpin Polkadot. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called Rust a "perfect" programming language, raising the profile of Polkadot and other cryptocurrencies using Rust.

So what

Recent trading days have been friendly to investors of all stripes. With that said, those with portfolios tilted more toward the higher end of the risk spectrum have really outperformed over the past week.

These top cryptocurrencies are among the most stable and well-known in the crypto world. However, the entire crypto market remains higher-risk, due in part to the difficulty many investors have in valuing the tokens that represent these networks.

Bitcoin's stability, Cardano's growth prospects, and Polkadot's developer-friendly attributes certainly point toward three tokens worth considering for those looking to add some crypto exposure. While more volatility is expected on the horizon, there's a reason why these three tokens are seeing upside today.

Now what

Cryptocurrency investing isn't for everyone. Many choose to trade crypto tokens or simply steer clear of these higher-volatility assets. Such a view certainly makes sense for those more risk-averse.

That said, the historical returns of these three top tokens certainly speak to the recognition of the tremendous value underpinning these networks. Recent catalysts supporting the short-term rise in these tokens are worth keeping an eye on for those looking to build a longer-term crypto portfolio. 

Chris MacDonald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.