Back in 2021, Shiba Inu (SHIB 3.10%) was arguably one of the hottest cryptocurrencies on the planet.

Shiba Inu captured the imagination of many investors with its meteoric rise. While it didn't fulfill all lofty expectations, it played a significant role in bringing mainstream attention to the diverse world of cryptocurrencies.

The dog-themed meme coin skyrocketed in value out of seemingly nowhere, and many crypto investors thought that an investment in Shiba Inu would eventually make them millionaires. Unfortunately, that never happened, and Shiba Inu continues to trade for the meager price of just $0.000009 per token.

That's the bad news. The good news is that there are a handful of other cryptocurrencies that could also make you rich. The 2 cryptocurrencies on my radar right now are Solana (SOL 10.96%) and Chainlnk (LINK 4.30%). While Shiba Inu's meteoric rise was a headline-grabber, it's Solana and Chainlink that might be the real stars in the making. Here's why.

Solana

My top pick is Solana, which is absolutely en fuego at the moment.

Solana is up 140% over the past 30 days, and more than 474% for the year. That's some pretty impressive performance, even by the high standards set by Shiba Inu. Unlike Shiba Inu, however, Solana actually offers real utility.

That's because Solana is an up-and-coming challenger to Ethereum (ETH 3.96%), which is the 800-pound gorilla of the blockchain world. As a Layer 1 blockchain, Solana offers everything Ethereum offers -- including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), smart contracts for decentralized finance, and the blockchain infrastructure for Web3, gaming, and the metaverse.

However, there is a huge chasm in valuations between the two. Ethereum is currently the second-largest crypto in the world with a whopping $234 billion market cap. By way of comparison, Solana has a $24 billion market cap. Thus, right now, Ethereum is approximately 10 times more valuable than Solana. If Solana ever catches up to Ethereum in areas such as NFTs or decentralized finance, though, this gap in valuation could narrow markedly.

In late October, investment firm VanEck ran the numbers and came up with a bull case market scenario for Solana in which it eventually gains a 30% market share of every major blockchain niche. That would be enough, says VanEck, to support a $3,200 price and $2 trillion market cap by the year 2030. Given that Solana is currently trading around $60 right now, that's a more than 50X possible increase in value from today's prices.

Chainlink

Another candidate for eye-popping market returns is Chainlink, which is a decentralized blockchain oracle network. That's a mouthful, but it just means that Chainlink helps to provide real-world data to smart contracts running on a blockchain. These smart contracts are small pieces of executable computer code, and rely on data for their functionality. When that data does not exist on a blockchain, they need an oracle to help find it. Thus, getting access to the type of real-time data that Chainlink provides is a fantastic market niche to be in for the foreseeable future.

Best of all, we've already seen the type of parabolic market performance that Chainlink is capable of delivering. Back in 2020-2021, during the last crypto bull market rally, Chainlink exploded in value from $2 to nearly $50 in less than a year. That's the type of performance that Shiba Inu once delivered, but you're getting this performance with a real, underlying business model in place.

What makes Chainlink so attractive right now is that it appears to be gaining momentum quickly with investors looking to diversify away from Bitcoin (BTC 4.40%). Over the past 30 days, Chainlink is up 84%, and for the year, is up 143%. As a result, Chainlink's market cap has catapulted to nearly $7.5 billion, making it one of the top 15 most valuable cryptocurrencies in the world right now.

And, as with Solana, the best may be yet to come. That's because Chainlink is currently working on ways to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) with blockchain technology. According to Chainlink, this integration could drive significant value in multi-billion-dollar industries, including energy and healthcare. The AI boom is still in its early stages, so if Chainlink can develop an innovative approach to AI and blockchain right now, it could pay off huge later in terms of a much higher valuation.

Investing for the long haul

The one caveat to keep in mind is that you need to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Solana or Chainlink for the long haul if you really plan to become rich. I've mentioned the recent performance of these cryptos, and I've emphasized their potential to gain momentum and skyrocket in price quickly, but the real gains will come over the long haul. Sudden price spikes can be short-lived, after all.

That's why I've specifically picked two cryptos with business models that I know, understand, and believe in. And I've picked two cryptos with management teams that I also trust.

• The founder of Solana, Anatoly Yakovenko, is a former Qualcomm engineer, and his team has extensive experience in mobile development.
• The founder of Chainlink, Sergey Nazarov, is a well-respected serial entrepreneur who some think might actually be Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin.
• A top strategic advisor to Chainlink is Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google.

Shiba Inu's legacy as a trailblazer in the meme coin space holds a special place in crypto history. But it's time to bid farewell to its meme coin charm and embrace cryptocurrencies like Solana and Chainlink that promise more than viral appeal. 

That's the next generation of cryptocurrencies leading the charge in the blockchain world and creating real, sustainable value.