Must-Watch Layer 1 Crypto Projects Heading Into 2025

Layer 1 cryptocurrencies form the backbone of blockchain infrastructure. These foundational networks handle transaction settlement and security directly on their primary chains, unlike Layer 2 solutions that build atop existing blockchains. As we move deeper into 2025, understanding which Layer 1 crypto projects are worth monitoring becomes crucial for anyone tracking this space.

Understanding Layer 1 Blockchains

At their core, Layer 1 crypto networks operate independently with their own consensus mechanisms and security frameworks. They process transactions natively without intermediaries, which is why they remain central to blockchain ecosystems despite the emergence of scaling solutions.

What sets Layer 1 apart:

Sovereignty and Security: Layer 1 networks control their own destiny. They don’t depend on other chains for final settlement—they provide it themselves. This independence means stronger security guarantees and true decentralization.

Native Token Economics: Every Layer 1 features a native token handling transaction fees, network validation, and governance. These tokens directly reflect the network’s health and adoption rates.

Developer Flexibility: Layer 1 chains offer the foundation for building smart contracts, dApps, and entire ecosystems. Developers get complete control over their applications’ behavior.

Network Effects: Popular Layer 1 chains accumulate value as more users arrive. Bitcoin and Ethereum exemplify this—their security and liquidity improve with scale.

While Layer 2 solutions tackle congestion and speed issues, they ultimately depend on Layer 1 chains for final transaction settlement and security. This interdependency means Layer 1 will remain irreplaceable.

Top Layer 1 Crypto Projects to Track in 2025

Bitcoin (BTC) — The Original Layer 1 Crypto Standard

BTC Current Price: $88.83K | Market Cap: $1.77T | 1Y Performance: -10.72%

Bitcoin pioneered the Layer 1 concept, though it didn’t use that terminology back in 2009. It remains the most secure and widely recognized Layer 1 crypto by an enormous margin. Satoshi Nakamoto’s creation proved that decentralized consensus was possible, spawning everything that followed.

Bitcoin’s strength lies in immutability and network effect. With over 21 million coins as the hard cap, Bitcoin functions as digital scarcity. The network’s 2024 halving event continues fueling scarcity narratives.

Recent ecosystem expansion deserves attention. Bitcoin Ordinals unlocked NFT capabilities directly on-chain. Layer 2 solutions like Stacks bring smart contract functionality without compromising Bitcoin’s security. Sidechains and derivative protocols (Atomicals, ARC20) explore new token representations using satoshis. These developments hint at Bitcoin’s evolution beyond simple transfers.

Ethereum (ETH) — The Smart Contract Powerhouse

ETH Current Price: $2.98K | Market Cap: $359.23B | 1Y Performance: -14.89%

Ethereum dominates Layer 1 crypto by ecosystem size. Over 3,000 active dApps run on it—more than any competing Layer 1. This developer concentration creates a network effect that’s hard for challengers to break.

Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake marked its most significant upgrade. Energy consumption dropped dramatically. The network now processes complex logic through smart contracts while maintaining decentralization.

The Layer 2 landscape surrounding Ethereum has exploded. Solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism handle massive transaction volumes while settling back to Ethereum’s finality. These partnerships strengthen rather than weaken Ethereum’s position as the Layer 1 foundation.

Looking forward, Ethereum 2.0 developments continue prioritizing scalability and efficiency. Sharding research and execution layer improvements will determine how well Ethereum handles mainstream adoption.

Solana (SOL) — Speed Meets Affordability

SOL Current Price: $61B (TVL) | Market Cap: $61B | 1Y Performance: 464%

Solana’s Proof of History innovation delivered something Ethereum struggled with—genuine speed at scale. Transactions finalize in seconds with fees barely reaching fractions of a cent. This isn’t theoretical advantage; it’s real network behavior observed daily.

The Solana ecosystem exploded in 2023-2024. BONK airdrops and memecoin mania brought millions of users to the network. Beyond speculation, serious DeFi infrastructure grew—Marinade Finance, Jito, Jupiter aggregator—proving Solana wasn’t just hype.

Mobile integration via Saga smartphone and partnerships with Google Cloud expanded use cases beyond finance. Developer activity remains strong with consistent improvements to validator infrastructure.

BNB Chain (BNB) — The Exchange Blockchain

BNB Current Price: $842.70 | Market Cap: $116.07B | 1Y Performance: +19.91%

BNB Chain converted Binance’s exchange dominance into blockchain presence. It didn’t invent novel consensus—it prioritized Ethereum compatibility and speed instead. That pragmatic approach worked.

Over 1,300 active dApps operate on BNB Chain despite being younger than Ethereum. The 2023 rebranding from Binance Smart Chain signaled maturity. Layer 2 integrations and sharding roadmaps promise further scaling.

BNB’s continued strength reflects Binance’s ecosystem lock-in. Cross-chain bridges improved interoperability, while DeFi and NFT focus keeps development active.

Avalanche (AVAX) — Subnet Scalability

AVAX Current Price: $12.47 | Market Cap: $5.36B | 1Y Performance: -69.03%

Avalanche achieves sub-2-second finality through novel consensus combining Classical and Nakamoto approaches. The network’s subnet architecture lets developers create specialized chains that inherit Avalanche’s security.

Inscription tokens created network activity surge in 2023. While controversial, these drove organic fee generation. Peak transaction rate reached 2.3 million daily transactions—demonstrating Avalanche’s throughput capabilities.

Partnership with J.P. Morgan’s Onyx blockchain showed institutional interest. Despite recent price pressure, the network’s technical foundation remains sound.

Internet Computer (ICP) — Decentralized Computing

ICP Current Price: $3.03 | Market Cap: $1.66B | 1Y Performance: -72.86%

Internet Computer attempts something bolder than typical Layer 1 crypto projects—hosting entire applications on-chain. The vision involves replacing centralized cloud infrastructure with decentralized alternatives.

Technical achievements include WebSocket integration for interactive apps, stable memory expansion for complex systems, and direct Bitcoin integration. These enable genuinely novel applications impossible on traditional blockchains.

DAO governance through the Service Nervous System shows governance innovation. The ecosystem attracted community-driven projects in social media and trading despite price challenges.

Polkadot (DOT) — Interoperability Focus

DOT Current Price: $9.6B (Market Cap) | 1Y Performance: -0.39%

Polkadot’s value proposition centers on connecting multiple blockchains securely. The relay chain architecture ensures all connected parachains inherit security, solving the fragmentation problem in Layer 1 crypto.

Parathreads provide cost-effective blockchain connectivity versus dedicated parachains. Next-Generation Scheduling improvements enhanced scalability. Polkadot 2.0 roadmap promises upgraded governance and interoperability.

Staking participation jumped 49% through Nomination Pools, showing community engagement. Integration of major stablecoins like USDC expanded utility.

Cosmos (ATOM) — The Modular Stack

ATOM Current Price: $2.03 | Market Cap: $985.30M | 1Y Performance: -70.78%

Cosmos takes a different approach to Layer 1 crypto interoperability. Rather than one relay chain securing all, Cosmos lets blockchains remain fully sovereign while communicating through IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication).

Interchain Security brought protection for smaller Cosmos chains. Interchain Accounts enabled cross-chain smart contracts. Liquid Staking support expanded yield opportunities. The Hub’s 500,000 daily transactions and 20M ATOM trading volume reflect growing adoption.

Cosmos Hub 2.0 whitepaper outlined the network’s evolution strategy. Continued capital allocation toward Interchain Stack development signals serious ecosystem commitment.

The Open Network (TON) — Telegram’s Blockchain

TON Market Cap: $21.9B | 1Y Performance: 169%

TON stands as unique Layer 1 crypto backed by Telegram’s messaging platform. The blockchain operates on multi-level sharding to handle high transaction volume efficiently.

The real breakthrough came when Telegram announced sharing 50% of advertising revenue through TON in 2024. This created genuine utility—Toncoin moved from speculative token to potential payment rail. Following the announcement, Toncoin surged 40%.

Potential Telegram IPO could dramatically impact TON’s trajectory. If Telegram integrates blockchain features with its 700+ million users, Toncoin demand could skyrocket.

Sei (SEI) — DeFi Specialist

SEI Current Price: $0.11 | Market Cap: $723.76M | 1Y Performance: -75.52%

Sei carved a niche focusing on DeFi efficiency. The built-in matching engine and order book optimization reduce latency compared to general-purpose blockchains. This technical specialization matters for trading applications.

The $120 million Ecosystem Fund backed diverse Web3 projects. Strategic focus on Asian markets leveraged regional crypto adoption. Despite recent price decline, the technology addresses real pain points in decentralized trading.

Sui (SUI) — Move Language Innovation

SUI Current Price: $1.41 | Market Cap: $5.27B | 1Y Performance: -68.72%

Sui’s Move programming language prioritizes security and flexibility for developers. The parallel execution engine delivers high throughput at low cost. These technical foundations attracted serious developer attention.

The network’s 65.8 million daily transaction record proved scalability. Post-mainnet launch showed TVL peaking at $188 million. ZkLogin revolutionized dApp access through Web2 social accounts, simplifying user onboarding.

Aptos (APT) — Parallel Processing

APT Current Price: $1.70 | Market Cap: $1.28B | 1Y Performance: -82.19%

Aptos applies parallel execution principles to smart contract processing, significantly improving throughput. Move language foundation enables secure application development. Over $400 million in funding from major investors reflects confidence in the vision.

The 2023 ecosystem flourished with partnerships spanning Sushi for DeFi, Coinbase Pay for payments, and gaming collaborations with Microsoft and NEOWIZ. The new Digital Asset Standard shows evolution beyond pure speculation.

Kaspa (KAS) — DAG Consensus

KAS Current Price: $0.05 | Market Cap: $1.22B | 1Y Performance: -61.96%

Kaspa implements GHOSTDAG, a directed acyclic graph consensus enabling rapid transaction finality. The shift to Rust development unlocked higher performance using modern hardware. The high-performance mobile wallet addressed user adoption barriers.

KAS demonstrated remarkable growth despite recent corrections. The network’s focus on PoW while maintaining scalability differentiates it from other Layer 1 crypto projects.

Kava (KAVA) — Cosmos + EVM Hybrid

KAVA Current Price: $0.08 | Market Cap: $82.94M | 1Y Performance: -84.06%

Kava bridges Cosmos and Ethereum ecosystems through co-chain architecture. This enables Ethereum developers to leverage Cosmos scalability. The native USDX stablecoin and USD-pegged Tether support reduce reliance on centralized stablecoins.

Kava 14 upgrades brought USDt minting on Cosmos. Community-owned Strategic Vault holding $300+ million demonstrates commitment to decentralization. Fixed KAVA supply transitions reduce inflation concerns.

ZetaChain (ZETA) — Omnichain Ambitions

ZETA Current Price: $0.07 | Market Cap: $80.87M | 1Y Performance: -88.78%

ZetaChain attempts to solve cross-chain complexity through omnichain smart contracts. Developers can write once and deploy across any blockchain, eliminating fragmentation issues. The vision represents genuine Layer 1 crypto innovation.

Early metrics impress: 1 million testnet users from 100+ countries, 6.3 million cross-chain transactions, 200+ deployed dApps. Partnerships with Ankr Protocol, BYTE CITY, and Ultiverse expand use cases into gaming and entertainment.

The Layer 1 Crypto Landscape in 2025

Layer 1 blockchains face interesting dynamics heading into 2025. Layer 2 solutions handle immense transaction volume, yet Layer 1 chains remain indispensable for security and settlement. This creates a natural division of labor rather than competition.

Improvements to Layer 1—sharding, consensus upgrades, validator efficiency—directly enhance Layer 2 performance. Successful Layer 2 solutions inform Layer 1 development priorities. This feedback loop ensures both layers evolve together.

The 15 projects listed above represent the most mature and actively developed Layer 1 crypto offerings. Each addresses different use cases: Bitcoin for immutability, Ethereum for dApps, Solana for speed, Polkadot for interoperability. This diversity strengthens the overall ecosystem.

Layer 1 crypto adoption continues accelerating. Institutional players now view these networks as essential infrastructure. Developer communities deepen. Network effects compound. The foundation remains solid despite market volatility.