Three smaller altcoins, NEM, Augur and District0x, managed to beat the general crypto market corrections, showing impressive gains on July 16. Bitcoin and Ether may be struggling, but lesser known digital currencies have solid potential. As the cryptocurrency market matures, investors see diversity in their portfolio as a way to lower their risk. Small-cap altcoins offer the ideal opportunity for them.

NEM, which stands for the New Economy Movement, is both an application building platform and a cryptocurrency. Launched in 2015, NEM underwent a major upgrade in 2018. Auger was launched in 2014, Auger decentralizes prediction markets. REP tokens are what people stake on a possible outcome and those who predict the outcome correctly are rewarded in ETH. District0x is an Ethereum coin. It is also a platform where developers can build communities and marketplaces known as districts. The maximum supply of district0x coins is 1,000,000,000, with about 600,000,000 currently in circulation.

Small-cap altcoins are starting to outperform Bitcoin consistently. Crypto traders love to talk about under-the-radar small-cap altcoins, but investors should be wary. There are many factors that govern altcoin investments. The altcoin industry has its dangers with both disreputable exchanges and fraudulent coins. More secure and trustworthy exchanges that make it easier to exchange small-cap coins for Bitcoin and other large-cap cryptocurrencies.

About 40 percent of the cryptocurrency market is made up of altcoins, which are basically everything but Bitcoin. There are about 5,000 altcoins for investors to choose from, but most won't provide long-term substantial returns. While large-cap altcoins like Litecoin and Ethereum are typically safe investments, small-cap altcoin investments are risky. If you want to be safer, make sure you know who is issuing the coin and understand their background. Ask when and how you can sell the coin and what fees you'll have to pay to sell it. Never buy based on Facebook rumors or unsubstantiated claims from unknown persons. Be safe and don't invest unless you understand the cryptocurrency market well.