top 5 altcoins to invest in October 2017:

1. ZCash: ZCash can be thought of a Bitcoin but with additional privacy features. It gives users the option to conceal the recipients and senders. Its value has increased significantly in the past five months and it has immense support which means that its value is bound to increase further. It is currently valued at $174.62 with a market cap of $383,715,503.

2. Steem: Blockchain technology has expanded beyond just Bitcoin and has found new applications in a variety of industry. One of those is Steem. It is a blockchain based social media where you can earn Steem for posting content. The more popular your content, the higher the payout. The idea of earning money for your articles is an enticing one and it is only going to become more and more popular. It is currently valued at $1.13 with a market cap of $272,974,184.

3. Voxel: Voxel is the game currency used by the blockchain powered Virtual Reality platform Voxelus. The platform gives users the freedom to create their own Virtual Reality games. The key attraction is that you don't need to write any code at all. Voxel has the backing of the two most powerful technologies in the present time - Virtual Reality and blockchain. It is currently priced at $0.04 with a market cap of $9,227,022.

4. IOTA: Known as the currency of Internet of Things, IOTA enables transactions at zero fees. It is able to do so by using a technology called Tangle which is blockless. It aims to make everything from appliances to bandwidth a service that can be traded. It is currently trading at $0.488423 with a market cap of $1,357,586,519.

5. Bitshares: Bitshares is also a blockchain based coin that offers many more features such as stability of price, decentralized exchange, scheduled payments, referral programs and Delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. These features make Bitshares very attractive. Moreover, it also partners with Steem. It is currently reading at $0.073248 with a market cap of $190,391,754.

The key to good investments is to always diversify and invest in various different options.