2025 has been a wild ride for crypto so far, but if there’s one corner of the market that keeps pulling attention, it’s Layer1 altcoins. These are the base-layer blockchains, the foundations everything else is built on. They’re not just coins; they’re ecosystems. They power DeFi, NFTs, gaming, AI integrations, and now even real-world assets.
When people talk about “the next big thing,” they often forget the real value comes from infrastructure. That’s where Layer1 altcoins step in. Some are household names like Ethereum and Solana. Others, like Qubic and Keeta, are newer but have the potential to shake things up. Let’s go through the top 10 Layer1 altcoins for 2025 and see what makes each one worth watching.
1. Ethereum
You can’t talk Layer1 Altcoins 2025 without starting with Ethereum. It’s the chain that made smart contracts mainstream and it’s still where the biggest liquidity and developers live.
- TVL: $306B, hitting new all-time highs.
- Ecosystem: More than 4,000 dApps across DeFi, NFTs, and enterprise tools.
- 2025 Growth: ETH crossed back over $4,000 this year and TVL climbed 20%. Institutional money via ETFs has been pouring in.
The big story in Layer1 Altcoins for 2025 is the Dencun upgrade. It cut gas fees by about 60% and made Layer2s cheaper to use. That means Ethereum isn’t losing ground to faster chains, it’s evolving to meet them head-on. If you want decentralization, liquidity depth, and trust, ETH still has no rival — even if peak activity still pushes fees up.
2. Solana
If Ethereum is the king, Solana is the fast challenger. Its whole identity is speed and cost efficiency, and that’s why it’s a magnet for DeFi traders, NFT creators, and even institutions.
- TVL: $13B, leading in DEX and liquid staking.
- Ecosystem: 200+ dApps in DeFi, gaming, and NFTs.
- 2025 Growth: SOL price is up 50% this year, and in April alone its DEX volume hit $107B.
What’s different this year is reliability. Solana has struggled with outages in the past, but upgrades like the Firedancer validator are making it stronger. With Web3 gaming hype and new metaverse plays on the rise, Solana could easily see $20B TVL before the year closes.
3. Sui
Sui doesn’t always get the same spotlight, but its tech is quietly impressive. It’s built on the Move language and its object-centric model allows parallel execution, meaning apps don’t slow each other down.
- TVL: $2B, up 100% from last year.
- Ecosystem: 200+ apps, from DeFi and NFTs to gaming.
- 2025 Growth: Wallets passed 1M, and NFTs on Sui surged 150%.
The killer feature is zkLogin, which lets you log into apps using something as simple as your Google account. That’s a Web2-friendly way to onboard millions of people. Combine that with scalability and you’ve got a serious contender aiming to rival Solana in adoption.
4. Kaspa
Kaspa takes a completely different path. Instead of building a new smart contract playground, it focuses on reimagining Proof of Work with its GHOSTDAG protocol. Think of it as Bitcoin, but running much faster.
- Market Cap: Around $2.3B.
- Ecosystem: Early-stage DeFi and payment apps.
- 2025 Growth: Wallets are up 260%, and price doubled this year.
Kaspa doesn’t yet have the depth of other ecosystems, but its fair launch, security, and speed make it appealing to purists. If future upgrades bring smart contract functionality, this could scale beyond its current niche.
5. Bittensor
This is one of the most fascinating projects in the market right now. Bittensor combines blockchain with AI, creating an open marketplace where machine learning models compete, learn, and earn.
- Market Cap / TVL: $4.18B market cap with about $500M in DeFi activity.
- Ecosystem: 32+ AI subnets covering everything from text generation to images.
- 2025 Growth: TAO surged 220% this year, with active users now over 100K.
Its consensus model, Yuma Consensus, allows AI models to evolve like Darwin’s theory of natural selection. No fees, just incentives. The risk? Governance challenges and debates around centralization. The potential? Massive, especially with the AI sector exploding in crypto.
6. Injective
Injective is built for finance, and it shows. Its goal is to break silos in trading and derivatives using the Cosmos SDK and IBC.
- TVL: About $50M, though volumes tell a bigger story.
- Ecosystem: Protocols like Helix and Levana, plus tokenized assets through Agora AUSD.
- 2025 Growth: TVL up 200%, while INJ’s price jumped 80%.
It even offers zero-gas transactions for certain use cases. If tokenized RWAs (real-world assets) continue gaining traction, Injective could see explosive growth from institutions.
7. Sei
Sei is all about trading. Its parallelized EVM allows lightning-fast finality with strong frontrunning protection, which makes it a favorite for traders who demand reliability.
- TVL: $12B, up 400% from last year.
- Ecosystem: Growing DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, and 600K+ users.
- 2025 Growth: Market share doubled to 5.2% of Layer1 TVL.
With confirmation times down to 400ms and strong VC backing, Sei is well-positioned. It doesn’t yet have Ethereum’s network effect, but in terms of user experience, it’s setting a new standard.
8. Sonic (ex-Fantom)
Sonic is basically Fantom 2.0 which is a major rebrand and overhaul that boosted performance dramatically.
- TVL: $1.6B in just 66 days, a staggering 2,951% increase.
- Ecosystem: DeFi protocols like Silo and SwapX are gaining traction.
- 2025 Growth: Early momentum has been huge, and builders are rushing in.
With 400K TPS, EVM compatibility, and massive fee rebates for developers, Sonic is attracting attention fast. It’s early but it already looks like one of the most undervalued Layer1s relative to its competitors.
9. Keeta
Keeta is trying something bold, marrying high throughput with compliance. It runs on a DAG architecture that can hit 10M TPS and even integrates KYC/AML at the protocol level.
- TVL: Around $100M at this early stage.
- Ecosystem: Payments and fintech integrations are the focus.
- 2025 Growth: Wallets passed 1M, with daily volumes hitting $100M.
Backed by high-profile supporters like Eric Schmidt, Keeta could disrupt global payments if adoption keeps climbing. It’s early days, but it’s one of the more ambitious visions in the Layer1 space.
10. Qubic
Qubic takes the idea of mining and flips it. Instead of just securing the chain, miners actually train AI models while providing Proof of Work.
- TVL: Around $50M, still small.
- Ecosystem: Smart contracts, AI research, and subnets for specialized tasks.
- 2025 Growth: Price doubled this year and users crossed 500K.
It’s still experimental, but it sits at the intersection of crypto and AGI research. If it works, it could be groundbreaking. If not, volatility will make it a risky play.
| Number | Altcoin | USP / Focus | TVL / Market Cap | Key Growth in 2025 | Ecosystem Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethereum | Smart contracts & DeFi hub | $306B TVL | +20% YTD TVL | 4,000+ dApps |
| 2 | Solana | High-speed, low-cost chain | $13B TVL | SOL +50% | DeFi, NFTs, gaming |
| 3 | Sui | Parallel execution via Move | $2B TVL | Wallets 1M+ | 200+ dApps |
| 4 | Kaspa | PoW with blockDAG tech | $2.3B market cap | Wallets +260% | Early DeFi, NFTs |
| 5 | Bittensor | AI subnets and tokenized compute | $4.18B cap / $500M TVL | TAO +220% | 32+ AI subnets |
| 6 | Injective | Cross-chain finance derivatives | $50M TVL | TVL +200% | DeFi & RWAs |
| 7 | Sei | Trading-focused L1, 50K+ TPS | $12B TVL | Users 600K+ | Strong DeFi/NFTs |
| 8 | Sonic | 400K TPS, EVM-compatible | $1.6B TVL | TVL +2,951% | Growing DeFi apps |
| 9 | Keeta | 10M TPS DAG + compliance | $100M TVL | Wallets 1M+ | Fintech adoption |
| 10 | Qubic | AI-powered PoW chain | $50M TVL | Price +100% | Early AI dApps |
