Grayscale Research has updated its top 20 altcoin list for the first quarter of 2025, adding six new digital assets.

The list highlights cryptocurrencies the company believes demonstrate strong potential for the upcoming quarter.

The Six Tokens

According to the December 30 report, this update emphasizes tokens linked to three primary market themes: the U.S. election and its potential regulatory implications for decentralized finance (DeFi) and staking, breakthroughs in decentralized AI technologies and blockchain adoption by AI agents, and the growth of the Solana ecosystem.

Based on these factors, Grayscale has added Hyperliquid (HYPE), Ethena (ENA), Virtual Protocol (VIRTUAL), Jupiter (JUP), Jito (JTO), and Grass (GRASS) to its Top 20 list.

Hyperliquid, a Layer 1 blockchain, powers financial applications and operates a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures with a fully on-chain order book. On the other hand, Ethena introduced USDe, a stablecoin backed by hedged positions in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), offering staking opportunities tied to price differences between spot and futures markets.

Virtual Protocol enables the creation of tokenized AI agents on Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 network. This functionality allows agents to interact autonomously with their surroundings and users.

Jupiter, the leading decentralized exchange aggregator on Solana, has the highest total value locked (TVL) of any application on the network. Another Solana project, Jito, is a liquid staking protocol that generated over $550 million in fee revenue in 2024.

The last of the six, Grass, operates as a decentralized data-sharing platform. It compensates users for sharing unused internet bandwidth via a Chrome extension. This bandwidth is then sold to AI developers for training machine learning models, offering a unique approach to monetizing data.

In addition to these new entries, Grayscale rotated out some tokens, including Celo (CELO), from the Top 20. While these removed tokens remain relevant to the broader crypto ecosystem, the company explained that the updated selection better reflects the risk-adjusted returns expected for the upcoming quarter.

Smart Contract Platforms

Grayscale’s latest report also highlighted the intensifying competition among smart contract platforms. Despite major wins in the final quarter of 2024, Ethereum faces growing pressure from competitors like Solana and The Open Network.

The research explains that these platforms are gaining traction by addressing the ‘blockchain trilemma,’ balancing scalability, security, and decentralization with innovative solutions.

Fee revenue also continues to play a critical role in driving the value of smart contract platform tokens. For that reason, Grayscale included Ethereum, Solana, Sui, and Optimism in its top 20 list for Q1 2025 as standout smart contract platforms.

According to the asset manager, these projects can generate sustainable fee revenues while delivering long-term value to their ecosystems.