Cryptocurrencies to keep under your radar in 2025

The crypto industry has surged by more than 1 trillion this past month, further propelling the total market capitalization to a significant 3.64 trillion, offering incredible opportunities to investors who secured their positions by buying early. Behind this unparalleled growth stands a series of developments transforming the crypto space. Earlier this year, the Bitcoin halving event ignited a rally that historically occurred 12-18 months later, while the recent victory of President Donald Trump has also added to this bullish firestorm. Trump has promised regulatory clarity, which has only sparked investor confidence, creating the perfect conditions for a full-blown bull run.

Given the favorable conditions of the market, many investors are wondering which crypto they should buy next. Is it Pepe, which has had an impressive performance this year? Or is it Solana, which has been often referred to as the” next Ethereum”? Below is a list of the best cryptocurrencies to keep under the radar next year, so read on!

Solana

Solana has been around for quite some time now but only recently has been tipping into the mainstream, raising the attention of institutional investors. Solana is among the top five crypto assets in terms of market capitalization, and it has been keeping the same pace as Bitcoin in terms of performance. While Bitcoin is up 143% this year, Solana is up 140%, which is such a striking achievement, considering that the latter is, after all, the crypto king. On top of that, Solana could also become the next crypto asset to get a spot ETF, and if that turns out to be true, Solana’s price will only increase by the following year. As seen with spot Bitcoin ETFs (and spot ETH ETFs, to a certain extent), developing an ETF investment product can result in a wave of new money flowing into a specific crypto project.

But that isn’t all – Solana seems to be actually hitting on all cylinders at the moment, as it has emerged as a major rival to Ethereum, and many argue that it has more potential in the long run than Ethereum (impressive again!). In part, the reason behind that is that Solana offers blazing-fast transaction processing speeds and ultra-low transaction fees, leaving Ethereum in the dust.Currently, Solana is experiencing explosive new growth in the DeFi area, and for the first time, it is experiencing more trading activity on its exchanges than Ethereum. Moreover, Solana’s TVL (a critical performance metric measuring the overall strength of DeFi) is increasing at a rapid pace as well.

XRP

XRP is a digital payment protocol known for its low fees, fast transaction speeds, and robust applications in cross-border transactions for financial institutions. Its partnerships with institutions and banks makes it more appealing as a bride currency for physical assets. While traditional banking systems are expensive and slow when it comes to international transfers, that’s not the case for RippleNet – given its ability to process transactions in just a few seconds, Ripple is a better option, and as more banks continue to adopt it, the demand for the cryptocurrency could skyrocket, increasing its price. The recent developments, such as the favorable rulings involving the SEC, have boosted the cryptocurrency’s market cap and growth potential as well, which has reestablished investor confidence, fueling institutional adoption – in fact, those institutions that hesitated before buying XRP because of regulatory uncertainty are considering XRP to be a reliable asset for transactions.

Another driver is Ripple’s expanding ecosystem, as it is also venturing into the tokenization of real-world assets and DeFi, going beyond financial institutions. For example, its partnership with essential projects in carbon credit marketplaces based on blockchain indicates how Ripple is innovating beyond payments, with the ventures diversifying the use cases of XRP and making it more appealing to investors. Lastly, macroeconomic trends also play a major role, as Ripple is well-positioned to benefit from the continuous global adoption of the blockchain.

Polkadot

Polkadot is a multi-chain platform created to allow seamless interoperability between blockchains, and it has become a cornerstone of the decentralized web, empowering developers to create a scalable and interconnected network. As the blockchain industry evolves, many enthusiasts are optimistic about Polkadot reaching $100 by 2025. Its defining feature is interoperability, enabling communication and seamless transactions between blockchains through its relay chain and parachains. This unique architecture makes Polkadot an essential infrastructure layer for Web3, representing a decentralized internet built on blockchain technology.

Polkadot could reach $100 by 2025 depending on a few factors, including the continued adoption of parachains that could increase the demand for DOT tokens, driving up the price, the partnerships and collaborations with developers, enterprises, and other blockchain projects, as well as institutional interest, market sentiment and broader economic conditions.

Chainlink

Chainlink continues to be a top oracle coin in the crypto industry, and at the time of writing, it has a market cap of $15 billion. Long-time crypto investors are probably familiar with Chainlink, because of its performance during the previous crypto bull market of 2020-2021. At that time, Chainlink’s value increased by over 400% within just a few months. While past performance doesn’t offer any future guarantees, there are different factors that seem to be in Chainlink’s favor as we look forward to 2025. One of the most important is a planned, strategic move into the tokenization of assets.

As part of this strategy, Chainlink is collaborating with financial institutions to convert traditional assets into digital assets to trade on the blockchain. According to different high-profile consulting enterprises, the tokenization of assets will be a multi-trillion-dollar market opportunity by 2030, and if the trend is embraced, the value of Chainlink will likely soar in the next five years. At the moment, a growing consensus indicates that Chainlink can turn into a trusted partner for financial institutions seeking to explore the future of digital assets on the blockchain, which is partly due to Chainlink’s recent partnerships.

Pepe

Meme coins have always been quite popular in the crypto industry, showcasing a lot of promise. Many of the projects, however, didn’t succeed in delivering long-term value, but that wasn’t the case for Pepe coin, which broke away from the pattern and became a standout token in the market due to its quirky charm. In fact, Pepe has developed a devoted following, succeeding to become the third-largest meme coin by market capitalization, with a value of $11 billion.

This year alone, Pepe has had an impressive surge of 1642%, and this momentum doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, with some believing that the meme coin could achieve a 10x increase in its value by 2025. While that remains to be seen, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on Pepe during the following year.

The bottom line

If you’re looking for cryptocurrencies other than Ethereum and Bitcoin for your investment portfolio, these options may be worthy of consideration – just keep in mind to do your due diligence. While these cryptocurrencies have the potential to explode by 2025, they come with inherent risks and it’s essential to make an informed decision only after understanding what you’re getting yourself into.

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Adam Regan

Deputy Editor

Features and account management. 3 years media experience. Previously covered features for online and print editions.

Email Adam@MarkMeets.com