What Is the Next Ethereum? Top 8 Contenders in 2025

Why Trust Techopedia
Affiliate Disclosure: When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn how our funding model works. By using this website you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy.

Ethereum was priced at just $0.31 when it held its presale ICO in 2014. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has since hit highs of almost $5,000, translating into gains of 1.6 million percent.

This guide explores which cryptocurrencies could recreate Ethereum’s success story in 2025.

8 Cryptos That Could Be the Next Ethereum in 2025

According to crypto analysts, the nine projects listed below could become the next Ethereum.

  1. Solana (SOL) — A more scalable and efficient alternative to Ethereum
  2. Avalanche (AVAX) — Environmentally-friendly blockchain that consumes 35,000x less energy than Ethereum
  3. Cardano (ADA) — Academic-driven smart contract ecosystem with a capped token supply
  4. Wall Street Pepe ($WEPE) — One of the Ethereum killer coins, raising $43 million within weeks
  5. Best Wallet Token ($BEST) — A new crypto with a substantial upside potential, possibly 10x at launch
  6. Solaxy ($SOLX) — Among the Ethereum killer coins with a multi-chain capability
  7. Neo (NEO) — Established blockchain network with two native utility tokens
  8. Chainlink (LINK) — Bridging the gap between smart contracts and real-world data

Which Coin Can Be the Next Ethereum?

To become the next Ethereum, the respective project must generate significant growth. This is in addition to a unique value proposition, in terms of real-world use cases.

Read on to discover which ten cryptocurrencies could become the next Ethereum by the end of 2025.


1. Solana — A More Scalable and Efficient Alternative to Ethereum

What Is SOL’s Main Competitive Advantage Over Ethereum?

In many crypto circles, Solana is also considered the next Ethereum due to its sheer efficiency. Although Ethereum has completed its proof-of-stake merge, fees are often very high. During busy network periods, it is still common for users to pay over $10.

This is the case regardless of how much ETH is being transferred, making micro-transfers unviable. In comparison, Solana fees average just $0.00025 per transaction. This means that for every $1 paid in fees, 4,000 transactions can be executed. Additionally, Solana is much more scalable than Ethereum. In fact, it is estimated that Solana can handle over 65,000 transactions per second.

Ethereum can handle 15-30 transactions in the same time frame. Solana transactions are also super-fast, with an average confirmation time of just 400 milliseconds. In terms of the upside, the market caps of Solana and Ethereum are $8.5 billion and $210 billion, respectively, as of writing. Therefore, if Solana is to become the next Ethereum, it would require growth of over 2,300%.


2. Avalanche — Environmentally-Friendly Blockchain That Consumes 35,000x Less Energy Than Ethereum

What Is AVAX’s Main Competitive Advantage Over Ethereum?

Many crypto analysts believe that Avalanche could be the next Ethereum. This is because Avalanche is one of the best blockchain networks for the environment. Crucially, a study by the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI) found that Avalanche consumes 35,000x less energy than Ethereum. When compared to Bitcoin, this number is amplified to 200,000x.

With society becoming more environmentally conscious, green blockchains like Avalanche have every chance of becoming the next Ethereum. Moreover, Avalanche is a lot more efficient than Ethereum when it comes to transaction throughput. In fact, Avalanche claims that its blockchain can handle an unlimited number of transactions at any given time.

Furthermore, Avalanche transactions take less than two seconds to confirm, and the network burns fees. This reduces the long-term supply of its native token, AVAX. As of writing, AVAX has a market cap of $5.5 billion. During the previous bull market, AVAX was trading at highs of nearly $30 billion. A return to this market cap will provide investors with an upside of over 440%.


3. Cardano — Academic-Driven Smart Contract Ecosystem With a Capped Token Supply

What Is ADA’s Main Competitive Advantage Over Ethereum?

Launched in 2017, Cardano was developed to improve on Ethereum’s shortcomings, most notably high transaction fees and an inability to scale. Charles Hoskinson, who runs Cardano, also co-founded Ethereum.

Hoskinson is a firm believer in following peer-reviewed academic processes when developing the Cardano blockchain. Fast-forward to 2025, and Cardano is one of the most efficient blockchain networks in this industry. Not only does Cardano support smart contract agreements, but it does so in a considerably more scalable way. Cardano transaction fees are also much cheaper than Ethereum’s.

The Cardano ecosystem is backed by ADA tokens. According to CoinMarketCap, ADA was priced at $0.025 when hitting the markets in late 2017. ADA has since hit highs of over $3. As of writing, however, ADA is trading at almost 90% below its all-time peak. As such, some investors believe that buying ADA at current pricing levels offers an unprecedented discount.


4. Wall Street Pepe — One of the Ethereum Killer Coins, Raising $43 Million Within Weeks

What Is WEPE’s Main Competitive Advantage Over Ethereum?

Wall Street Pepe’s key competitive edge over Ethereum is its emphasis on creating a meme-focused ecosystem that prioritizes accessibility, community involvement, and exclusive trading opportunities.

In contrast to Ethereum’s general-purpose blockchain, $WEPE provides affordable entry points, distinctive alpha trading insights, and a private group for strategy exchange designed specifically for meme coin enthusiasts. This specialized strategy enhances its ability to promote swift adoption and engagement within the meme coin sector.

As investors continue to explore the future of Ethereum, including ETH price prediction, $WEPE’s huge success is evident through its presale, which raised $32.6 million within two weeks of its launch. Whales have started circling $WEPE as the next Ethereum. For instance, just one whale recently made a $200k purchase.


5. Best Wallet Token — A New Crypto With a Substantial Upside Potential, Possibly 10x at Launch

What Is BEST’s Main Competitive Advantage Over Ethereum?

Best Wallet Token offers a competitive advantage over Ethereum by providing multi-chain support, allowing users to manage assets across 60+ chains.

Unlike Ethereum’s high gas fees, $BEST holders enjoy reduced transaction fees and enhanced staking rewards. Also, the “Upcoming Tokens” feature gives early access to promising presale coins, and governance rights allow holders to influence key platform decisions.

The $BEST presale has raised over $5.1M, and it’s anticipated to have significant upside potential, possibly 10x at launch. In addition to the high staking rewards, token holders can also enjoy 8% cashback on Best Card transactions.

Since Best Wallet’s user base increases at a remarkable 50% per month, demand for $BEST is already high and will only get higher.

6. Solaxy — Among the Ethereum Killer Coins with a Multi-Chain Capability

What Is SOLX’s Main Competitive Advantage Over Ethereum?

SOLX’s main competitive advantage over Ethereum lies in its ability to combine Solana’s low cost and high speed with Ethereum’s security and liquidity, offering a more scalable solution. Its Layer 2 architecture addresses Ethereum’s congestion and high gas fees while enabling transaction bundling and customizability for greater scalability.

The token offers a multi-chain capability, as it is available on Solana and Ethereum. Within days of the presale launch, Solaxy has already raised more than $3.4 million. SOLX’s massive presale success demonstrates strong investor confidence and demand.

Users can also gain passive income by staking their tokens and receiving annual rewards of 1,090%. After the Token Generation Event, users can claim their staked tokens and presale purchases.

7. Neo — Established Blockchain Network With Two Native Utility Tokens

What Is NEO’s Main Competitive Advantage Over Ethereum?

Founded in 2014, Neo is an established blockchain project that facilitates efficient smart contract agreements. It is also capable of hosting native oracles and storing data decentralized.

Crucially, the Neo blockchain has two native crypto tokens — NEO and GAS. NEO is the project’s primary investment token. It also enables holders to cast votes on the Neo blockchain.

GAS, on the other hand, is the project’s transactional currency. Interestingly, the blockchain distributes free GAS tokens to those holding NEO. The number of GAS received is dependent on how many NEO tokens are held in an eligible wallet. GAS is also required when developers wish to launch decentralized applications on the Neo blockchain.

This ensures that both NEO and GAS have real-world utility. As of writing, NEO is trading at just $12 with a market cap of under $900 million. Compared to the crypto market peak of late November 2021, NEO was trading at $120. This means that investors buying NEO today can secure a discount of over 90%.

8. Chainlink — Bridging the Gap Between Smart Contracts and Real-World Data

What Is LINK’s Main Competitive Advantage Over Ethereum?

One of the biggest challenges for smart contract networks like Ethereum is recognizing data that operates outside of the blockchain. This is where Chainlink comes in — an innovative project that bridges the gap between the blockchain and the real world. Put simply, Chainlink specializes in ‘oracles’, which provide smart contracts with real-time data through a consensus model.

For example, let’s say that a decentralized application on Ethereum offers sports betting. The application needs to verify the result of a soccer game. Via a Chainlink oracle, the protocol will extract data from millions of data sources to determine the winner of the match. This will then execute the smart contract, which can pay winning bettors accordingly.

Some crypto analysts believe that Chainlink’s native token, LINK, could witness huge returns in the next bull run. As of writing, LINK is trading below $7. This is 85% below LINK’s all-time high of $49, which was achieved in 2021. If the next bull run enables LINK to get back to $49, this would amount to gains of 600%.


Methodology

Why Do People Look for the Next Ethereum?

People are looking for the next Ethereum because they seek alternatives offering lower fees, scalability, and faster transaction speeds while maintaining decentralization and security. Ethereum’s network has faced challenges such as congestion and high gas fees, prompting investors and developers to explore other blockchain projects with the potential for higher efficiency and cost-effectiveness, such as the Ethereum competitors on our list. 

In addition, the desire for greater opportunities in niche sectors like meme coins or DeFi has driven interest in Ethereum competitors offering specialized ecosystems. The search for the next Ethereum is about finding a crypto that can replicate Ethereum’s success while addressing its current limitations.

What Is Next for Ethereum? 

The Ethereum network is preparing for Pectra, its upcoming upgrade, set for Q1 2025. The upgrade combines two previously planned improvements — Electra for the consensus layer and Prague for the execution layer. By merging them, Pectra aims to deliver many ambitious improvements, especially in the staking landscape.

So, can Ethereum reach $5000? Some experts believe that ETH will reach $4,300 by the end of the year, with increased DeFi adoption and deflationary dynamics being key drivers. Others forecast a rise to $5,000 based on market trends and technical analysis.

How to Find the Next Ethereum

Still wondering what will be the next Ethereum? If so, read on to discover how crypto analysts find 100x tokens.

Social Media

Social media platforms are one of the most under-utilized sources for finding the next Ethereum. But they also offer real-time insight into trending tokens and thus – can suggest which projects are about to moon.

Low Token Price

Even though Ethereum is trading 65% below its all-time high, a single ETH token still costs more than $1,700.

On the one hand, it is true that investors can buy a small fraction of an ETH token. But fractional ownership isn’t for everyone.

For example, investing $100 in Ethereum today would yield approximately  0.05 ETH.

High Potential Presales

The 2014 Ethereum presale offered access to ETH tokens at just $0.31 each. Those who invested in Ethereum during its presale have since witnessed returns of over 1.6 million percent.

Considering that Ethereum already has a market cap of over $200 billion, similar growth is near impossible.

Utility and Use Cases

One key reason the Ethereum presale was so popular was that it introduced a new concept: smart contracts. As such, to find the next Ethereum, look for projects developing a unique product or service.

Tamadoge, for example, has created the best crypto gaming coin that offers play-to-earn rewards. Moreover, players own all of the in-game assets that they earn, including virtual pet NFTs. This is why TAMA tokens continue to trend in the crypto community.

Conclusion

Many investors continue searching for the next Ethereum in the hope of achieving life-changing gains. In reality, to achieve similar growth, investors need to focus on new crypto projects with a micro-market cap.

Presales are the best option here. Like Ethereum’s presale, they offer investors the chance to buy a newly launched token at a hugely discounted price.

That said, our topic for the next Ethereum is Wall Street Memes. After an astonishing presale success, the token was listed on tier-1 exchanges like OKX.

FAQs

Which is the next Ethereum?

What is the next Ethereum according to Reddit?

What is the Ethereum killer?

Kosta Kostadinov
Crypto Content Writer
Kosta Kostadinov
Crypto Content Writer

Kosta Kostadinov is a versatile content writer with a strong background and experience in the iGaming industry, gained by creating engaging, high-quality content and thorough research. Through that experience, he transitioned into cryptocurrency content writing, bringing an understanding of digital trends, user engagement, and data-driven information. Focused on blockchain technology, emerging cryptocurrencies, and fintech innovations, Kosta delivers insightful, well-researched articles for diverse demographics. Outside of writing, he enjoys traveling and watching movies.