On Dec. 4, Bitcoin(CRYPTO: BTC) crossed the $100,000 price level for the first time. That highlighted a post-election rally that saw Bitcoin soar by more than 40% within a remarkably short period of time. Even with recent volatility in the crypto market, Bitcoin is up more than 110% in 2024.
But don’t forget about the rest of the crypto market. There are many cryptocurrencies soaring now as part of a broad-based post-election rally. And, in some cases, they are significantly outperforming Bitcoin. Let’s take a closer look at the three broad categories of cryptocurrencies that are surging right now.
The first category includes the candidates for approval of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These are the cryptocurrencies that are most likely to win Securities and Exchange Commission approval in 2025. Right now, only two cryptocurrencies have spot ETFs: Bitcoin and Ethereum(CRYPTO: ETH). So, there has been endless speculation about which cryptocurrency might be next.
One of the leading candidates is XRP(CRYPTO: XRP), which has been skyrocketing since the election. Even with a recent pullback, it’s up almost 250% for the year. Part of that surge has to do with all the pro-crypto optimism surrounding the Trump administration.
But another key reason for this price surge is the growing expectation that XRP could get a spot ETF in early 2025. Already, four different investment firms have filed for permission to offer spot XRP ETFs.
Image source: Getty Images.
There are other spot ETF candidates that are also performing well. Solana(CRYPTO: SOL), for example, is up almost 70% year to date. Yes, that trails Bitcoin’s triple-digit percentage gain, but it is considerably better than Ethereum, which is only up 43% for the year.
That leads to the next category of top performers. These are the Ethereum challengers. Broadly speaking, they are the cryptocurrencies with the best chances of toppling Ethereum as the premier Layer 1 blockchain. Given that Ethereum has a market cap of more than $400 billion, that’s a huge opportunity.
The really exciting prospect here is Sui(CRYPTO: SUI), which launched in May 2023. In just 18 months, it has managed to amass a market cap of more than $13 billion. For the year, Sui is up about 380%. And, just like Bitcoin, Sui has had an impressive post-election rally heading into 2025.
When it comes to searching for Ethereum challengers with future upside potential, there are two primary types of Layer 1 blockchains. First, there are the Layer 1 blockchains that soared during the previous crypto bull market in 2020-2021, such as Solana, Cardano, and Avalanche.
And then there are the up-and-comers that launched in 2022 and 2023. Generally speaking, these are blockchains that are significantly faster and more efficient than Ethereum. And they usually come with high-profile founder teams and plenty of venture capital. The team at Sui, for example, includes prominent technologists who worked on blockchain projects for Meta Platforms(NASDAQ: META). Altogether, Sui has raised more than $336 million in VC funding.
And, finally, there are the meme coins. The best example of a popular meme coin that has exploded in value this year is Dogecoin(CRYPTO: DOGE), which is now up about 240% for the year.
In large part, those gains for Dogecoin can be attributed to billionaire Elon Musk, who is widely recognized as one of its top boosters. He’s now going beyond just posting about Dogecoin on social media. During the presidential campaign, he even went so far as to propose a new government agency to be called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
There are plenty of other meme coins that are outpacing even Dogecoin. For example, Pepe is a frog-themed meme coin that’s up about 1,700% this year. A dog-themed meme coin called Dogwifhat (literally, “dog with a hat”) is up about 1,000%. If you are willing to look outside the list of the top 50 cryptocurrencies, it’s possible to find meme coins up significantly more than that.
The problem with these meme coins, however, is that they can go in and out of favor in a matter of weeks if not days. During the summer, for example, cat-themed meme coins were all the rage. Now, we’re back to dogs. You get the idea — it’s easy to get burned trying to play the meme coin game. After all, these are coins that are based purely on hype and speculation, and nothing else.
Putting it all together, my top pick is Solana, which is at the intersection of all three of these categories. It is a top spot ETF candidate. It is a top Ethereum challenger. It is also the top blockchain for creating new meme coins. Best of all, we know how high Solana can soar. In 2023, Solana rocketed up more than 900%.
Just keep in mind that Solana may be one of the world’s five largest cryptocurrencies, but it still comes with considerably more risk than investing in Bitcoin. So, if you are thinking about investing in Solana, be sure to do your due diligence.
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Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, SUI, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Meta Platforms, SUI, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
