It's been a strange year for the crypto market. After a hot start to 2025, every major cryptocurrency continues to be whipsawed by the constant ups and downs of tariffs and global trade.

What can investors expect in the second half of the year? According to the new Motley Fool Money 2025 Cryptocurrency Investor Trends Survey, investors remain bullish on the future prospects of crypto, especially Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). Let's take a closer look.

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Bitcoin could double in value in 2025

Bitcoin has been front and center throughout the year. Even with the volatility of the current tariff situation, investors remain very bullish about the cryptocurrency's prospects.

According to the Motley Fool Money 2025 Cryptocurrency Investor Trends survey, 68% of U.S. adults who currently hold crypto in their portfolio think that Bitcoin could hit $200,000 by the end of 2025. Based on its current price of $105,000, that suggests that Bitcoin could double in value over the next six months.

Even U.S. adults who don't own crypto in their portfolios are surprisingly bullish about Bitcoin. For example, 25% of them also think that Bitcoin could hit $200,000 by the end of 2025. Another 49% are undecided. Only 26% think it's unlikely.

As a result, investors are likely to continue to buy the dip for the rest of the year. Anytime Bitcoin loses 10% or more of its value, they'll view it as a buying opportunity. And, indeed, this is what we've already seen in the first half of the year, with money continuing to flow into the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from retail investors.

Solana and XRP could rally if new ETFs are approved

Currently, only Bitcoin and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) have spot ETFs. However, one big story of the year has been the potential for other major cryptocurrencies to get spot ETFs of their own. Two that are often mentioned are Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP).

These new spot ETFs could be a game changer. They make buying crypto as easy as buying your favorite tech stock. You can open up an app on your phone, hit a button, and get exposure to Bitcoin instantly. According to the Motley Fool Money crypto survey, "I don't understand how to buy it" remains one of the major barriers to investing in crypto, and spot ETFs help solve this problem.

That leads me to think there will be a rally in Solana and XRP later in the year. That's when the SEC is scheduled to sign off on new spot ETF applications for both cryptos. As soon as these start trading, it could lead to a wave of new investor money flowing into them.

Ethereum may continue to underperform

Ethereum is still the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, and continues to be an important part of the White House's crypto strategy. So why does Ethereum continue to lag the market? Even after a mini-rally in May, Ethereum is still down 20% for the year.

By parsing the data and responses in Motley Fool Money's crypto survey, I might have uncovered the answer: Investors just don't like Ethereum. They can't figure out what to do with it, and it doesn't generate the sort of big, splashy news headlines that can grab their attention.

According to the survey, 36% of respondents who don't own crypto said they "don't know what to do with it." Overall, only 11% of respondents said they understood how crypto works. Bitcoin is easy to explain -- it's "digital gold." But what, exactly, is Ethereum?

Moreover, survey respondents appeared to show a clear preference for big, splashy news headlines. For example, as soon as Bitcoin hit the $100,000 price level, it immediately helped to pull in investors who might have otherwise ignored crypto. Bitcoin hitting $100,000 is the type of headline that's tailor-made to float across the chyron of a TV.

Or, take the example of Elon Musk joining the Trump administration earlier this year. Even though Musk had no direct role in the White House's crypto policies, the overwhelming sentiment of survey respondents was that just having him aboard would somehow be good for crypto.

Ethereum hasn't been able to deliver anything close to a splashy $100,000 news headline or a high-profile public figure like Elon Musk. The biggest news this year has been a new blockchain upgrade in May. As a result, investors just aren't interested. Ethereum may continue to underperform the market until a new narrative emerges.

What happens next for crypto?

In the crypto market, sentiment can change on a dime. Now that Musk has left the White House, for example, will investors become more or less bullish on crypto? And how long are investors willing to wait for Bitcoin to double in value, if it shows signs of stumbling over the summer?

That being said, the new Motley Fool Money crypto survey is a great temperature check on what crypto investors are thinking right now. Using the survey response data, it's possible to put together some compelling narratives about where Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP might be headed in the second half of 2025.

Should you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin right now?

Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

For decades, international payments have been routed through the SWIFT network, which is a messaging system that connects thousands of banks. SWIFT transactions can take days, sometimes weeks, because of intermediary banks, currency conversions, and messaging delays. The main users, banks, need to carry liquidity buffers to cover the risk of those issues. This means that using SWIFT, which stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, comes with a capital burden for banks.

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is a cryptocurrency designed for nothing flashier than moving value from A to B almost instantly and for almost nothing in fees. Banks wrestling with faster-payments mandates and cross-border fee pressure now have a tool that settles transactions in the time it takes to blink, so long as they're willing to abandon SWIFT. Here's why some of those banks and other financial companies are starting to consider XRP as a core reserve they might keep for decades rather than merely as a cryptocurrency investment to hold on the balance sheet.

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It's a lot faster and cheaper than the status quo

On the XRP ledger (known as XRPL), a transfer finalizes in roughly three to five seconds, with typical network fees of less than 0.001 XRP, or about a tenth of a cent at recent prices. For the sake of comparison, consider that SWIFT's own progress report touts a "dramatic" improvement to a 24-hour average for cross-border settlement last year, down from 96 hours in 2019.

Why does that transaction time and cost gap matter to banks when it comes to choosing a technology to use?

If you're a bank, capital that's trapped in transit is capital that isn't earning a yield. Every hour shaved off transaction settlement frees up capital that can be redeployed, thereby enabling the bank to generate more earnings than it would otherwise. Thus, there's a strong financial incentive here for banks to switch, and little that keeps them tied to the legacy solution except for inertia.

Furthermore, XRP's fee structure is predictable. SWIFT's message charges, foreign exchange spreads, and flat fees can be on the order of $50 per transfer. Typically, those exchange fees are billed as a percentage of the transfer amount, with 1% being a common take, so costs add up quickly for players that need to transact frequently and in large sums. With XRP, costs stay microscopic regardless of notional transaction size, and there is no currency being exchanged, so there are no exchange fees at all.

That reliability underpins the token's appeal as a utility reserve rather than a speculative investment. Once adopted, if it's anything like SWIFT, banks will be loath to transition to something else unless the benefits of doing so are very compelling.

Compliance matters too

The speed of a solution alone has probably never sold a big bank's chief compliance officer on adopting a new technology. What moves the needle is control and traceability.

XRP's ledger natively bakes a slew of regulatory compliance features directly into the protocol. Asset issuers, including those with key assets like stablecoins, can freeze individual trust lines, enact a global freeze, or enable deposit authorization so an account only accepts funds it has vetted. These features let banks satisfy know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) obligations without incorporating external smart contract code, which is a tremendous headache on many other chains, particularly Ethereum.

As a result of XRP's compliance features and potential to cut costs, real-world pilots of financial businesses and organizations trialing XRP are piling up. Bhutan's central bank began a central bank digital currency (CBDC) sandbox on XRP's tech three years ago, looking to extend financial inclusion across its mountainous villages. More recently, Dubai green-lit a property tokenization platform that records deeds on XRPL, targeting $16 billion in real estate. Each project requires the ledger to prove it can handle regulated assets at scale, which is progress that risk officers and bank executives watch far more closely than investors typically do.

If those trials mature into production systems, banks holding XRP as an operational reserve gain a second benefit of optionality. The same tokens that are useful for making large international payments can also pay ledger fees for tokenized bonds or be used for trading other tokenized financial instruments. That versatility hedges against the risk that today's fast payment rails become tomorrow's legacy drag in the way that SWIFT is.

Thus, the durability of XRP as an asset is starting to look more persuasive than ever.

XRP's price can be volatile, yet the direction of travel toward faster payments, programmable compliance, and institutional custody is hard to miss.

For investors, that means the thesis behind buying and holding XRP today hinges less on a meme-driven price spike and more on the quiet decisions banks make to incorporate it over the next decade. Ripple, the company that issues XRP, is highly motivated to ensure that banks keep adopting the coin for their back-end use.

If XRP becomes the solution for tokenized deposits, CBDCs, and cross-border wholesale flows, demand from institutions with no intention of selling could easily anchor the coin's long-term value. And so far, the evidence is that things are moving in that direction.

Should you invest $1,000 in XRP right now?

Before you buy stock in XRP, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and XRP wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

Alex Carchidi has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Few investments age gracefully when the world around them speeds up. The same pressure applies in crypto. Builders, investors, and users do not wait politely for laggards to catch up; they migrate to speed, liquidity, and, most of all, excitement.

That reality now confronts Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), which was once celebrated for its emphasis on peer-reviewed research to advance its underlying technology, as well as for its deliberate pace of technical progress. Three red flags, in particular, suggest that the project risks permanent middle-of-the-pack status unless something changes quickly. Let's check out each of these warning signs in detail.

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1. Rivals are racing ahead in every dimension

In the crypto world, developers are the lifeblood of a blockchain.

They build decentralized apps (dApps), protocols, and tools that generate utility, liquidity, and real-world adoption. A thriving developer ecosystem attracts users, capital, and other partners, creating a virtuous cycle that drives a chain's value and growth. Without them, even the most technically sound chain can remain a ghost town.

In terms of developer activity in Cardano's ecosystem, it doesn't hold up very well against its chief competitors, Ethereum and Solana. Per Cryptometheus, a cryptocurrency data provider, Solana had 499 active developers, and Cardano had just 175 developers pushing updates for the week, down 33% from three months ago.

Furthermore, developers flow toward concentrations of capital, and that capital is pooling elsewhere. Fidelity, a major asset manager, filed in March to list a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF). Bloomberg now pegs the approval odds of that ETF at 90% for 2025, which would be an institutional seal of approval that no Cardano product enjoys.

Meanwhile, Solana's total value locked (TVL) on its chain was nearly $12 billion in January and currently rests at around $8.6 billion. Cardano's TVL is just $331.6 million, down from $680.8 million in early December 2024. That means there's less real money parked on its chain.

And when builders, money, and regulators all prefer the other options, it's a big problem.

2. New upgrades aren't getting used

Blockchains tend to have technical constraints. Sometimes, those constraints are troublesome enough for users that the main engineers of the chain create big new modules or other solutions in an attempt to prevent the flight of disaffected investors, users, or ecosystem developers. The success or failure of those solutions is, thus, often a major factor in determining whether to invest in the chain's native token.

And in Cardano's case, the record with successfully developing workarounds to the chain's issues isn't great, at least not in recent times.

Cardano's Layer-2 (L2) system, Hydra, dazzled testers with a 1 million transactions-per-second (TPS) demo last December, implicitly promising to solve the issue of lethargic transaction times during periods of peak load. L2s like Hydra are designed to handle transactions off the main blockchain, reducing congestion and perhaps also fees while maintaining security and interoperability. But they only matter if users adopt them and volume grows. Otherwise, they're tech demos, not adoption drivers.

Five months after launch, no major exchange, payment processor, or other project has committed to using Hydra beyond a pilot.

Another solution, called Midnight, is a side chain, which means it's a parallel network intended for specialized features such as privacy, among others. Side chains can extend a blockchain's functionality by providing specialized services that don't burden the main chain. Midnight aims to attract institutional users who want confidential holding of assets on the chain, but so far, no major financial players have signed on, and no real user base exists.

These technical marvels might eventually matter. But until developers, institutions, or users adopt them, they remain tantalizing but empty promises. And that's a big warning sign that Cardano is failing to match its development of capabilities to the features that are actually in demand.

3. Cardano's mindshare is eroding, not expanding

Crypto is a popularity contest masquerading as a set of technologies.

On June 4, Cardano counted around 23,273 daily active addresses, whereas Solana cleared nearly 5 million in the same day. That gap widens whenever meme coin mania or non-fungible token (NFT) drops spark traffic spikes. Those are segments where Cardano barely registers, as its ecosystem is very sparse in both areas.

Social chatter mirrors the numbers. Per data from Santiment, a crypto data aggregator, Cardano ranks far below Ethereum and Solana in terms of social media post volume, hinting that investor excitement has simply remained elsewhere. If users, developers, and institutions are not talking about Cardano now, why would they flock to it later?

In other words, Cardano's investment thesis -- that academic rigor in the tech development process will eventually lead to late-bloomer dominance -- faces mounting counter-evidence. Unless Hydra suddenly wins real traffic or Midnight lands marquee clients, the token's upside may remain capped while the opportunity cost mounts. And there's just not much evidence to suggest that's happening, nor is there any reason to believe it will soon.

Should you invest $1,000 in Cardano right now?

Before you buy stock in Cardano, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Cardano wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

Alex Carchidi has positions in Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The Feno is supposed to brush all your teeth at once. But after using this "toothbrush" for three weeks, maybe just stick to your $5 manual brush.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) set a new all-time high today, topping $111,000 for the first time ever. After reaching a previous all-time high in December 2024, Bitcoin declined roughly 30%, leading many to believe the bull run that saw it nearly double from September through December was over. However, in the last month, Bitcoin is up nearly 50%.

As is common, many altcoins have followed suit, with Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) up more than 68% in a month and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) up nearly 50% since April.

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This growth has been largely fueled by easing trade tensions with China, and more recently, a downgrade of U.S. debt and the advancement of the crypto-friendly GENIUS Act. Today's move is directly related to the U.S. House of Representatives vote to advance President Trump's tax bill and "driven by a mix of positive momentum, growing optimism around U.S. crypto regulation, and continued interest from institutional buyers," as James Butterfill, head of research for crypto-focused asset manager CoinShares, told CNBC.

GENIUS Act passes the Senate

The Senate advanced the GENIUS Act on a bipartisan 66-32 vote Monday. The bill would establish the first regulatory framework for stablecoins -- crypto tokens pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, which could greatly advance their adoption in mainstream finance. The move was big news across crypto markets, but Ethereum saw a particular boost, as many of the most prominent stablecoins operate on its blockchain.

The fact that the bill passed with bipartisan support -- 16 Democrats joined the majority of Republicans -- was taken as an especially positive sign that more crypto-friendly bills could be coming.

Institutional buy-in is growing

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase and a longtime crypto skeptic, announced earlier this week that the asset management firm will allow clients to purchase Bitcoin. While the company won't hold it itself, it marks a major milestone, given JPMorgan's influence and Dimon's years of opposition to Bitcoin.

This comes as Bitcoin ETFs have seen consistent inflows and steady growth. So far in May, only two days have seen more money flow out of them than in. Often using these ETFs, public companies have greatly expanded their Bitcoin ownership this year: Ownership of the cryptocurrency by public companies is up 31% this year alone.

Economic fears are driving investment

Today's move in particular appears driven by the advancement of Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." The House voted to advance the massive bill that would see a significant increase in the federal government's revenue shortfall. While there are spending cuts, the massive tax cuts will amount to a $3.8 trillion addition to the national debt, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). This has spooked Wall Street and sent bond yields higher, with the 30-year Treasury yield at its highest level since October 2023. Bond yields rise as faith in the health of the economy falls.

Bitcoin has long been held by its proponents to be a "safe haven," an alternative to the U.S. dollar and more traditional assets that are tied to the health of the economy. This hasn't always borne out. However, that is exactly what appears to be happening today. Investors are moving money from traditional assets into Bitcoin as a hedge, believing that if the broader economy worsens, Bitcoin will not move down with it.

I think both Bitcoin and Ethereum are solid investments that can help diversify your portfolio and make it more resilient during downturns. However, they are still relatively speculative and carry a decent amount of risk. Dogecoin is a meme coin, and I would caution investors to stay away from it.

Should you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin right now?

Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $644,254!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $807,814!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 962% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 169% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The crypto market came to life on Thursday as investors continued to buy riskier assets like cryptocurrencies and growth stocks. The Federal Reserve's move to not change interest rates yesterday played a role, but so does the seeming idea that trade tensions are easing.

At 2:30 p.m. ET, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is up 5% over the past 24 hours, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) has jumped 13.8%, and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) is up 10.8%.

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Trade deals, interest rates, and crypto

The biggest news of yesterday was the Federal Reserve keeping the fed funds rate at 4.25% to 4.5%, which was what the market expected. But President Trump is pushing for lower rates while tariffs are threatening inflation, which has made the market worried about the tension between the two.

As a sign that tariff tension may ease, President Trump announced a trade deal with the U.K. today, which is really more of a framework with details to be worked out later. The deal reduces some import tariffs on pharmaceuticals and automobiles while keeping the 10% tariff on all imports in place.

The deal isn't exactly earth-shattering and leaves a lot of details to be negotiated, but the market is forward looking so investors are wondering what the impact will be if more "deals" are announced soon. The Fed may soon start worrying less about tariff-induced inflation and look at the weakening economy, leaving the central bank to cut rates.

Blockchain developments continue

Despite the speculative nature of day-to-day trading on the blockchain, there has been some positive news for these cryptocurrencies as it relates to utility. Ethereum's Pectra upgrade is intended to provide more scalability for the blockchain, which is needed given the slow speed and high cost for using Ethereum.

Dogecoin got some positive news when DogeOS raised $6.9 million to build a Dogecoin app layer. Dogecoin is still a meme coin, but some developers want to give it more utility.

Bitcoin's role as the largest, most stable cryptocurrency remains despite its relatively few use cases. But that's why investors call it digital gold.

Where does crypto go from here?

The market's speculation has pushed crypto higher along with growth stocks, helped by a solid earnings season. But the tariffs announced in early April won't impact business until the second quarter, and empty shelves won't be seen at retailers for months.

This could be the kind of bounce that's unsustainable if the economy turns south, as companies and the government reduce staff. There were 105,441 layoffs in April, according to a report from Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, 63% higher than a year ago. About half of those cuts were from the government's DOGE initiative.

We have seen in previous recessions that there's a lag between an event and the economic impacts it causes. In March 2008, Bear Stearns collapsed, and the market wouldn't bottom for another year. There will be a multimonth lag between layoffs and tariffs and their ultimate economic impact.

I'm skeptical of this rally for that reason and think the market may already be getting out ahead of itself in 2025.

Should you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin right now?

Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $623,103!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $717,471!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 909% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 162% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of May 5, 2025

Travis Hoium has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Let's be perfectly clear: Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is having a very bad year. It's now down 47% in 2025, making it the worst-performing top cryptocurrency. At a time when rival cryptocurrencies are finally starting to regain momentum, Ethereum is down another 10% over the past 30 days.

So is it time to give up on Ethereum? Or is there still hope that it can somehow turn things around? Let's take a closer look.

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Ethereum's competitors

Of foremost concern, Ethereum no longer looks as formidable as it did even 12 months ago. Upstart rivals continue to proliferate, and there are now four direct competitors -- Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), Avalanche (CRYPTO: AVAX), and Sui (CRYPTO: SUI) -- that are taking market share away from Ethereum.

All five of these competitors boast market caps of $9 billion or higher, all of them now rank among the top 20 cryptocurrencies in the world, and all of them are performing better than Ethereum this year. Moreover, if you look outside the Top 20, there are plenty more smaller competitors, many of them focusing on a specialized niche of the blockchain world that Ethereum once had the potential to dominate.

Ethereum's existential crisis

So this rapidly changing competitive landscape is one obvious reason why Ethereum's crypto price continues to tank. It's no longer enough for Ethereum to roll out a new blockchain upgrade every year and expect investors to be impressed.

Moreover, Ethereum appears to be experiencing an existential crisis right now. At the beginning of the year, there were even signs that Vitalik Buterin, the legendary co-founder of Ethereum, might actually quit and hand over the reins to someone new.

At the same time, developers within the Ethereum blockchain ecosystem are squabbling over its future direction. And there has already been a big leadership shakeup this year at the Ethereum Foundation, the nonprofit organization responsible for guiding the future direction of Ethereum.

Adding insult to injury, some blockchain competitors are now raising the question of whether Ethereum will even exist a decade from now. Charles Hoskinson, one of the co-founders of Ethereum who went on to launch rival Cardano, recently suggested that Ethereum is running out of time and is in imminent danger of becoming the next MySpace or BlackBerry.

There's too much competition, Hoskinson says, and Ethereum is at real risk of losing its foothold in decentralized finance (DeFi), the one area where it has been historically dominant. Moreover, economic value is rapidly flowing away from Ethereum (the Layer 1 blockchain) to new blockchain scaling solutions (the Layer 2 blockchains) that are designed to help Ethereum run faster and more efficiently. Investors are waking up to this reality and significantly marking down their price forecasts for Ethereum.

The Trump factor

All of this, of course, is the reason for doom and gloom about Ethereum. However, there is one silver lining: the Trump White House still thinks Ethereum is core to the growth of the blockchain and crypto sector and is devoting considerable resources to propping it up. For example, it made Ethereum a centerpiece of the new U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, and World Liberty Financial, the crypto company affiliated with the Trump family, has been buying Ethereum for its own portfolio.

It's up to you to decide, of course, whether these efforts are going to help. For example, take the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. Yes, it commits the U.S. Treasury to consolidate the government's holdings of Ethereum. But it does not commit the U.S. Treasury to buy new Ethereum, which is what investors were hoping for. Any large-scale buying of Ethereum by the U.S. government, of course, could send its price soaring.

Only buy Ethereum if this one thing happens

At the end of the day, it's almost impossible to recommend Ethereum these days. And that's really a shame because Ethereum has been a star performer for nearly a decade. It remains the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world and is one of the few cryptocurrencies widely held by both large institutional investors and small retail investors.

But here's the thing: Digital assets need to be valued based on their future growth projections and not on past accolades or past performance. There are simply too many competitors these days, and Ethereum is starting to lag its biggest rivals. Unless the Trump White House commits to a full-scale buying of Ethereum as a national strategic asset, there are better investment targets elsewhere.

Should you invest $1,000 in Ethereum right now?

Before you buy stock in Ethereum, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Ethereum wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $594,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $680,390!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 872% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 160% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025

Dominic Basulto has positions in Cardano, Ethereum, Solana, and Sui. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Avalanche, Cardano, Ethereum, Solana, and Sui. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Only a handful of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), have been able to avoid the worst of the declines in response to President Donald Trump's new tariffs.

Most top cryptocurrencies are down at least 20% for the year, with two major categories of cryptocurrencies -- Layer 1 blockchain networks and meme coins -- getting slammed especially hard. Let's take a closer look to see whether any of these beaten-down cryptos might be worth buying right now.

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Layer 1 blockchain networks

Layer 1 blockchain networks, such as Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), Sui (CRYPTO: SUI), and Avalanche (CRYPTO: AVAX), have declined significantly. All of them still boast market caps of $9 billion or higher and still rank among the top 15 cryptocurrencies in the world. However, it has become obvious that many investors won't touch them.

The worst performer by a wide margin has been Ethereum. While Solana and Cardano are down a disappointing 20% on the year, Ethereum is down an eye-popping 46%. The investor sentiment around Ethereum is deeply negative, and the gap between Ethereum and its closest rivals appears to be narrowing.

Quite frankly, this shouldn't be happening. After all, Ethereum is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, with a market value of almost $220 billion. It is one of only two cryptos (Bitcoin being the other) with a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). During the past decade, it has had an impeccable track record of delivering outsized returns to investors.

Despite its current slide, Ethereum still appears to have the support of the Trump administration, which made it a cornerstone of its new U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile back in March. Members of the Trump family, including President Trump himself, have publicly vouched for Ethereum on social media. And World Liberty Financial, the crypto company affiliated with the Trump family, has made Ethereum a high-profile holding.

Meme coins

If there's any category of crypto that's performing worse than Layer 1 blockchains right now, it's meme coins. The current tariff environment has led to a stark risk-off mentality among investors, and there hasn't been a good reason to invest in meme coins for months now.

Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), the top meme coin by market cap, is down 45% this year. Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB), the second-largest meme coin, is down 37%. Pepe (CRYPTO: PEPE), the third-largest meme coin, is down 53%. And the Official Trump meme coin (which trades under the ticker TRUMP), the fourth-largest meme coin, is down a face-melting 84% since its debut back in January.

The message from investors could not be clearer: Stay away from meme coins. Even before tariffs, meme coins were risky, speculative investments. Now, they are complete dumpster fires, with Cathie Wood of Ark Invest recently suggesting that nearly all of them will soon be worthless.

That's not to say that some meme coins won't pop every now and then, but that's likely to be a dead cat bounce. (Or in the case of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, a dead dog bounce.) Sorry, pet lovers, but I can't think of a worse place to invest your money right now. If you're buying animal-themed meme coins now, you're providing the exit liquidity for investors sitting on big losses right now.

Are any of these beaten-down cryptos worth buying now?

It might be tempting to sift through the crypto discount bin to see whether there are any bargains to be found. After all, we're talking about multibillion-dollar digital assets that have seen their value slashed anywhere from 20% to 50% in a matter of months. Surely, there's a good deal somewhere?

With that in mind, one crypto that might be worth exploring right now is Solana. Even amid tariff uncertainty, activity appears to be picking up on the Solana blockchain. And Solana has clearly emerged as the top challenger to Ethereum, which appears to be mired in an existential crisis these days. Best of all, we've seen how much Solana can pop. Back in 2023, Solana soared by more than 900%.

Just keep this in mind: Concerns about recession, inflation, and a potential trade war mean there is absolutely no appetite right now for many cryptocurrency investments. For now, Bitcoin remains the top crypto to target amid tariff uncertainty. Historically, Bitcoin has been more resilient than other cryptos in the face of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and it could be your best option as a potential hedge against a global economic slowdown.

Should you invest $1,000 in Ethereum right now?

Before you buy stock in Ethereum, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Ethereum wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $594,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $680,390!*

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Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Cardano, Ethereum, Solana, Sui, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Avalanche, Bitcoin, Cardano, Ethereum, Solana, Sui, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

When it comes to cryptocurrency, one name stands out above the crowd: Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). The original cryptocurrency accounts for roughly 63% of the entire crypto market cap.

However, Bitcoin is so big that it doesn't always produce the best returns. More recently, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has gotten a lot of attention as regulatory pressure eases on the company, and its utility has gotten a major boost from several advancements from Ripple. Meanwhile, Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) is often seen as the backbone of DeFi, with its smart contract blockchain doing most of the heavy lifting in the industry.

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While there's a case to be made for either to outperform Bitcoin, I think Bitcoin will ultimately outperform amid the current environment. Here are three reasons why investors should consider the king of cryptos.

1. The flight to quality

President Donald Trump has quickly and aggressively enacted wide-reaching tariffs on just about everything imported into the United States since taking office in January. Not only has he announced massive potential tariffs on imports, he's also paused them, said he will carve out exceptions, and unpaused certain tariffs.

All of this leads to massive amounts of uncertainty in the market. It's hard to know what to do with your money if the playing field could completely change tomorrow.

When markets are uncertain, they sell off riskier assets. That's certainly true of the entire cryptocurrency market, and Bitcoin hasn't been immune.

However, of all the cryptocurrencies investors could buy, Bitcoin is the highest-quality investment. It has significant institutional backing and a lot of big stakeholders, and the U.S. government now holds Bitcoin as part of its strategic cryptocurrency reserve. Investors selling risky altcoins are likely to move their money to Bitcoin.

As such, it's no surprise that Bitcoin has held up better than either XRP or Ethereum in the last few months. I expect that will continue to be the case as long as the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain.

2. Investors pulling money out of the U.S. markets

Since Trump's tariff announcement, we've seen both U.S. stocks and U.S. debt decline in value. That's not typically how it works. Remember, investors usually move from risky assets (stocks) to safer assets (Treasuries). However, the decline in Treasuries suggests investors are completely abandoning U.S. markets instead of shifting from risky assets to safer assets.

Those investors will be looking for a safe asset to buy. Foreign debt could be an option; gold is another, but Bitcoin presents an interesting case as well. That's particularly true as a result of a second-order effect from the mass exodus from U.S. securities. The U.S. dollar has grown significantly weaker in the last few weeks.

The U.S. Dollar Index has fallen more than 10% since Trump took office in January. The dollar weakened considerably after the tariffs were announced on April 2, and it failed to bounce back after Trump announced a pause on those tariffs. When the U.S. dollar weakens, it typically results in higher pricing for Bitcoin.

3. Inflation could push the price higher

Bitcoin is seen as a hedge against inflation. Most economists agree the tariffs will be inflationary.

That only makes sense. An escalating trade war with taxes on every import, from manufacturing equipment to parts to final products, will have a huge impact on the final price of goods. Combine that with the weakening U.S. dollar, and we'll see massive inflationary pressure.

Since Bitcoin has a fixed supply, a dollar that can buy less will theoretically apply to Bitcoin as well. That means the price of Bitcoin will go up.

The economics of Bitcoin don't exist in a vacuum, though. The three factors outlined here, all fallout from Trump's tariffs, point to Bitcoin performing relatively well compared to other cryptocurrencies and other assets in general. The longer the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, the longer the trade war goes on, the more money we'll see flow into Bitcoin compared to other cryptocurrencies. As such, investors may see Bitcoin's dominance of the market extend even further over the coming months.

Should you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin right now?

Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $591,533!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $652,319!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Adam Levy has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Hegseth isn't the only government official irresponsibly using Signal. But he's definitely the messiest.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is facing heavy pressure to cut interest rates. President Donald Trump recently warned that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's job could be at risk if he doesn't cut rates fast.

But let's set aside all the political undertones and deal-making calculations, and focus on the overarching questions: What happens to cryptocurrency prices if there is a rate cut? And which cryptocurrencies would become most attractive in a lower-rate environment?

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The relationship between interest rates and crypto prices

The general rule of thumb is that rising interest rates result in lower crypto prices, while declining interest rates result in higher crypto prices. That might sound simplistic, but when rates are lower, the cost of borrowing is lower. Moreover, risky assets suddenly appear more attractive on a relative basis. That generally leads to an infusion of new money pouring into crypto.

This is the scenario that Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of both Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), now sees happening with the crypto market. In a recent podcast interview with CNBC, he laid out a scenario where lower interest rates might lead to a new speculative frenzy in crypto, helping to push Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) to $250,000 by the end of the year. That's incredibly bullish but gives you an idea of the immediate impact a rate cut could have on crypto.

Historical evidence

Given that Bitcoin officially started trading in January 2009, three distinct time periods over the past 15 years could provide important clues about the link between crypto prices and interest rates.

There was the low interest-rate environment created in response to the 2008 global financial crisis; the Federal Reserve's policy of interest rate increases in 2017–2018; and the low interest-rate environment created in response to the pandemic.

If you look at these three periods, they all tell the same story: Lower interest rates help crypto, while higher interest rates hurt it.

For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, central banks around the world slashed interest rates nearly to zero and introduced all sorts of new stimulus measures, in the hopes of reviving economic growth.

And it worked! The period from 2020-2021 resulted in a huge bull market rally for Bitcoin, as it skyrocketed in value to a (then) all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021.

It's easy to see why President Trump is now pressing so hard for interest rate cuts. If new tariffs are going to curtail future economic growth, then there needs to be some sort of stimulus to keep the economy moving. And that stimulus is cheap money.

Just keep in mind: Crypto is still a relatively new asset class, and we still really don't know how it will perform after rate cuts. History may be a guide, but it's not a precise indicator of what happens next.

Which cryptos should you buy?

Based on the above, Bitcoin appears to be the obvious beneficiary of lower interest rates. After all, didn't it skyrocket to $69,000 as soon as rates were cut in 2020?

However, don't forget about altcoins. In an environment of lower interest rates, riskier assets such as beaten-down altcoins (some of them down as much as 50% for the year) could start to look a lot more attractive on a relative basis. And that might mean we finally get the arrival of "Altcoin Season" -- the time of the year when risky altcoins explode in value and outperform Bitcoin.

All of this should highlight the importance of portfolio diversification. It still makes sense to make Bitcoin the focus of any new crypto buying in the wake of rate cuts, but now might be the time to explore new coins to diversify your portfolio.

My personal pick right now would be coins with significant exposure to the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. That's what World Liberty Financial, the crypto company affiliated with the Trump family, appears to be loading up on now. These coins also performed very well during the 2020-2021 crypto bull market cycle, highlighted by the speculative, frothy "DeFi Summer" of 2020.

As always, remember to do your due diligence. Crypto has always been risky and volatile, and the current economy is especially dicey, with unknown consequences ahead.

Should you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin right now?

Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $566,035!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $629,519!*

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Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Cardano, and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Cardano, and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The crypto market has calmed down after a couple of months characterized by price-cutting volatility. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is down 8% year-to-date on April 21. That's comparable to the stock market, as the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index fell 13% over the same period. If anything, Bitcoin has been more stable than stocks amid the tariff drama, rising 3% since the end of March while the leading stock index dropped 9% lower.

But if you're planning to buy into the crypto sector in this period of stable prices, you have other options than Bitcoin. The largest crypto's market-beating stability hasn't rubbed off on the entire sector, and many altcoins are available at dramatically lower prices nowadays.

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In particular, I recommend taking a closer look at Polkadot (CRYPTO: DOT) right now. The cross-chain app development coin, managed by the Web3 Foundation, has also outperformed the S&P 500 in April with a smaller 4% price drop. But it's down 42% since the end of 2024, even though a stack of bullish growth drivers is piling up.

I'll give you the lowdown on Polkadot's transformation. If you're still not excited about this promising Web3 investment by the end of this page, you should probably stick to more traditional ideas like Bitcoin and value-oriented stocks. That's OK -- Polkadot is just one of many perfectly reasonable investment ideas in this dynamic market.

Polkadot's special place in the crypto world

Polkadot has two main purposes, and they are tightly related to each other:

• As the official coin and blockchain network of the Web3 Foundation, Polkadot was explicitly designed to support the next generation of the internet. It facilitates privacy, personal data control, and a financial system of peer-to-peer transactions. Getting this dotted ball rolling could disrupt everything from personal finance and media publishing to medical records and social media.
• The Polkadot blockchain network doesn't stand alone. Instead, it can connect to many of the leading blockchains out there, sending and receiving data from one to another. Let's say your Web3 decentralized finance app needs to manage money transfers with the Cosmos (CRYPTO: ATOM) network and store the user's wealth in the form of Bitcoins. The process is handled by Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) smart contracts, based on real-world data provided by Chainlink (CRYPTO: LINK). Letting these components talk to each other can be complicated, but Polkadot's integrated development tools make it easy. And that's how you build an advanced Web3 app.

Where are all the Polkadot apps?

So Polkadot's purpose is pretty clear, and I'm looking forward to Web3 ideas making an impact on mainstream culture. I'm not aware of any game-changing examples so far, though the Subsocial content monetization platform and Polkamarkets data forecasting community are off to a good start.

If those early hopefuls don't get the party started, the first Polkadot killer app might be a decentralized game or a mobile network management system. The first big Polkadot apps might not have the cryptocurrency's logo plastered all over it, but it can do the heavy cross-chain communications lifting behind the scenes. The resulting torrent of Polkadot usage will still build real-world value, one microscopic transaction fee at a time.

Polkadot's impressive technical makeover

On top of the incoming Web3 future, Polkadot is upgrading is technical platform at the moment. The original collection of parachains and crowdfunding auctions was powerful but also confusing in many ways. The new Polkadot 2.0 design simplifies everything into a single computing hub, running a massively scalable supercomputer on the blockchain. This platform can execute perfectly ordinary computer programs, such as a playable version of the classic ID Games game DOOM . That's a pretty silly example, but also a colorful demonstration of the next-generation Polkadot ecosystem's flexibility.

Putting this upgraded system in the hands of a global developer community could very well create that long-awaited first Web3 killer app. If this isn't the right market for any of these disruptive ideas, the stage will be set for a longer waiting game. So I can't promise that Polkadot will skyrocket in 2025, or the foreseeable future.

But I don't mind buying coins on the cheap and waiting for the sea change to come -- even if it takes several years. Investing is a marathon, not a sprint.

Should you invest $1,000 in Polkadot right now?

Before you buy stock in Polkadot, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Polkadot wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $532,771!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $593,970!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Anders Bylund has positions in Bitcoin, Chainlink, Cosmos, Ethereum, and Polkadot. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Chainlink, and Ethereum. The Motley Fool recommends Cosmos. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) investors have had a wild ride so far this year. The price of this popular cryptocurrency has dropped by more than 50%. The sudden collapse has even spooked long-term investors.

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Should you be panicking or staying the course with Ethereum? As with any volatile investment, it's difficult to tell right now. But I'm keeping my eye on the critical metric below for clues on what might happen next.

This one number can determine Ethereum's future

Many people hold Ethereum for purely speculative reasons. But the cryptocurrency's true underlying value derives from its ability to act as a decentralized computer. Entire applications and third-party infrastructure can be built on top of its network, with no single entity controlling its functioning or performance. And due to its early mover advantage and size, Ethereum remains the go-to network for the rapidly evolving decentralized economy.

How can investors gauge Ethereum's success in this regard? By monitoring the total value locked (TVL) on its network. This metric demonstrates how well Ethereum has done at not only convincing developers to build on top of its network, but also how successful those applications have been at attracting hard-earned capital from consumers, businesses, and other applications.

Ethereum's TVL has grown considerably over the years, from just $600 million at the start of 2020 to nearly $45 billion today. Put simply, Ethereum's decentralized ecosystem is maturing rapidly, especially in emerging categories like DeFi. This TVL has fluctuated wildly in recent years, with a high correlation with the value of Ethereum itself. But the long term trend is clearly headed in the right direction.

In 2021, Ethereum had a market cap high of $560 billion, with a TVL of $107 billion -- roughly 20% of its market cap. Today, Ethereum has a market cap of $180 billion and a TVL of $45 billion -- around 25% of its market cap. So is the price of Ethereum plunging? Yes. But does a rising percentage of TVL to market cap suggest a more mature network? Also yes. Keep an eye on this figure.

Should you invest $1,000 in Ethereum right now?

Before you buy stock in Ethereum, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Ethereum wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $495,226!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $679,900!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 796% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 155% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of April 10, 2025

Ryan Vanzo has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Are we finally reaching a point of stability in the market after an insanely volatile 10-day stretch? The crypto market seems to think so, with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) up 5.2% over the past 24 hours as of 1 p.m. ET, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) up 4.6%, and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) rising 5.3%.

The stock market has gained as well on what seems to be hope that rising bond yields and a falling dollar will lead to the Trump administration finding a path away from the trade war that's currently unfolding.

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Investors are taking a "risk on" mentality going into the weekend, which often happens when news of trade talks or deals takes place while the market is closed.

It's not clear if there will be any deals, and last weekend was unusually quiet, but that's part of the reason stocks are moving higher today. Cryptocurrencies have followed, as they often do, but the pop in values may be short-lived.

Data tells a different story

We're starting to get early signs of how consumers and businesses are viewing the tariff plans, and the early data isn't good. A University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment fell from 57.0 a month ago to 50.8, which is nearly as low as the index got during 2020.

Expectations for inflation jumped to 6.7%, up from 5% a month earlier and the highest in more than four decades.

Normally, weak consumer sentiment and higher inflation expectations would cause investors to flee to safety, but the opposite is what's happening today.

Crypto is stuck in the middle

What's interesting about where crypto sits is that it's the one asset class that's traded 24/7. So, equity investors may be preparing for Monday, but crypto traders will see the impact of any deal or any lack of deals over the weekend. That could make for extremely volatile trading.

Whether you're looking at the stock market or the crypto market, it's nearly impossible to predict what's going to happen next.

History says the next leg may be down for crypto

The worries I would have for the crypto market is the economy slowing in the U.S., and that extending to risky assets like cryptocurrencies. Economists have increased their odds of a recession in 2025, and it's very possible we're already in one.

We also have a rush of earnings data coming over the next few weeks as companies both reveal what happened in the first quarter and give their outlook for the rest of 2025. If that outlook is weak, we may see equities and crypto fall.

Consumer sentiment is the most worrying when combined with the rise in interest rates over the past week. If both those trends continue, a recession could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

History says that will negatively impact cryptocurrencies, which trade more with growth stocks than as a hedge to inflation or the dollar. So, this could be a short-term reprieve from a long-term downward trend for the market.

Should you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin right now?

Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $496,779!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $659,306!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 787% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 152% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 10, 2025

Travis Hoium has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) is one of the most popular meme coins today with a market cap of $24 billion. And that's after a sharp 50% drop year to date.

Is now the time to load up on Dogecoin? There's one number I track regularly to gauge how attractive Dogecoin is for aggressive long-term investors looking for maximum growth.

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The No. 1 metric to track for Dogecoin

As a meme coin, Dogecoin's price movements can vary wildly on a short-term basis, often with little obvious reason behind its price movements. Its volatility has correlated very closely with other major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin, with some relationship with traditional equity market swings as well. But when it comes to whether Dogecoin is a good investment for long-term investors, its network transaction volume is a telling metric.

Dogecoin has seen more and more integrations that grant it additional transactional utility both as a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and a means of trade for a growing ecosystem of decentralized applications (dApps). Network transaction count is a great gauge of success for Dogecoin's ability to become more than just a meme coin with debatable intrinsic value.

April's transaction count has plummeted to multimonth lows. According to CoinMarketCap, Dogecoin's trading volume spiked to $40 billion on November 11, 2024. Five months later, the 24-hour volume is down to $1 billion.

As one of the largest meme coins, Dogecoin's community is arguably its biggest strength. Yet after the sudden price decline, usage of Dogecoin among its community has fallen tremendously.

Dogecoin may still be a great speculative investment for very aggressive growth investors with some extra cash. But with transaction volumes falling more than 97% versus their recent peaks, it's the cryptocurrency still doesn't have much value apart from its meme coin status. Its long-term price trajectory is therefore incredibly difficult to model.

Buying Dogecoin today is like buying a lottery ticket. That's a fine use of extra disposable income, but make sure to set your expectations accordingly.

Should you invest $1,000 in Dogecoin right now?

Before you buy stock in Dogecoin, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Dogecoin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $496,779!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $659,306!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 787% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 152% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 10, 2025

Ryan Vanzo has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

It might sound strange at first, but stablecoins are soaring these days.

I don't mean that the price of Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) or USD Coin (CRYPTO: USDC) is skyrocketing, of course. They are going nowhere from that perspective, essentially pinned to the $1.000 price point as expected. But the entire category of stablecoins is gaining momentum, with lots of new names on the market and a rising tide of trading volumes.

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So let's look at the surging stablecoin category. The calmest corner of the cryptocurrency market can be surprisingly exciting.

What makes stablecoins so... stable?

First, let's think about what stablecoins are good for.

These digital coins have several functions in the crypto world.

With a price permanently pegged to a traditional fiat currency such as the US dollar, the euro, or the Japanese yen, they are a helpful tool for crypto-trading exchanges and banks. Exchanging dollars for Tether or USD Coins is very straightforward, and then you have a crypto-based representation of simple dollars in your digital assets account. From there, you can use the stablecoins to buy other cryptocurrencies, without raising currency exchange questions by involving actual dollars again.

The leading names have become extremely stable over time. Tether prices fluctuated wildly in 2016, ranging from $0.10 to $2.01 when the very concept of stablecoins was new and unproven. The newer USD Coin had a lighter bout of volatility just after its launch in 2018, rising as high as $1.04. But Tether quickly stabilized and hasn't moved more than 1.1% away from a perfect $1.00 in the past five years. USD Coin took a quick 3.4% dip amid the collapse of the experimental Terra stablecoin in 2023.

Any respectable stablecoin looks like a straight horizontal line next to the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) stock market index, other cryptocurrency prices, or any other fluctuating economic data point. Here's a five-year stablecoin vs. S&P 500 chart for your amusement. The big blip of USD Coin uncertainty in 2023 is barely visible:

Tether Price data by YCharts

Beyond Tether: The expanding stable of stablecoins

Tether was the first name in the stablecoin game, and it's still the largest and most widely used option. It's essentially your only choice if you want to use a stablecoin that is independent from specific crypto exchanges.

USD Coin was launched by a group including Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN). It's no surprise to learn that Coinbase defaults to using USD Coin across its trading platforms. That's not the only place you can buy, sell, and hold USD Coin, though. Every major crypto exchange supports it, and there are far more USD Coin transactions on Binance than on Coinbase.

The Sky.money crypto-trading platform is an interesting case. Coinbase launched the USD Coin, but Sky.money worked the other way around. This system started with the USDS (CRYPTO: USDS) stablecoin, formerly known as Dai and Maker. The rest of the trading platform was built around the quirks and requirements of USDS. Sky.money may not ring a bell, but USDS is the third-largest stablecoin by market cap.

And there are many more. For example:

• The Ripple Foundation launched a Ripple USD (CRYPTO: RLUSD) stablecoin in December, basing the coin on US dollars and the XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) cryptocurrency. This coin is helping Ripple's payment services execute international money transfers, serving as a super-liquid pool of cash-backed assets.
• The Tether Holdings group could soon introduce a second version of the Tether coin, specifically aimed at large institutional investors in the United States.
• And this could be the start of a large trend. Asset manager giant Fidelity Investments is planning a stablecoin. Even larger firm Blackrock (NYSE: BLK) introduced one in March 2024. Even Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is open to the idea of an in-house stablecoin, depending on how American regulations will shape up around this opportunity.

So the stablecoin legion is growing larger and more diverse.

Stablecoin trading volumes speak volumes

Whether you're looking at Tether, USD Coin, or USDS, their average daily trading volume has been bubbling up over the last two years.

Tether's average transaction volume stood at $19 billion in early April 2023. Now it's up to $182 billion per 24 hours. USD Coin's volume rose from $6 billion to $28 billion over the same period. The Dai/USDS ecosystem surged from $130 million per day to $2.7 billion.

This is more than empty talk. People (and automated trading algorithms) are putting these stablecoins to work. In all fairness, the rising interest applies to non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, too. Bitcoin's daily trading volume is up from $9.4 billion to $101 billion, for instance. But the stablecoin community is taking advantage of broader public crypto interests.

More than just trading tools

Stablecoins can do more than just facilitate trades between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. Their powers are growing over time, since every new stablecoin option wants to win customers and usage with their unique features.

Some of them offer generous interest rates, putting most savings and money market accounts to shame. The spare cash in my Coinbase account is earning an annual percentage yield (APY) of 4.1% right now. That's comparable to the best money market yields on the market today.

A few stablecoins rely on a specific blockchain system, like the XRP-based Ripple USD coin. Others pick a proven coin-launching foundation such as Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) or Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), depending on their technology to provide data security and smart contract functions. And then there's Tether, which provides transparent support for more than a dozen blockchain networks. That's a diverse approach, protecting Tether holders against platform-specific risks. Tether can always untether itself (har-de-har-har) from any risky or flawed solution, relying on a dozen alternatives instead.

So you see, there's plenty of buzz in the stablecoin sphere right now. There are plenty of alternatives for good reason. These mega-stable coins (often with lucrative yield rates) may look especially attractive when the broader crypto market is experiencing wild volatility, like this week.

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Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Anders Bylund has positions in Coinbase Global, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America, Coinbase Global, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.