Log in
The cryptocurrency market has evolved rapidly over the decade, with thousands of new cryptocurrencies being created all the time. Of course, Bitcoin and Ethereum are still the biggest players on the market, but there are many other promising altcoins that deserve your attention.
In this article, we break down some of the important factors to consider when investing in altcoins.
While holding BTC or ETH is a viable strategy for many, so is diversifying your crypto portfolio.
What are altcoins?
Altcoins is a term used to describe all crypto tokens and coins other than Bitcoin. The most popular altcoins include Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE) and Ripple (XRP).
The name itself is an abbreviation for ‘alternative coins’.
Let’s be clear – this does not mean they are an alternative to the physical coins you keep in your wallet, but an alternative to the global leaders in cryptocurrency: Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Many altcoins are created for innovative purposes such as providing voting privileges (governance tokens) or as a method of payment or yield (utility tokens). Some of these altcoins may see widespread adoption.
The case for BTC and ETH
BTC and ETH are the two biggest cryptocurrencies in the world by market capitalization. They are often considered the most important crypto assets to hold as they are the most established and widely adopted crypto coins, which is typically correlated with less volatility.
Bitcoin launched in 2009, making it the first-ever cryptocurrency created. Ethereum came later in 2015, with Ether (or ETH) being the network’s native crypto. However, most of the cryptocurrencies in existence were established after the bull run in 2017, so Bitcoin remains one of the oldest cryptocurrencies.
While altcoins often come and go, Bitcoin and Ethereum have become household names and have been credited with transforming finance as we know it. While new projects may offer superior transaction speeds or utility, the sheer name recognition of BTC and ETH make them vital to crypto’s success going forward.
Altcoins tend to follow the price action of Bitcoin to a certain extent. Bullish Bitcoin price movements are usually followed by price increases in most altcoins. Alt season is a period of time, usually following a spike in BTC price, when altcoins outperform Bitcoin.
Popular altcoins
There are over 40,000 altcoins on the market. Some of the most well-known altcoins include Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE), Polkadot (DOT) and Cardano (ADA).
What determines a popular and “good” altcoin will constantly change with new altcoins entering the market all the time. It is important to research alternatives, as popular altcoins from 3 years ago may no longer be in the top 100 coins by market cap in 2025.
The crypto market often tracks certain prevailing narratives, and altcoins within this sub-sector will typically outperform others. For example, memecoins, tokenisation and AI agents were heavily-discussed topics in 2024, with projects in these sub-sectors shining bright.
Top performing altcoins of 2024
When finding the best altcoin investments on the crypto market in 2025, it can be useful to review the past performance of some of the top players from the year before. Seeing an assets’ past performance and growth can help to measure its future success, and can help you understand what factors the market believes is important to a project’s valuation.
Here are some of top performing altcoins of 2024:
- Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUALS) – 23,000%
- Dogecoin (DOGE) – 300%
- Popcat (POPCAT) – 10,000%
- Aerodrome Finance (AERO) – 2,663%
- Pepe (PEPE) – 1,234%
What to look for when buying altcoins
There are a number of things you can do to identify the best altcoins to invest in. The key to finding the best altcoins on is to conduct thorough research which can include looking at a coin’s market cap, use cases, team, roadmap and more.
Market cap
Market cap (market capitalization) indicates the stability and growth potential of a cryptocurrency. Work it out this way: the current price of a coin is multiplied by the total number of coins in circulation. The rule of thumb is that the higher the market cap (compared to other coins), the safer the investment. Market cap is a better long-term indicator of the worth of a cryptocurrency than its market price.
Market cap = coin price * number of coins in circulation
If you want to build a diversified portfolio of altcoins then you can invest in a range of different market caps, rather than making decisions based purely on price. You may want to consider holding a high market cap coin/crypto, a medium-high cap, and a moderate cap. While you can earn huge gains from low cap coins (generally below US $20 million market cap), these coins are high risk and you could end up losing your entire investment.
Whitepaper
An altcoin’s ‘whitepaper’ gives you a comprehensive explanation of the project. They can be quite technical for the average investor, but they will give you an idea of what the project sets out to do.
- Utility – What is the purpose of this cryptocurrency? Does it solve a real problem or greatly improve on an existing technology?
- Future prospects – Plans and roadmap: where is the project going?
- Underlying technology – How does it work?
You can find the whitepaper of almost every available cryptocurrency here.
Use cases
Cryptocurrency use cases are related to utility – do people really want or need this alternative? The best way to think of it is to look at Bitcoin’s use case:
Bitcoin was the first effective digital currency that did not require a bank. People could store and send money autonomously, with no need for a third-party financial institution. People wanted to have less dependence on financial institutions, especially in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. This was a demand that Bitcoin addressed.
Some projects will provide very specific use cases (for example, a decentralized exchange for swapping altcoins), while others are building a broader, catch-all DeFi ecosystem (like Solana or Cardano).
Competitors
There are several different categories of crypto projects like decentralized finance (DeFi), payment coins, gaming, NFT’s etc. A lot of coins have similar use cases, so it’s important to compare crypto projects against their competitors. For instance, if you’re looking to buy Solana, which is a blockchain platform with smart contracts, you should look at other coins in the same category. Solana’s main competitors include Ethereum, Cardano and Cosmos. Solana’s native token, SOL, is listed on the Swyftx crypto exchange.
Check out the competition’s whitepapers and utility. Often competitors who were first into a user-space are best placed; that may explain the market dominance of players like Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, it’s important to understand that more than one project can exist and excel in the same category.
Cryptocurrency roadmap
Is the altcoin going to be around for a long time, and will its developments help grow your crypto portfolio? Is there a vision for the future, a roadmap? A roadmap is a planning technique that identifies short and long term objectives of a crypto project. It can be a great indicator for future performance, especially if past performance shows that the project has been able to meet historic objectives. The roadmap will usually be displayed on the project’s website. Things you should look for in the roadmap include:
- Clear timelines for the development of the coin. No clear timeline may indicate a lack of commitment and/or planning from the development team.
- Are they planning to release major updates? Are there any scheduled announcements in the foreseeable future?
- What is the total amount of altcoins that will ever be produced? How many are currently in circulation? What will that mean for the price of a single coin?
The altcoin community
Legitimate cryptocurrencies likely have a group of people they serve and thus a solid community around them. This community includes miners, developers, supporters and potential users. They give value to an altcoin by adopting its use case and validating its legitimacy and popularity.
Digital currencies with strong, active communities are a good sign that there is genuine interest and belief in the coin.
It is critical to know the credibility and the experience of the team behind any crypto project. It’s important to do research on any cryptocurrency and its team.
Where to buy altcoins in Australia?
The most common place to buy altcoins is through a cryptocurrency or altcoin exchange. Swyftx crypto exchange lists over 440 digital assets, so there is plenty of choices when looking to buy and sell altcoins. Having an exchange account with Swyftx allows you to purchase digital currencies using a secure, easy-to-use app. We support a number of fiat currencies including AUD, NZD and USD, and allow various payment methods, so once you deposit funds from your bank account, you can start trading altcoins immediately.
So which altcoins should you invest in?
Swyftx cannot give investment advice, but we hope that this guide has provided you with the tools and knowledge to make educated investment decisions on altcoins.
The specific altcoins you decide to invest in will likely be determined by your personal financial situation and goals.
There is no such thing as a risk-free investment but by considering the factors we’ve mentioned above you should be able to make a more educated decision. Read our beginner’s guide to investing in crypto or our altcoin deep dives available on Swyftx Learn, where we provide a wealth of other resources and insight.
Ted
