Grayscale’s Q3 2025 Crypto Shakeup: AVAX and MORPHO Storm Into Top 20

Crypto heavyweight Grayscale just redrew the battle lines—Avalanche (AVAX) and Morpho (MORPHO) muscled their way into the Q3 2025 top 20 rankings. Here's why it matters.

New blood shakes up the leaderboard

The institutional darling's latest sector update reads like a crypto underdog story. While the usual suspects (Bitcoin, Ethereum) hold their ground, these two disruptors are carving fresh turf in the portfolio arms race.

AVAX brings the institutional heat

Avalanche's enterprise-friendly architecture finally gets its Wall Street close-up. Grayscale's stamp of approval could turbocharge adoption—or expose another 'blockchain solution' hunting for problems.

MORPHO's DeFi dark horse run

The lending protocol's inclusion signals DeFi's creeping institutionalization. Traditional finance still hates the sector's cowboy reputation, but apparently not its yield.

Grayscale plays kingmaker (again)

The fund's quarterly reshuffles increasingly dictate which projects get oxygen in the institutional arena. Funny how these 'decentralized' assets still need centralized validators to matter.

Key Takeaways

• Avalanche (AVAX) and Morpho (MORPHO) were added to Grayscale’s Q3 crypto portfolio due to strong adoption and blockchain fundamentals.
• Lido DAO and Optimism were removed following concerns about short-term growth and competitive pressure.
• The artificial intelligence sector expands, gaining investor interest with 10% growth and increasing token representation.

Grayscale Research has updated its Top 20 asset list in the third quarter of 2025, introducing Avalanche (AVAX) and Morpho (MORPHO) as part of the list and excluding Lido DAO (LDO) and Optimism (OP).

The quarterly update, which is based on Grayscale’s own proprietary crypto Sectors framework established with FTSE/Russell, seeks high-potential digital assets based on network adoption, revenue metrics, valuation, and protocol fundamentals.

Avalanche, a smart contract platform, has registered growth in transaction volume and organic user acquisition partly as a result of stablecoin utilization as well as integration with gaming apps.

This renders AVAX one of the highest-performing assets under Smart Contract Platforms. Morpho, a decentralized lending protocol, has soon become a rapidly growing player on ethereum and Base chains.

Its annualized fee revenue reaching over $100 million, with Total Value Locked (TVL) reaching over $4 billion, has established Morpho as a leader within DeFi lending. The launch of Morpho V2, targeting institutional adoption, further strengthens its outlook.

Crypto Sector Performance Mixed in Q2 2025

Lido DAO and Optimism, even though important players within staking and Ethereum Layer 2 infrastructure, respectively, underperformed. Lido risks further competition with regulations favoring centralized staking providers.

Optimism, with or without technological advantage, faces token-level fee capture, lessening its near-term growth opportunity. Crypto sectors recorded mixed performance in Q2 2025.

The currencies sector led, supported by a sharp Bitcoin rally, while the Consumer & Culture and Utilities & Services sectors underperformed.

Artificial intelligence emerged as a rising segment, growing 10% with 24 tokens now classified under it and a combined market cap of $15 billion.

Grayscale Highlights Evolving Crypto Sector Trends

Grayscale’s review also noted divergent trends in blockchain utilization. Transaction volumes on the smart contract platform ROSE dramatically, exceeding 130 million per quarter.

Average prices per transaction decreased, however, reflecting a decline in high-fee markets such as memecoin transactions.

Grayscale’s additions demonstrate the evolutionary nature of crypto markets, with real-world adoption, regulatory climates, and investor sentiment all having a bearing on asset relevance.

The introduction of AVAX and MORPHO indicates a move toward scalable networks and revenue-generating DeFi protocols.