The first quarter of 2025 is over, and the crypto market has once again demonstrated its dynamic and surprising nature. Several projects managed to significantly increase their value, driven by factors such as technological breakthroughs, strong communities, or growing hype. In this overview, we delve deeper into the top performers of this quarter: which cryptocurrencies made the biggest leaps, and what exactly was behind it?

1. XRP (XRP)

For XRP, the beginning of 2025 was nothing short of turbulent. The cryptocurrency, subject to a legal battle with the SEC for years, finally seemed to see light at the end of the tunnel at the start of this year. That confidence was reflected in the price, which rose from €2.24 on 1st January to a peak of €3.21 — a solid increase of 43%.

Although the price has since retreated to the levels of early January, the temporary rally shows how much influence legal and institutional developments can have on older, established cryptos.

2. Litecoin (LITE)

Litecoin began the year at €101, following a strong final month in 2024. In January, the price rose by 33% to €133 — a sign that confidence remained in this coin, often referred to as the 'digital silver' alongside Bitcoin's gold. In the following weeks, Litecoin stabilised around €120, but a decline set in from March.

By the end of March, the price was even below €100. This makes Litecoin an example of how quickly sentiment can change, despite a good start. Nevertheless, the coin remains popular with traders due to its fast and cheap transactions.

3. Toncoin (TON)

Toncoin (TON) demonstrated a notable resilience and upward trend throughout the first quarter of 2025. Beginning January at a price of approximately €2.10, TON experienced steady growth, culminating in a significant surge in March. By the end of March, TON was trading around €2.55, marking a healthy increase of over 21% for that month alone.

This positive performance appears to be linked to growing interest in the Telegram Open Network and its expanding ecosystem. As the platform continues to develop and attract users, the utility and demand for its native token, TON, have likely contributed to its strong showing during this period, particularly amidst a more volatile broader crypto market.

4. Plume Network (PLUME)

Plume Network is a newcomer to the blockchain landscape and was launched in January 2025. In the first few days after its launch, the price rose by 40%, from €0.10 to €0.14. Within five weeks, the token even reached €0.17, representing a total increase of 62%.

Since then, PLUME appears to be consolidating around €0.15, which still represents significant growth. Interest is high, partly due to the unique nature of the chain: Plume specifically focuses on simplifying the building of Web3 applications.

5. Solayer (LAYER)

Solayer was launched in February and had a difficult start: the price dropped by 40% in the first few days, from €0.94 to €0.59. However, the tide quickly turned. By the beginning of March, LAYER stood at €1.11, allowing the project to recover and even break above its initial price.

The recovery is likely related to Solayer's innovative approach in the field of zero-knowledge proofs and scalability. The hype surrounding privacy-focused chains also seems to have contributed to the price recovery.

6. Celestia (TIA)

Celestia has quickly grown into one of the most popular projects among developers. The concept of a modular blockchain, where the network focuses purely on data availability rather than an all-in-one architecture, is gaining traction.

At the beginning of January, TIA was around €9.60, and by the end of March, it was above €15, an increase of over 55%. This upward trend is fuelled by an increasing number of ecosystem projects and integrations with other chains such as Ethereum and Cosmos.

7. Ethena (ENA)

Ethena is a DeFi project that was only launched in February but has since grown rapidly in popularity. The token started at €0.32 and reached €0.75 by the end of March — a 134% increase in just a few weeks.

The success is partly due to the innovative system surrounding 'synthetic stablecoins', where the platform uses delta-neutral positions. This allows the project to offer an interesting solution for volatile markets without relying on fiat backing. Many eyes are on how the governance structure will develop further.

8. Dogwifhat (WIF)

Dogwifhat (WIF) started as a joke, based on a cute dog wearing a hat, but grew into one of the most talked-about memecoins of the year in the first quarter. Built on Solana, WIF benefited from strong community energy and enormous growth on social media.

From January onwards, the price increased by almost 300%, making it one of the many memecoins that gained value through the power of a strong community. Despite its light-hearted nature, WIF shows that memecoins can still move serious money.

9. Injective (INJ)

Injective has been active for some time but experienced a renewed surge in Q1 2025. At the beginning of January, INJ stood at €22, and by the end of March, it was over €35, an increase of almost 60%.

The growth is partly due to new collaborations with other DeFi protocols and improved interoperability with chains like Ethereum and Cosmos. The platform is increasingly seen as a robust infrastructure for advanced financial products.

10. Arweave (AR)

Arweave, the project focused on decentralised and permanent data storage, had a solid first quarter. The price rose from around €6 to almost €10, representing a gain of approximately 70%.

The recent increase appears to have been stimulated by the growth of Web3 media and the increase in data usage on blockchains. Many new NFT and AI projects use Arweave to permanently store data, which drives demand for the token. Additionally, major projects like Lens and Mirror rely on Arweave for their storage layer.

Conclusion: Q1 2025 Shows Great Diversity in Success

What is striking about the top performers of the first quarter of 2025 is the great diversity in project types. From DeFi and Layer 1s to memecoins and data storage — each segment has its own success stories. This underscores the importance for investors to look beyond just the well-known names.


Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. Always consider your own research and professional advice.