When it comes to investing in cryptocurrencies, the clear No. 1 option is still Bitcoin (BTC 2.52%), which accounts for a whopping 57% of the total market cap of the entire crypto market. And Bitcoin is coming off a stellar year in 2024, when it increased in value by another 125% to break through the $100,000 mark.
But there are plenty of other cryptocurrencies that could outperform Bitcoin in 2025. Three that I have my eye on right now are Solana (SOL 6.86%), Chainlink (LINK 5.13%), and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL 25.32%).
1. Solana
Solana has emerged as the top rival to Ethereum (ETH 4.37%), the world's second-largest cryptocurrency. While Solana is still only one-fourth the size of Ethereum, with a market cap of just under $100 billion, it is growing quickly. In 2023, Solana soared in value by 900%, and was up another 71% in 2024. So it's clearly capable of big moves.
There are two key factors that could propel Solana higher in 2025. One is the continued growth of its mobile crypto platform. In 2023, Solana launched the first-ever smartphone designed to work specifically on a blockchain network, and plans to launch another mobile device in 2025. This focus on the mobile crypto experience is something that differentiates Solana from the pack.
Image source: Getty Images.
At one time, Solana seemed to be focused entirely on consumer-facing experiences, such as gaming, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and Web3 applications. But Solana is developing newfound strength in decentralized finance (DeFi), and that represents a serious threat to Ethereum. Case in point: Solana has now surpassed Ethereum in terms of 24-hour trading volume on its decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges.
2. Chainlink
Longtime crypto investors will probably recognize Chainlink from the previous crypto bull market rally in 2020-21. For a very brief period of time, it looked like Chainlink was on a rocket ship. The price of LINK exploded from $2 to $50 in a matter of months.
Admittedly, Chainlink hasn't done much since, and is now trading 60% below its all-time high from May 2021, when it hit a price of $52. But there's one huge catalyst for Chainlink that could propel it much higher in 2025: the rise of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. Right now, Chainlink is working hard to develop RWA tokenization solutions in partnership with big names within the financial world.
"RWA tokenization" is a mouthful, but it has the potential to mint crypto millionaires. Generally speaking, RWA tokenization refers to the process of converting real-world assets into digital assets that can live on the blockchain. Once these digital assets are on the blockchain, there are enormous efficiencies possible, especially for assets such as real estate and private equity.
That explains why a number of top Wall Street firms are now lining up behind asset tokenization. The name to watch here is BlackRock (BLK 5.19%), the $11.5 trillion asset management firm that helped to launch the first spot Bitcoin ETFs. According to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, asset tokenization will be bigger than even the spot Bitcoin ETFs.
And a number of top consulting firms concur. McKinsey & Company, for example, thinks asset tokenization could be a $2 trillion opportunity by the year 2030.
3. Virtuals Protocol
In 2024, Virtuals Protocol was the best-performing altcoin in the cryptocurrency market, and it wasn't even close. Bitcoin may have been up 125% for the year, but Virtuals Protocol was up 23,000%. That's not a typo. This altcoin emerged from total obscurity to become arguably the most talked-about altcoin headed into 2025.
There's a good reason for this: Virtuals Protocol is at the forefront of the artificial intelligence (AI) agents trend within the crypto market. Simply put, Virtuals Protocol is a blockchain platform where users can create (and then monetize) their own AI agents. Virtuals Protocol currently has a market cap just south of $2 billion, ranking it among the top 60 cryptocurrencies in the world.
What's truly impressive is just how much value Virtuals Protocol has managed to create within a remarkably short period of time. There are now several AI agents launched via Virtuals Protocol that are worth upwards of $100 million. The top AI agent right now, valued at $600 million, is dedicated to finding the best meme coin investments for crypto investors.
But can they outperform Bitcoin?
Keep in mind that all three of these cryptocurrencies are highly speculative and highly volatile. Risk and reward are opposite sides of the same coin, so the higher the upside potential for these cryptocurrencies, the higher the risk.
That being said, Solana, Chainlink, and Virtuals Protocol are currently best in class at what they do. Solana is the premier mobile crypto blockchain platform, and has emerged as the top challenger to Ethereum. Chainlink is the most valuable blockchain data oracle in the world, and is at the very forefront of the asset tokenization trend. And Virtuals Protocol has become the top AI crypto.
Will all three skyrocket in value in 2025? Probably not. But all three have the potential to significantly outpace Bitcoin in the 12 months ahead.
