The Best Cryptocurrency to Buy With $500 Right Now
Summarize this article with:
Looking for a focused $500 crypto play? Polkadot is my pick today thanks to big upgrades and a coming supply cap. And it doesn't hurt to get started at a low buy-in price.It's mid-December, and crypto is in one of those moods again. Prices that looked unstoppable a few weeks ago have been sliding, headlines are loud, and the digital asset market has returned to its favorite pastime: shaking out anyone who confused a good run with a guaranteed future. If you're investing only $500, that may be more of an advantage than a problem. You don't need to "own the whole market." Just set up one modest position where the story is improving even while the price is misbehaving. That's why I'd put Polkadot (DOT 0.72%) on your shortlist. In my view, it's the best cryptocurrency to buy today. Here's why. ExpandCRYPTO: DOTPolkadotToday's Change(-0.72%) $-0.01Current Price$1.99Key Data PointsMarket Cap$3.3BDay's Range$1.95 - $2.0252wk Range$1.95 - $9.22Volume189M Price plunge vs. Polkadot 2.0 -- a weird pairing I can tell you two facts about Polkadot that seem to contradict each other:Advertisement Polkadot's price is plunging. The flagship cryptocurrency of the Web3 Foundation is down 78% over the past year, including a 54% drop in three months. The Polkadot system is getting faster and more secure, earning the Polkadot 2.0 moniker as recently as November 2025. Polkadot is also implementing a hard supply cap with regularly scheduled supply side halvings. In other words, the system is ready to go whenever the web3 revolution goes mainstream. Short story even shorter, Polkadot seems poised for value-boosting success, but the coin price is falling anyway. When the cap actually kicks in Here's the part many crypto pitches skip: why would any of this make the Polkadot token more valuable? Polkadot's upcoming supply cap (Referendum 1710, passed with 81% support and scheduled to take effect on March 14, 2026) means no more inflation diluting your stake after the cap kicks in. It's a lot like the hard 21 million cap Bitcoin (BTC 0.63%) that crypto bulls often cite as a long-term value driver. Meanwhile, Polkadot tokens are required for people who want to participate in the project's governance, secure the network through staking, and pay fees for using the blockchain. If usage grows while new supply shrinks, the math tilts in favor of early holders. That could be you, if you take action in 2025. Image source: The Web3 Foundation. Short-term pain, long-term thesis None of that guarantees a price rebound -- crypto is still crypto, and a $500 position can go to $50 as easily as $5,000. But when I'm looking for an asymmetric risk-reward balance in a beaten-down market, I want a token where the fundamentals are improving. That's very true for Polkadot, and the tokenomics are tightening. Polkadot checks both boxes right now. I think the web3 sea change is necessary. The social media focus of the current internet experience is getting old, and tighter content ownership feels required in this era of artificial intelligence (AI) bots scraping the web for fresh training material. If my reasoning is on the right track, the Polkadot tokens you purchase now should gain significant value in the long run.About the AuthorAnders Bylund is a contributing Motley Fool media and technology analyst covering semiconductors, cloud computing, internet infrastructure, quantum computing, and streaming media. Previously, Anders was a systems administrator for Nielsen Technology and CSX, gaining hands-on experience with enterprise-class systems. He was also a freelance writer for Ars Technica, TIME, USA Today, CNN, WIRED, and AOL's Daily Finance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in library and information sciences from Florida State University. He believes in coyotes and time as an abstract.TMFZahrimX@TMFZahrimRead NextDec 9, 2025 •By Chris MacDonaldThis Cryptocurrency's 7.6% Move Today Rocketed This Token Into the Top 30Nov 24, 2025 •By Leo Sun4 Reasons to Buy Polkadot Before 2026Nov 16, 2025 •By Anders BylundThe Best Cryptocurrency to Buy with $100 Right NowOct 18, 2025 •By Anders Bylund3 Cryptocurrencies to Buy NowOct 11, 2025 •By Anders BylundPrediction: 3 Cryptocurrencies That'll Be Worth More Than Dogecoin 5 Years From NowSep 19, 2025 •By Anders BylundPolkadot's 2.1 Billion Hard Cap, Explained: Put Away Your Calculators