Make no mistake about it, Bitcoin has been the story of the year in the crypto market. Thanks to the launch of the new spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January, it has hit one all-time high after another, and it currently trades for just under $100,000. For the year, it’s up 125% on December 3.
But a surprising number of cryptocurrencies are performing just as well. In fact, 12 of the top 20 cryptocurrencies, as ranked by market cap, are either keeping pace with Bitcoin or far surpassing it in overall returns. The three that are on my radar right now are XRP(CRYPTO: XRP), Dogecoin(CRYPTO: DOGE), and Sui(CRYPTO: SUI).
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The one altcoin that is absolutely en fuego right now is XRP. It’s up 440% over the past 30 days and is on the cusp of breaking through the $3 mark. It might not sound that impressive, given that Bitcoin is on the cusp of $100,000, but just a month ago, XRP was trading for only $0.50.
So what changed? The pro-crypto optimism surrounding the incoming Trump administration has worked wonders for XRP. The growing consensus now is that all the regulatory concerns that have swirled around Ripple (the company behind the XRP token) for the past few years should disappear soon, freeing it up to get back to business as usual.
Image source: Getty Images.
Add in the fact that XRP could get a spot ETF next year, and it’s easy to see why investors are excited. At least four different investment firms have now filed for a spot XRP ETF, including a new filing from WisdomTree on Dec. 2. As seen with the spot Bitcoin ETFs, the launch of new XRP ETFs could result in a tsunami of new money flowing into the crypto in 2025.
Dogecoin is still just a dog-themed meme coin that trades purely based on hype and speculation. But it deserves special consideration because it is the one meme coin that seems to be benefiting the most from the new Trump presidency. Over the past 30 days, Dogecoin is up 180%, and for the year, it’s up 366%.
You can thank billionaire Elon Musk for that. Ever since he proposed the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Dogecoin has taken off.
Any good news surrounding DOGE (the government entity) is now showing up in the price of the crypto. For example, when Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, recently said that he would support DOGE’s efforts to reduce wasteful spending, the price of Dogecoin spiked by nearly 10%.
The agency name can’t be an accident, but there is no official link between Dogecoin and DOGE. While Musk has been a strong supporter of Dogecoin in the past, he has advanced no official strategy for including Dogecoin as part of a new Department of Government Efficiency. So invest at your own peril.
Sui is a Layer 1 blockchain network, similar to Ethereum and Solana, that had its official launch in May 2023. It stands out for its particularly fast transaction processing speeds.
At one time, Solana was generally acknowledged as the fastest blockchain in the world, but Sui has now surpassed it. As a result, Sui is commonly referred to as “the next Solana.”
For the year, Sui is now up 371%, making it one of the top performers in the entire crypto market, beating out even XRP (up 340% for the year). A lot of that rise has to do with the rapid surge of Sui projects this year.
As long as it can snatch market share away from the likes of Solana and Ethereum, it should continue to attract the attention of investors. Given that it’s currently just 1/40 the size of Ethereum in terms of market cap, the upside could be tremendous if Sui’s success story has legs.
Looking ahead to 2025, the one development to watch is the planned introduction of a Sui-based handheld gaming console. That’s because blockchain gaming could be the killer app to bring new users onto the Sui blockchain.
According to Sui, the gaming experience will be completely seamless, and users won’t need to know anything about blockchain or crypto to get started. That’s a big plus if the goal is mainstream adoption.
Of the three cryptos mentioned above, Sui is a strong buy, XRP is a hold, and Dogecoin is a sell. Admittedly, XRP has been a rocket ship of late, and Dogecoin is showing signs of life for the first time in a long time. But these two cryptos, in my opinion, are just short-term momentum plays.
In contrast, Sui appears to have real legs for long-term sustained growth. Conceptually, it’s easy to understand what it is, and what value it provides. If you understand Ethereum or Solana, then you understand Sui. And, with the planned introduction of a gaming console in 2025, it will have a new path to mainstream adoption.
But just keep in mind: Anytime you’re venturing into the world of altcoins, the level of risk is highly elevated. All three of these cryptos are highly speculative plays. All of them are far outperforming Bitcoin this year, but the situation could change dramatically heading into 2025.
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Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, SUI, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, SUI, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends WisdomTree. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
