How the Next Ethereum Could Help You Retire a Millionaire

Key Points

Over the course of a decade, Ethereum skyrocketed in value from $3 to $3,000. The next Ethereum will need to have the same type of explosive upside in order to mint new crypto millionaires. Since its launch in 2023, Sui has been highly touted as a potential challenger to Ethereum.10 stocks we like better than Sui ›

The path to becoming a crypto millionaire is fairly straightforward: Find a coin or token that's trading for just a few bucks, invest $1,000 upfront, and then wait for the coin to deliver 1,000-fold returns. Voila! Within a decade, your $1,000 has been transformed into $1 million.

That was the path taken by Ethereum(CRYPTO: ETH), which has already proven its ability to mint new millionaires. In August 2015, Ethereum was trading for just $3. A decade later, it trades for more than $3,000.

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So which cryptocurrency today has the potential to become the next Ethereum and deliver 1,000-fold returns?

A list of potential millionaire-makers

Within the list of the world's top 20 cryptocurrencies (as ranked by market cap), there are some enticing possibilities. All of them are Layer 1 smart contract blockchain networks just like Ethereum, and all have the potential to act as a building block for the next generation of new blockchain innovations.

The top prospects include Solana(CRYPTO: SOL), Cardano(CRYPTO: ADA), Sui(CRYPTO: SUI), and Avalanche(CRYPTO: AVAX). At one time or another, all have been highly touted as potential Ethereum challengers, and all of them boast market caps of more than $7 billion.

Of these, it's easy to dismiss Solana. It's trading near a price of $160, so it doesn't meet the first qualification of a potential crypto millionaire-maker: It needs to be cheap. In order to see 1,000-fold returns, it's important to spot a coin or token when it's largely overlooked, and trading for just a few bucks.

Image source: Getty Images.

Of the other cryptocurrencies listed above, my personal pick is Sui, which currently ranks 18th among all cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap. Admittedly, Sui is down more than 50% for the year after hitting a new all-time high of $5.35 in January. But a super-low price of $2 is a positive, not a negative. It means there's still time to pile into Sui before anyone else recognizes its full potential.

Investor interest in Sui

Chances are, you haven't heard of Sui yet. That's perfectly OK. The cryptocurrency only launched in 2023, and did so amid the backdrop of crypto winter. So, while industry insiders knew about its launch, Sui never got the type of popular acclaim that it deserved.

From a technical perspective, Sui is superior to both Ethereum and Solana in terms of speed and efficiency. And it's backed by a highly pedigreed team that has significant experience in Silicon Valley. Mysten Labs, the tech company behind the Sui, has already raised more than $300 million from investors.

Investor interest in Sui appears to be building. There is already one spot proposed Sui exchange-traded fund (ETF) that could launch this year. If it does, that would go a long way in helping Sui go mainstream. Most investors probably don't want to buy Sui directly in the crypto market -- they would much prefer to invest indirectly via exchange-traded funds to get exposure to Sui.

Based on the latest data from CoinShares, Sui ranks fifth among all cryptocurrencies in terms of institutional investor inflows this year. At the top of the heap are Bitcoin(CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum, of course. After them come two more high-profile cryptos: XRP(CRYPTO: XRP) and Solana. But Sui has clearly passed other potential blockchain rivals such as Cardano. So institutional investors recognize the potential upside of Sui.

Can Sui take market share away from Ethereum?

Right now, Ethereum is the clear market leader in many key niches of the blockchain world. However, as investment firm 21Shares pointed out last year in a research report, the Sui blockchain has the speed and efficiency to wrest market share away from Ethereum over the long haul.

One area where Ethereum might be vulnerable is decentralized finance (DeFi). Solana has already shown the power of faster transaction processing speeds to win over users and developers.

So, in theory, Sui has the same ability to win over users and developers. In terms of total value locked (TVL), which is a key metric for assessing DeFi prowess, Sui already ranks 11th among all major blockchains. If Sui continues to rise up the charts, it will likely do so at the expense of Ethereum.

How much upside does Sui really have?

Just keep in mind: Nobody is yet predicting anything close to a future price of $2,000 for Sui. But that's exactly how high the price of Sui would have to rise for any reasonable chance at millionaire status.

Is it possible that Sui has that much upside? Perhaps not. But people said the same thing about Ethereum during its infancy. Nobody could have imagined that it might transform from an obscure $3 cryptocurrency into a $3,000 powerhouse. If Sui can follow this same script -- and it's a huge "if" -- then it has the potential to help you retire as a millionaire.

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Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Cardano, Ethereum, Solana, Sui, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Avalanche, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Sui, and XRP. 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.