2025’s Crypto Power Plays: BlockDAG’s Meteoric Rise, Hyperliquid’s Trading Surge, Pepe’s Meme Magic & Ethereum Classic’s Steady Hand
Crypto's relentless evolution throws up fresh contenders—here's who's winning the race as of November 2025.
BlockDAG: The Layer-1 Dark Horse
Silicon Valley VCs whisper about its scalability—while retail traders chase the next 100x.
Hyperliquid: Derivatives on Steroids
Volume doesn't lie. This perpetual swaps platform eats institutional lunch while Bitcoin maxis seethe.
Pepe: The Frog That Won't Die
Somehow, the meme coin's 'utility' is still 'being hilarious'—and the market keeps buying it (literally).
Ethereum Classic: The Unkillable Zombie Chain
51% attacks? Irrelevant. The 'original Ethereum' quietly does 10% weekly gains while ETH 2.0 devs argue about sharding.
Closing Thought: If history rhymes, today's 'top picks' will be tomorrow's SEC lawsuits or Lambo purchases—choose wisely.
1. BlockDAG: From $435M Presale to Live Network Progress
BlockDAG (BDAG) is one of the most talked-about top crypto picks because of its massive presale success. It has raised $435 million and gained more than 312,000 holders even before its official listing. The project uses a hybrid model of Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work for security and a DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) system for speed, allowing 2,000–15,000 transactions per second. This isn’t just theory, BlockDAG is already running its Awakening Testnet, which currently processes 1,400+ TPS and supports Ethereum-based applications.
BlockDAG also has a live mining ecosystem. The X-Series miners, including the X10, X30, and X100, mine between 200 to 2,000 BDAG coins per day. Over 20,000 mining units have already been sold globally, showing real participation rather than passive interest. The leadership behind BlockDAG includes CEO Antony Turner, CSL Dr. Youssef Khaoulaj, CTO Jeremy Harkness, and advisor Dr. Maurice Herlihy, adding credibility to the project.
As the presale enters its final 10 stages, prices start at $0.005 and are structured to MOVE higher before launch. With a stated listing goal of $0.05, many traders now rank BlockDAG among the strongest top crypto picks due to its working infrastructure and clear roadmap.
2. Hyperliquid: Leveraged Trading Meets Layer-1 Efficiency
Hyperliquid is another name appearing in top crypto picks discussions. It trades between $42 and $47 with a circulating supply of around 333–337 million tokens, giving it a market cap close to $14 billion. Built as a decentralized perpetual futures exchange on its own L1 network, it offers high-speed order-book trading, similar to centralized exchanges but without intermediaries. Daily trading volumes have hit $29 billion, showing massive activity and demand from active traders.
Its fully diluted valuation sits above $30 billion, making it one of the largest decentralized exchange tokens to date. With more than $500 million locked in its ecosystem, Hyperliquid isn’t just speculative, it’s heavily used by traders looking for leverage, speed and low fees. While high volatility comes with this territory, its volume and user base keep it firmly among current top crypto picks.
3. Pepe: Meme Power & Massive Market Presence
Pepe may not be a utility token, but its popularity and market cap make it unavoidable in any list of top crypto picks. Priced around $0.000010 to $0.000013, with a circulating supply of 420.69 trillion tokens, it holds a market cap between $2.8 billion and $5.5 billion depending on data sources. Pepe saw rapid adoption with no presale, zero transaction taxes, and contract ownership fully renounced; key points that helped grow trust among meme coin communities.
Daily trading volume has reached as high as $1.2 billion, making PEPE one of the most heavily traded meme coins. While it lacks utility beyond speculation, the sheer liquidity and community strength keep it relevant. Like all meme tokens, its price can rise or fall quickly, but it still remains one of the more recognizable top crypto picks for traders looking for high-risk and high-reward moves.
4. Ethereum Classic: Legacy Strength & PoW Stability
Ethereum Classic (ETC) trades between $18.50 and $20.50, with a market cap above $2.4 billion and around 154 million tokens in circulation. It runs on Proof-of-Work, unlike Ethereum, which switched to Proof-of-Stake. ETC gained renewed interest after Ethereum’s merge event, bringing some miners and GPU power back to its network. It stays true to the “code is law” principle and is one of the oldest programmable blockchains still using PoW.
Over the past year, ETC has shown stable but limited growth compared to newer projects. Trading volume sits around $150 million daily. While technical indicators sometimes show bearish pressure, long-term supporters value its security and unchanged fundamentals. It may not be the fastest mover on this list, but it remains a regular mention in top crypto picks lists for those who prefer established options.
Final Verdict
These projects are gaining attention for different reasons, but all are part of the top crypto picks conversation right now. BlockDAG leads due to its $435 million presale, live Testnet and mining network. Hyperliquid appeals to active traders because of its massive trading volume and strong exchange infrastructure. Pepe pulls in meme coin enthusiasts with its high liquidity and community-driven approach. Ethereum Classic remains a steady option backed by history and PoW security.
None of these projects are risk-free, and this content is not financial advice. Still, for those exploring today’s top crypto picks, these four offer a starting point backed by real data, adoption and community interest.
