Some investors have been turning to alternative assets like Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) to power up their portfolios and beat the market. Although Bitcoin still has its fair share of critics who call it a scam, you can’t question the returns. The digital asset is up by 16% year-to-date, which outpaces the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500. Its 83% gain over the past year is even more impressive.
Bitcoin has done well, but it gets harder for an asset to produce tremendous returns once it has a market cap above $1 trillion. It’s hard enough at that level, but with a $2 trillion market cap, you’ll only get a 10% return if Bitcoin’s total valuation comes up by an additional $200 billion. That same gain can cause altcoins to double, triple, or even 10x, demonstrating that some assets don’t require as much capital to generate explosive moves.
Some altcoins have already produced those big gains and have outperformed Bitcoin year-to-date. These are some of the top cryptos to monitor that have beat Bitcoin’s $110k run.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) is the largest altcoin. Every crypto not named Bitcoin is an altcoin, but Ethereum is starting to carve out a niche for itself. The proof-of-stake coin is valuable for its smart contracts, but it’s exhibiting some behaviors that are similar to Bitcoin’s rise.
Ethereum ETFs were introduced last year, and those funds have made it easier for investors to get exposure to Ethereum. Bitcoin ETFs came out a few months earlier than Ethereum ETFs and have been a boon for Bitcoin investors.
A more recent catalyst for Ethereum is the number of Ethereum treasuries that are sprouting up. Just as some companies have suggested they will put Bitcoin on their balance sheets, some corporations are leaning toward Ethereum. Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR | MSTR Price Prediction) is the poster child of selling shares to buy more Bitcoin. Investors are willing to invest heavily in this model, based on MSTR’s 2,200% gain over the past five years. As more investors pile into MSTR stock, it gives the company more flexibility in selling additional shares to accumulate more Bitcoin.
180 Life Sciences, a failing biotech company, recently shifted its entire business model to become the MSTR of Ethereum. It’s not selling shares to buy more Ethereum, hoping Ethereum outpaces their debt growth. 180 Life Sciences rebranded into Ethzilla (NASDAQ:ETHZ) last August. After a disastrous 99% loss over the past five years, the transition to an Ethereum treasury resulted in shares more than tripling on August 12, 2025, before the company gave up some of its gains. The emergence of Ethereum treasuries is a good sign for Ethereum’s long-term returns.
XRP (XRP)
XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) is a popular cryptocurrency among financial institutions for cross-border payments. Ripple processed more than $1.3 trillion in transactions in Q2 2025, demonstrating real-world utility. The coin has surged by more than 20% year-to-date and is up by more than 400% over the past year.
XRP has a market cap that’s approaching $170 billion. It’s large enough to attract institutional investors and avoid the type of volatility that is more common in smaller altcoins. However, XRP’s smaller market cap compared to Bitcoin also makes it easier to generate strong price movements compared to the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Hyperliquid (HYPE)
Hyperliquid (CRYPTO:HYPE) is the smallest crypto on the list with a $15 billion market cap. It’s the biggest winner of the bunch with a 71% year-to-date return and almost 600% in gains over the past year. This coin has built-in scarcity like Bitcoin. While the $2 trillion crypto only has 21 million coins in supply, the Hyperliquid blockchain puts 97%-99% of protocol fees back into HYPE buybacks.
Continuous buybacks push the price higher, but there is utility to Hyperliquid. It’s a decentralized exchange that controls 31% of blockchain revenue and recently surpassed Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) in total trading volume. This real-world application explains how Hyperliquid surpassed Bitcoin and suggests that it can continue to rally.
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