Top Layer 1 Crypto Projects in 2025

Bitcoin is the first-ever layer 1 blockchain launched in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto.  According to its whitepaper, Bitcoin is a digital payment system that enables users to directly send money to each other without the need for a bank or an intermediary. The platform is widely known for its stability and market dominance. BTC has a peak valuation of over $1.08 trillion and is the cryptocurrency with the largest market cap.

Bitcoin has also experienced fluctuations, dropping below $16K and rebounding to over $100K at present. But it has always stood resilient, with a ~70% growth over the past year.  As of June 2025, Bitcoin possesses a TVL of $6.9 billion, according to DefiLama. 

If you are considering one of the best low supply crypto to invest in 2025, Bitcoin’s fixed supply, halving events, and growing institutional interest could drive its price to $200,000 in 2025, as per analysts.

Ethereum is another top layer 1 blockchain list for decentralized applications (dApps), DeFi, and NFTs. ETH is the largest altcoin, boasting a market cap of over $400 billion, with over 35 million staked. As a go-to choice for developers in the web3 space, the platform has made energy efficiency a priority while ensuring robust security and processing approximately 30 transactions per second (TPS). With the largest TVL of $84 million, Ethereum is a home for top ERC 20 tokens.

With Pectra, its latest major upgrade which went live on May 7, 2025, Ethereum is focused on increasing validator staking limits, improving account abstraction, and enhancing scalability via integration with layer-2 solutions such as Polygon nd Arbitrum. Ethereum is increasingly experiencing institutional interest, thanks to spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), launched in July 2024.

aelf is an AI-enhanced layer 1 blockchain platform, offering a base layer for dApps (decentralized applications) and blockchain operations. The platform offers efficient transaction validation through DPoS, a decentralized DAO governance model. As per the whitepaper, the governance model allows stakeholders to vote on system updates and modifications supporting a developer-friendly ecosystem. aelf offers high scalability, quick transactions, and adaptability to various kinds. This layer 1 blockchain network features a multi-layer architecture and an independent dAppChain. It has seamless and hassle-free Web 2 and Web 3 integration through Portkey Wallet. 

The platform advancement includes the integration of AI agents through its avatar.ai platform. This enables anyone to create these agents without knowing how to code, as well as making it easier for many people to use smart automation tools. Should you be looking for best AI crypto coins to invest in right now, you may consider aelf, which  records a TVL of nearly $8.95 million

The Layer 1 crypto project has 51.8K holders, of which 93.92% are whales.

Solana,  the best layer 1 crypto 2025, provides inexpensive and speedy transactions with a high TVL of $8.3 billion as of June 2025. The platform processes up to 65,000TPS by uniquely combining Proof-of-History (PoH) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms. Solana is a blockchain that functions effectively in many different contexts, including decentralized apps, or dApps, decentralized finance, or DeFi, and NFT enterprises can benefit from this speed. As a home for many Solana meme coins, the platform also hosts other projects, including gaming. 

The Solana Foundation supports innovation by providing grants and resources to select developers. SOL, the native southeast coin, is used on the platform to pay for governance, staking, and transaction fees. Solana holds a prominent position in the cryptocurrency space thanks to its developers’ support, speed, efficiency, and, above all, community support.

Solana records a TVL of nearly $9.9 billion, starting 2025 with an incredible performance, hitting an all-time high of $294.33 in January.

Toncoin or The Open Network coin is an asset that enables fast and safe settlements. The same team that developed the well-known messaging app Telegram originally developed TON, which has extremely high scalability and can process millions of transactions per second.  Its whitepaper asserts that the layers in its structure allow for the processing and storage of data. Toncoin, a new layer 1 crypto, is used in secure messaging, DeFi applications, and microtransactions.

The blockchain underpins the smart contracts used by decentralized applications, or it offers tools and solutions that developers can utilize, fostering innovation. By integrating with Telegram’s 900 million users, TON receives mass adoption, capturing over 250,ooo followers on its channel. The platform has plans for a Layer 2 Payment Network in 2025, to enhance its functionalities. With a TVL of about 153.3 million and a growing market cap approaching 8 billion, Toncoin stands out as one of the leading Layer 1 coins in 2025.

Cardano is an academically focused blockchain with a strong emphasis on sustainability, scalability, and high security. This methodology gives Cardano’s architecture a strong research foundation that is ingrained in both the academic foundation of Cardano’s development and peer-reviewed literature. The native platform currency, ADA, is applied for payments, staking, and voting. With Cardano, modularity and security are enhanced, thanks to its multi-layered architecture that ensures the separation of computation and settlement.

Cardano, as the best layer 1 crypto with a TVL of around $358 million, offers an ecosystem that can be used for several projects. This includes identity platforms, social media, and DeFi. Positioning itself as one of the top largest crypto assets with a market cap of around $28 billion, ADA is among the best Layer 1 tokens to consider investing in 2025.

Tron is a distributed platform built on the blockchain that is used to publish and distribute different kinds of digital media content. Creators can now distribute their content directly thanks to Tron, a decentralized internet platform developed by Justin Sun. It uses an effective blockchain to run decentralized apps (dApps) and smart contracts.

Tron, the top layer 1 crypto, utilizes TRX, its native cryptocurrency, for governance, staking, and transaction processing. The main goals of DPoS are low transaction fees for social networking and content sharing, while also making the system quick and safe. The Tron project has a variety of projects that fit into various categories, such as DeFi and gaming.

With a TVL of $6.16 billion as of the time of writing, TRON commands a strong following of approximately 1.7 million on X. With around 148.65% in profits over the past year, TRON is one of the top crypto projects in 2025.

Stacks, the best layer 1 crypto, is the partner in crime with Bitcoin. Stacks is a popular open-source network that integrates dApps and smart contracts with Bitcoin, despite being two distinct blockchain platforms. Blockstack was the original name of this project, which aimed to be a layer-1 solution with Bitcoin acting as its foundation layer. Nevertheless, it became Stacks later in 2020.

With a TVL of around $119 million, Stacks’ primary unique selling point is its connection to Bitcoin, the biggest and most valuable digital asset. All Stacks layer transactions are automatically resolved on the Bitcoin L1 hash. 

Sei is a rising star in the top layer 1 blockchain list, built for trading applications. According to its whitepaper, it aims at solving slow transactions and high costs.  It launched its native cryptocurrency, SEI, in 2023. It is currently witnessing significant growth since its inception. The platform stands out for its capability to handle up to 12,500 transactions per second.  Sei also provides an attractive entry point at present for investors seeking exposure to a high-potential layer 1 cryptocurrency, with a TVL of $585.87 million.

BNB is also one of the largest layer 1 cryptocurrencies by market cap. It plays a key role in supporting the Binance ecosystem. BNB facilitates smart contracts and dApps and offers a 25% discount on trading commissions on the Binance exchange. Boasting a TVL of around $7 billion, BNB has faced an upsurge of nearly 38% in the past 12 months, though it is currently trading lower than its ATH.

Nevertheless, it still never fails short while providing investors with exposure to Binance’s substantial growth. This makes it a preferred choice among layer 1 crypto projects.

Layer 1 crypto serves as the backbone of the industry. These solutions provide the framework for blockchain. Furthermore, they also enable scalability, security, and decentralization.

Layer 1 solutions are different from layer 2 ones that are built over existing blockchain. They often operate as independent networks. These solutions also have separate and unique consensus mechanisms and security models. This further makes them efficient in ensuring secure and transparent transaction processing in the crypto space. Layer 1, Layer 2, and Layer 3 projects have their own nuances.

Layer 1 and Layer 2 represent distinct architectural layers within the space of blockchain technology. Each of these layers serves unique functions. 

Layer 1 includes the pioneers like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It is characterized by systems built directly on the blockchain, executing transactions. 

In contrast, Layer 2 is constructed atop Layer 1 to primarily enhance scalability. Layer 2 implementations, such as Arbitrum and Polygon on Ethereum, contribute to faster transaction speeds by conducting transactions independently of Layer 1. They thus effectively reduce Ethereum’s load and fortify security.

Are you considering investing in  Layer 1 cryptocurrencies in 2025? Here are some factors to be considered for your smart trading. 

1. Market Capitalization: 

Market Capitalization is calculated by multiplying the price per coin/token by the total quantity in circulation. While considering this, it is essential to distinguish between “Current Market Cap” and “Fully Diluted Market Cap”. If a discrepancy exists between these values, it signals future price declines with more tokens entering the market. This metric helps evaluate a project’s viability.

2. Trading Volume:

High and consistent trading volumes indicate significant interest and accessibility to an asset. Liquidity is a vital aspect and is also related to trading volume. It also influences an investor’s ability to exit a position, especially on decentralized exchanges.

3. Use Cases and Real-world Adoption:

Successful crypto projects require robust use cases and real-world adoption for profits. It is thus essential to evaluate a project’s potential adoption size against its current market cap. It also helps unveil some detailed insights. If you identify a realistic use case and estimate the necessary adoption size for profitability, it helps best assess the project’s value.

4. Tokenomics:

It is essential to understand how a token operates. Tokenomics describes the token’s economic model. It also reveals critical aspects influencing price, such as supply and demand, token utility, token generation, lock-up periods, and potential burns.

5. Development Team:

The expertise and commitment of a project’s development team are essential to be verified while evaluating a project. Assessing the team’s background, skill set, and work ethic provides insights into their ability to deliver on promises.

6. Community Support:

A thriving community of a project reflects its potential future users and customers. It is essential to distinguish between genuine interest and speculative participation. A community composed of speculators may result in significant sell pressure once the asset is tradeable. Thus, wisely evaluate the factors.

7. Security and Transparency:

Security issues and a lack of transparency can devalue a project. It is thus essential to identify potential points of failure, governance structures, and transparency levels in a project. This effectively aids in the early detection of fraudulent behavior.

8. Performance:

Past performance serves as an indicator of future expectations. Projects having a good track record, especially those resilient during market downturns, may present lower risks and higher potential returns.

The decision to invest in Layer 1 crypto projects should involve in-depth research and consideration of various risk factors. Among the various Layer 1 projects, Bitcoin and Ethereum are particularly the best crypto coins in 2025, for their market dominance, technological innovation, and long-term growth potential. The unique rules, consensus mechanisms, and governance models of Layer 1 ecosystems set the stage for long-term demand. Before making investment decisions, it is essential to assess factors such as market capitalization, trading volume, use cases, tokenomics, development team competence, community support, security, transparency, and historical performance for better outcomes.