Ethereum's price history suggests that that crypto was worth more in 2025 than during late 2021, although nowhere near the highest price recorded. Much like Bitcoin (BTC), the price of ETH went up in 2021 but for different reasons altogether: Ethereum, for instance, hit the news when a digital art piece was sold as the world's most expensive NFT for over 38,000 ETH - or 69.3 million U.S. dollars. Unlike Bitcoin, of which the price growth was fueled by the IPO of the U.S.'s biggest crypto trader, Coinbase, the rally on Ethereum came from technological developments that caused much excitement among traders. First, the so-called 'Berlin update' rolled out on the Ethereum network in April 2021, an update that would eventually lead to the Ethereum Merge in 2022 and reduced ETH gas prices - or reduced transaction fees. The collapse of FTX in late 2022, however, changed much for the cryptocurrency. As of August 27, 2025, Ethereum was worth 4,602.37 U.S. dollars - significantly less than the 4,400 U.S. dollars by the end of 2021.Ethereum's future and the DeFi industryPrice developments on Ethereum are difficult to predict but cannot be seen without the world of DeFi, or decentralized finance. This industry used technology to remove intermediaries between parties in a financial transaction. One example includes crypto wallets such as Coinbase Wallet that grew in popularity recently, with other examples including smart contractor Uniswap, Maker (responsible for stablecoin DAI), moneylender Dharma and market protocol Compound. Ethereum's future developments are tied with this industry: Unlike Bitcoin and Ripple, Ethereum is technically not a currency but an open-source software platform for blockchain applications, with Ether being the cryptocurrency that is used inside the Ethereum network. Essentially, Ethereum facilitates DeFi, meaning that if DeFi does well, so does Ethereum.NFTs: the most well-known application of EthereumNFTs or non-fungible tokens, grew nearly tenfold between 2018 and 2020, as can be seen in the market cap of NFTs worldwide. These digital blockchain assets can essentially function as a unique code connected to a digital file, allowing to distinguish the original file from any potential copies. This application is especially prominent in crypto art, although there are other applications: gaming, sports, and collectibles are other segments where NFT sales occur.

Following NFT hype and growing demand in the DeFi community, the price of cryptocurrency Solana, or SOL, more than tripled during the summer of 2021. This had all but evaporated by the end of 2022, as a price of 195.99 U.S. dollars for SOL on August 27, 2025, was similar to the price of Solana in early 2021. The collapse of crypto trader FTX in 2022 especially impacted the cryptocurrency, as FTX and its sister firm Alameda Research sold a large amount of the coin to avoid bankruptcy. The Solana protocol is similar to Ethereum in that it can allow for non-fungible tokens to be created ('minted') or traded. Solana, however, uses a technology called 'PoH' or Proof of History, which allows it to reach high transaction speeds. The Solana Foundation, the creators of the protocol, based in Switzerland, claims they could reach up to 65,000 transactions per second compared to 16 for Ethereum. Additionally, Solano had no transaction fees or 'gas', unlike Ethereum, which had growing transaction costs. These two reasons combined - Solana being deemed cheaper and faster than Ethereum - turned this relatively young protocol into a breeding ground for NFT projects in August 2021.

Ripple, or XRP, prices surged in 2021 but went down significantly as 2022 progressed. As of August 27, 2025, one XRP token was worth 3.01 U.S. dollars. Ethereum's price, for example, kept on reaching new all-time highs, a feat not performed by XRP. Indeed, XRP's price spikes followed relatively late - only occurring in early 2021, against late 2020 for most other cryptos - after the US SEC filed a legal complaint against Ripple in November 2020. This legal action caused the XRP price to plummet from around 0.70 U.S. dollars to 0.20 U.S. dollars.Ripple versus XRP: two become oneTechnically speaking, Ripple is not a cryptocurrency. Renamed from a protocol called OpenCoin in 2013, Ripple facilitates open-source payments. XRP, on the other hand, is the cryptocurrency that runs on this network. In that sense, Ripple and XRP have a similar symbiosis to each other, like the Ethereum network and its cryptocurrency, Ether. Unlike Ethereum - whose price changes are connected to the world of Decentralized Finance or DeFI - Ripple/XRP mostly looks at developments in cross-border payments for companies. In 2020, companies worldwide began to favor fintech solutions for future B2B solutions and, in a way, Ripple is an extension of that.What affects the price of Ripple?Ripple is mostly active in Southeast Asia - a region with a splintered payment landscape and that heavily investigates its own types of state-issued cryptocurrency to make cross-border payments a lot easier. Price spikes tend to follow news on this topic in this specific region. In 2019, for example, the XRP price grew after Japan and South Korea began testing to reduce time and costs for transferring international funds between the two countries. In March 2021, Ripple announced that it had agreed to acquire 40 percent of Malaysian cross-border payments firm Tranglo to meet growing demand in Southeast Asia.

Swiss cryptocurrency Cardano (ADA) witnessed a price surge of nearly 100 percent in seven days in early February 2021, amid high interest from investors. One reason for this interest is the digital coin's close relation to Ethereum (ETH), as mathematician Charles Hoskinson co-founded both virtual currencies. Moreover, like Ethereum, ADA has an open-source format, meaning anybody can develop this currency further. As of August 27, 2025, one ADA token was worth 0.87 U.S. dollars.

Learn about the expected growth of the ethers market in Africa over the next decade, with a forecasted increase in market volume to 2.9M tons and market value to $8.3B by 2035.

Bitcoin is edging closer to reaching its finite, maximum supply, pushing its price up and making it harder to mine. As a rule of thumb, the fewer coins available to the general audience, the higher the value of the cryptocurrency becomes. No more mining is possible when a cryptocurrency reaches its maximum supply. The market price then reflects supply and demand. Bitcoin has a set limit of 21 million coins, the last of which is to be mined around the year 2140 according to a 2017 forecast - with the assumption that the rate of Bitcoin mining halves every 4 years. Why are there so many differences in crypto supply? Cryptocurrency developers can determine whether a coin should have a fixed limit, depending on the blockchain it utilizes or monetary strategies. Ethereum has no maximum supply, meaning miners can create and indefinitely extract this cryptocurrency. This is called an inflationary cryptocurrency, one that continuously inflates the supply. The idea is that the number of tokens in circulation keeps outpacing demand, decreasing overall value. Some coins limit the release of their (indefinite) supply or even destroy (burn) tokens. Such deflationary events took place with LUNA in 2022. The appeal of low-supply cryptocurrency for investors Crypto investors tend to be on the lookout for crypto with limited supply, ideally with low levels. After a token reaches maximum supply, the argument goes, the coin's supply becomes static - miners can no longer create new coins. The demand should continue to grow. A maximum cap, they hope, guarantees value gains. Not many such coins exist. DeFi platform AAVE is an example of a cryptocurrency with a max supply smaller than *** million. Additionally, First Digital USD (FDUSD) currently has a supply of 1296.33 million, but it also has an unlimited supply.

Bitcoin ranked as one of the most expensive cryptocurrencies existing by April 2024 - although values changed noticeably. Bitcoin had the most expensive cryptocurrency for a while, but Ethereum was significantly cheaper, with a price that was roughly 30 times less than that of the most well-known digital currency. However, Bitcoin is in a unique position. Ethereum is one of several cryptocurrencies, for instance, that come from blockchains that focus on making financial applications possible. Bitcoin, or a digital equivalent of gold When one categorizes the different types of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin stands out as it is one of the few that are essentially meant to store digital value. Some describe Bitcoin as a digital version of gold, purely designed to hold or possibly purchasing power over time. It has no other applications built around it, and is considered too slow to perform financial transactions. Stablecoins, the less volatile cryptocurrency Many coins in this ranking stand out as their price seemingly has not changed as much as others. This is because these are stablecoins - cryptocurrencies pegged to the price development of an external asset. This group of digital assets comprise an increasing share within the overall crypto market. Some see these coins as the future of retail payments, whereas others view these coins as a "safe" addition to their crypto investments.

The market cap of Solana, a cryptocurrency connected with Decentralized Finance or DeFi, grew by *** percent in the summer of 2021. Originally launched only in **********, the rapid growth in 2021 made the digital coin one of the biggest in the world in terms of market capitalization. The altcoin's move into the spotlight coincided with the growing interest in NFTs and especially DeFi, as Solana is one of the biggest blockchains in this world. It is seen as a direct competitor to Ethereum, in that it can power decentralized applications, but in a more efficient way. Solana is said, for instance, to reach transaction speeds that are similar to a VISA transaction whilst using far less energy than Bitcoin miners.

A league table of the 120 cryptocurrencies with the highest market cap reveals how diverse each crypto is and potentially how much risk is involved when investing in one. Bitcoin (BTC), for instance, had a so-called "high cap" - a market cap worth more than ** billion U.S. dollars - indicating this crypto project has a certain track record or, at the very least, is considered a major player in the cryptocurrency space. This is different in Decentralize Finance (DeFi), where Bitcoin is only a relatively new player. A concentrated market The number of existing cryptocurrencies is several thousands, even if most have a limited significance. Indeed, Bitcoin and Ethereum account for nearly ** percent of the entire crypto market capitalization. As crypto is relatively easy to create, the range of projects varies significantly - from improving payments to solving real-world issues, but also meme coins and more speculative investments. Crypto is not considered a payment method While often talked about as an investment vehicle, cryptocurrencies have not yet established a clear use case in day-to-day life. Central bankers found that usefulness of crypto in domestic payments or remittances to be negligible. A forecast for the world's main online payment methods took a similar stance: It predicts that cryptocurrency would only take up *** percent of total transaction value by 2027.

From April 2021 to February 2025, the total value of sales involving non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the art segment declined significantly. As of April 15, 2021, NFT sales recorded on the Ethereum, Ronin, and Flow blockchains during the previous 30 days generated an aggregated value of around ** million U.S. dollars. While sales peaked at nearly *** million U.S. dollars as of September 15, 2021, they have experienced an overall decreasing trend since then. As of February 15, 2025, the aggregated sales value over 30 days amounted to almost ** million U.S. dollars. What is an NFT? Non-fungible tokens are unique digital goods that are stored on the blockchain. They are mainly used in the art market to prove the authenticity of digital works of art. While digital artworks could be indefinitely shared online, digital art in the form of an NFT becomes a unique asset. The process of turning a digital file into an NFT is called minting, while the art created through this process is usually defined as crypto art. The NFT art market Once an artwork has been minted, it can be purchased. In March 2021, auction house Christie’s sold an NFT digital collage by American artist Beeple for the staggering price of **** million U.S. dollars, making it the most expensive NFT sold worldwide. After the auction, NFT interest exploded. However, the 30-day aggregated sales volume of NFTs in the art segment dropped sharply from April 2021 to February 2025.

From April 2021 to February 2025, the number of sales involving non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the art segment declined significantly. As of April 15, 2021, roughly ****** NFTs were sold in the art segment during the previous 30 days. While total sales peaked at around ******* as of August 15, 2021, they have experienced an overall decreasing trend since then. As of February 15, 2025, the aggregated number of sales recorded on the Ethereum, Ronin, and Flow blockchains over 30 days was approximately *****. What is the sales value of art and collectibles NFTs? In 2023, the global sales value of art and collectibles NFTs declined sharply over the previous year, with these two segments generating, combined, roughly *** billion U.S. dollars. That year, collectibles were by far the most profitable NFT segment, accounting for over ** percent of total sales. What are the most popular NFT collections? In 2024, CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club were the profile picture non-fungible tokens with the highest market cap. These collections, also known as PFP NFTs, refer to those non-fungible tokens that have often been used as profile pictures on social media. When focusing on the art segment, Chromie Squiggle by Snowfro was the NFT art collection with the highest market cap in 2024.