Cryptocurrencies have struggled this year, and it's really been a tough six months. The sector seems to have lost some of its appeal, as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing stocks have perhaps added some competition, though they haven't fared much better. Furthermore, the conflict in Iran and economic concerns have also hurt crypto.
But big sell-offs are quite common in crypto and have historically presented a buying opportunity. There are 65 cryptocurrencies available for trading in the U.S. on the popular online retail brokerage Robinhood, ranging from the largest and best known to meme tokens with very little use.
These three look like the best of the bunch.
Image source: Getty Images.
Bitcoin: the digital-gold narrative
The largest token by market cap and the largest in the world remains Bitcoin (BTC +0.82%), and it is still one of the few cryptocurrencies I think is worth purchasing. It's down about 20% this year.
Bitcoin's primary investment thesis remains the digital-gold narrative, driven by its finite supply of 21 million tokens, which many investors believe makes it a hedge against inflation. The crypto is also viewed as an alternative to fiat currency, which has historically led to an inverse relationship with the dollar. However, as is often the case, Bitcoin doesn't always act like gold.
Sometimes, it trades like a high-beta tech stock. As you can see in the chart below, there appears to be some correlation at times, but not always.
Still, I think it's the crypto most likely to succeed, and even after the sell-off, it has still crushed gold and the broader market since it began trading. I don't think it's a bad idea to have at least some Bitcoin in a portfolio, because it could serve as a unique diversification.
Ethereum: taking advantage of the stablecoin trend
Ethereum (ETH +0.35%) is the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world and remains one of the best to buy. Unlike Bitcoin, which uses a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism that involves solving cryptographic puzzles as quickly as possible to mine new coins, Ethereum migrated to a proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism, partly because it is more energy-efficient.
With PoS, investors stake their tokens to have the opportunity to be selected to validate transactions and form new blocks, earning rewards in the process. The crypto also supports smart-contract functionality, enabling developers to build decentralized applications.
It remains the dominant network for decentralized finance, with total value locked (TVL) hitting $99 billion in 2025. TVL measures the total value, in dollars, of crypto assets deposited into smart contracts for lending, staking, or liquidity pools.
CRYPTO: ETH
Key Data Points
Ethereum is also the dominant network for stablecoins, which are digital assets pegged to a commodity or fiat currency. These have received a lot of attention in the payments world because they can settle transactions nearly instantly, and at much lower cost than traditional payment methods today.
In fact, the investor Stanley Druckenmiller recently said he expects the global payments system to largely operate on stablecoins within the next 15 years.
The crypto was involved in close to $19 trillion in stablecoin settlements in 2025, accounting for the majority of all stablecoin transactions.
Solana: potentially the best crypto network from a technical perspective
There's certainly an argument to be made that Solana (SOL 0.63%) operates on the best network of any token, at least from a technical perspective. Not only does it run on PoS, but it also uses another mechanism, proof-of-history, to maintain a chronological sequence of transactions.
This removes a step in most blockchain networks where validators have to agree on time stamps. This enables the network to validate potentially tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of transactions per second. This capability, in particular, has given Solana significant real-world utility and delivered real wins for the token and blockchain.
CRYPTO: SOL
Key Data Points
For one, the crypto experienced stablecoin transfer volume through its network of roughly $11.7 trillion, a 700% increase over two years. Transfer volume differs from settlement volume because it reflects stablecoins transferred across a network or chain, whereas settlement volume reflects actual payments or cross-border remittances.
Solana has also been chosen for several real-world use cases. For instance, JPMorgan Chase conducted the first-ever tokenized debt issuance using stablecoins on Solana's network.
Ultimately, I believe the best-performing tokens will run on blockchain networks with the most real-world utility, and Solana falls into this category.
