Bitcoin surpasses $100,000. But are other cryptocurrencies also on the rise?

On December 4th Bitcoin (BTC -3.51%) crossed the $100,000 price mark for the first time. This was the culmination of a post-election rally that saw Bitcoin rise more than 40% in a remarkably short period of time. Despite the recent volatility in the crypto market, Bitcoin is up more than 110% in 2024.

But don’t forget the rest of the crypto market. Many cryptocurrencies are currently surging as part of a broad-based post-election rally. And in some cases they significantly outperform Bitcoin. Let’s take a closer look at the three major categories of cryptocurrencies that are currently on the rise.

Discover ETF candidates

The first category includes candidates for approval of spot exchange traded funds (ETFs). These are the cryptocurrencies that are most likely to receive approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2025. There are currently spot ETFs for only two cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH -4.49%). So there has been endless speculation about which cryptocurrency could be next.

One of the top candidates is XRP (XRP -6.54%)which has skyrocketed since the election. Despite a recent decline, it is up nearly 250% for the year. Part of this increase has to do with the pro-crypto optimism surrounding the Trump administration.

However, another important reason for this price increase is the growing expectation that XRP could receive a spot ETF in early 2025. Four different investment firms have already applied for permission to offer spot XRP ETFs.

Image source: Getty Images.

There are other spot ETF candidates that are also performing well. Solana (SOL -5.30%)for example, has increased by almost 70% since the beginning of the year. Yes, that’s behind Bitcoin’s triple-digit percentage gain, but it’s significantly better than Ethereum, which is up just 43% this year.

Ethereum Challenger

This leads to the next category of top performers. These are the challengers to Ethereum. Overall, they are the cryptocurrencies with the best chance of displacing Ethereum as the leading Layer 1 blockchain. Given Ethereum’s market cap of more than $400 billion, this is a huge opportunity.

The really exciting prospect here is Sui (SUI -8.48%)which came onto the market in May 2023. In just 18 months, it managed to build a market capitalization of more than $13 billion. For the year, Sui is up about 380%. And just like Bitcoin, Sui has staged an impressive post-election recovery through 2025.

When looking for Ethereum challengers with future upside potential, there are two main types of Layer 1 blockchains. First, there are the Layer 1 blockchains that skyrocketed during the previous crypto bull market in 2020-2021, such as Solana, CardanoAnd avalanche.

And then there are the newcomers that came onto the market in 2022 and 2023. In general, these are blockchains that are significantly faster and more efficient than Ethereum. And they usually have high-caliber founding teams and lots of venture capital. For example, Sui’s team includes prominent technologists who have worked on blockchain projects for Metaplatforms (META -0.72%). In total, Sui has raised more than $336 million in VC funding.

Meme coins

And finally there are the meme coins. The best example of a popular meme coin that has exploded in value this year is Dogecoin (DOGE -6.19%)which has now increased by around 240% over the course of the year.

These gains for Dogecoin can be attributed in large part to billionaire Elon Musk, widely considered one of its top boosters. He now goes beyond just posting Dogecoin on social media. During the presidential campaign, he even went so far as to propose a new government agency called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

There are many other meme coins that even outperform Dogecoin. For example, Pepe is a frog-themed meme coin that is up about 1,700% this year. A dog themed meme coin called Dogwifhat (literally: “dog in a hat”) has increased by about 1,000%. If you’re willing to look outside the top 50 cryptocurrencies list, it’s possible that meme coins are significantly higher.

The problem with these meme coins, however, is that they can fall in and out of favor within weeks, if not days. For example, cat-themed meme coins were all the rage in the summer. Now we’re back to the dogs. You get the idea: it’s easy to get burned playing the meme coin game. After all, these are coins that are based solely on hype and speculation and nothing else.

What is the best investment for 2025?

All in all, Solana is my top choice because it sits at the intersection of all three of these categories. It is a top ETF candidate. It is a top challenger to Ethereum. It is also the top blockchain for creating new meme coins. The best thing is that we know how high Solana can go. In 2023, Solana skyrocketed by more than 900%.

Keep in mind that while Solana is one of the top five largest cryptocurrencies in the world, it still carries significantly more risk than investing in Bitcoin. So if you are thinking about investing in Solana, be sure to do your due diligence.