Bitcoin may be up 145% this year, but it's hardly alone. Many other top cryptocurrencies are also turning in triple-digit returns, setting up an interesting dilemma for investors as we head into 2025. Should you stick to Bitcoin, or is it time to look for other cryptocurrencies that could skyrocket even higher next year?
If you're looking for a Bitcoin alternative, two of my favorites right now are XRP (XRP +0.48%), which is up 283% this year, and Sui (SUI 0.87%), which is up a staggering 497%. They're outperforming Bitcoin significantly this year, and there's reason to believe the same thing could happen next year.
1. XRP
Investors are piling into XRP right now, convinced that the pro-crypto approach of the incoming Trump administration will have a huge impact on it in 2025. That's because a Trump presidency could help remove the regulatory cloud that has been hanging over XRP for nearly four years now.
In December 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, the company behind the XRP token, alleging that XRP is a security and not a cryptocurrency. That derailed Ripple's operations in the United States and thrust XRP into a state of limbo.
CRYPTO: XRP
Key Data Points
In fact, XRP was trading for just $0.50 around the time of the presidential election in November. But since then, it has skyrocketed in value, and it now trades at around $2.50. Donald Trump has named a new pro-crypto replacement for SEC head Gary Gensler, so the growing consensus is that the SEC will finally drop its case against XRP once and for all, opening up even more upside potential.
Jan. 15 is the appeal date for the SEC in this case. That's just days ahead of the presidential inauguration and the arrival of new SEC head Paul Atkins, so it looks as if XRP will be free and clear if it can just get past January.
Greater regulatory clarity is one more reason XRP could skyrocket in value in 2025. Another is the launch of a new stablecoin by Ripple. The goal of the new stablecoin is to expand the reach and scope of the XRP blockchain ecosystem. If the stablecoin launch is a success, it will become much easier for mainstream financial institutions to use the XRP blockchain. And that increased usage should help bolster XRP's price.
Moreover, there's a growing chance of a spot ETF launch for XRP next year. Four different investment firms have already filed spot XRP ETF applications with the SEC. In the past, with all the regulatory uncertainty swirling around Ripple, there would have been absolutely no way the SEC would have approved these ETF applications. But in a Trump administration, the SEC might be much more willing to consider these applications.
2. Sui
Sui has trounced Bitcoin in 2024, and for good reason. It's arguably the fastest-growing Layer 1 blockchain network in the world, having experienced remarkable growth since its official launch in May 2023. In just over 18 months, it has amassed a market cap of close to $14 billion. As a result, it's now being touted as "the next Ethereum (ETH 0.87%)" and a potential "Solana (SOL 0.42%) killer."
Image source: Getty Images.
Admittedly, Sui is a much longer-term play than XRP. Sui won't topple Solana or Ethereum overnight. But the underlying metrics for the Sui blockchain have been improving rapidly. For example, Sui just hit an all-time high of $1.8 billion in total value locked (TVL). This is an indication that Sui is being adopted rapidly, especially in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi), where TVL is the best metric for judging the strength of a blockchain.
In 2025, one catalyst that could send Sui skyrocketing in value is the launch of a new Web3 handheld gaming device, the SuiPlay0X1. It offers a clear path to mainstream adoption. If gamers embrace the new $599 device, which is currently available for preorder online, it could cement Sui as a leader in the blockchain gaming world and make attracting other users to the Sui blockchain much easier.
Why not just invest in Bitcoin?
Both XRP and Sui are highly speculative plays. XRP still faces significant regulatory risk, and Sui is nowhere near as safe as Ethereum, which has a market cap that's nearly 35 times larger and a much longer track record.
So should you just invest in Bitcoin instead? After all, Bitcoin is still the benchmark cryptocurrency for individual and institutional investors. And many analysts think it could double in value in 2025, hitting a price of $200,000.
Perhaps the best advice is to make Bitcoin the cornerstone of your crypto investment strategy and to invest in XRP or Sui only as a way to potentially turbocharge your overall performance. That way you mitigate some of the risk of investing in highly speculative cryptocurrencies, but you also keep the door open to spectacular returns in 2025.
