Your Complete Layer One Crypto List: 15 Standout Projects Reshaping Blockchain in 2025

When it comes to building the future of web3, layer one blockchains are doing the heavy lifting. Unlike their layer two counterparts that piggyback on existing networks, these base layer protocols operate as independent systems with their own consensus mechanisms and security models. They’re where transactions get finalized, where real value settles, and where the entire crypto ecosystem anchors itself.

Let’s cut through the noise and look at the 15 layer one crypto projects that deserve your attention right now.

The Heavy Hitters: Size Matters in Layer-1

Ethereum (ETH) - Still the King of Developers

Price: $3,170 | 1Y Change: -13.27% | Market Cap: $382.69B

Ethereum isn’t just another blockchain—it’s the gravitational center of the crypto world. With over 3,000 live applications and the most vibrant developer ecosystem, ETH remains unmatched in scope. The network has processed billions in value and continues to evolve through its layer-2 solutions like rollups, which slash transaction costs while keeping security tight on the base layer.

The shift to proof-of-stake cut energy consumption dramatically, making Ethereum palatable for environmentally conscious institutions. Looking at 2025, expect further scaling improvements and deeper integration between layer 1 and layer 2 infrastructure. Ethereum’s dominance isn’t about speed—it’s about network effects and builder momentum.

Bitcoin (BTC) - The Immovable Foundation

Price: $93,010 | 1Y Change: -5.30% | Market Cap: $1,857.49B

Bitcoin remains the fortress of crypto. As the original layer one blockchain, it’s the least productive yet most secure—exactly by design. Its 21 million supply cap and immutable ledger make it the ultimate store of value. What’s changed since 2023 is the explosion of layer-2 solutions (Stacks, Lightning Network) and protocols like Ordinals that mint NFTs directly on-chain.

Bitcoin’s ecosystem is maturing. Where people once saw a one-trick pony, they’re now discovering complex use cases without sacrificing the base layer’s security. The halvings continue to drive scarcity into the narrative.

BNB Chain (BNB) - The Practical Alternative

Price: $903.20 | 1Y Change: +26.56% | Market Cap: $124.40B

BNB Chain combines the Binance ecosystem’s liquidity with solid layer one fundamentals. Its PoSA consensus gets transactions done cheap and fast, and it’s EVM-compatible, meaning Ethereum developers can fork their projects here with minimal friction. With over 1,300 active dApps and a rebranding away from “Binance Smart Chain,” the network is clearly positioning itself as infrastructure for the entire crypto economy, not just one exchange.

The network’s TVL sits at a respectable $5.2B, and momentum is building. Expect more layer-2 integrations and sharding implementations as the network scales further.

The Speed Demons: Layer-1 Crypto Focused on Performance

Solana (SOL) - Velocity Personified

Price: $1.07 (estimated from 108% 1Y gains on $0.51 base) | 1Y Change: 108% | Market Cap: $61B

Solana’s claim to fame is architectural—Proof of History (PoH) combined with Proof of Stake creates a validator environment where thousands of transactions per second aren’t theoretical; they’re routine. The ecosystem exploded with memecoins, liquid staking protocols like Marinade and Jito, and integration with mainstream tech companies like Google Cloud.

The Firedancer validator upgrade aims to push throughput even further. Meanwhile, Solana Mobile Saga proved there’s genuine demand for blockchain-native hardware. Despite occasional network hiccups, Solana’s developer velocity and capital deployment remain unmatched outside Ethereum.

Avalanche (AVAX) - Sub-Second Finality

Price: $14.16 | 1Y Change: -66.77% | Market Cap: $6.09B

Avalanche’s hybrid consensus mechanism (blending Classical and Nakamoto consensus) achieves transaction finality in under 2 seconds. That matters when you’re running a DEX or lending protocol. The C-Chain’s recent activity spike came from inscriptions, which drove 50% of transactions and pushed network fees to eye-watering levels ($13.8M in 5 days).

What’s interesting is that congestion actually validates Avalanche’s thesis—the network works so well that users are willing to pay for blockspace. TVL sits around $1.5B. Partnerships with institutional players like JP Morgan’s Onyx add credibility.

Kaspa (KAS) - The Dag Unicorn

Price: $0.05 | 1Y Change: -60.00% | Market Cap: $1.35B

Kaspa uses GHOSTDAG consensus, a fundamentally different approach to ordering transactions. Instead of linear blocks, it processes transactions in a directed acyclic graph structure, enabling parallel transaction processing and higher throughput. The recent shift to Rust—replacing GoLang—was about extracting maximum performance from modern CPUs.

KAS surged 1,800% in 2023 before consolidating. The narrative here is technical credibility for those who dig into consensus mechanisms. It’s positioning itself as a fast, scalable proof-of-work layer one, which is rare.

Sei (SEI) - Built for Trading

Price: $0.12 | 1Y Change: -73.82% | Market Cap: $800.35M

Sei takes a different angle: it’s a layer one blockchain specifically optimized for order book functionality. The native matching engine and low-latency architecture make it the DEX paradise. The $120M Ecosystem Fund (bolstered by $50M from Foresight Ventures) signals serious capital is backing this vision.

That said, SEI’s down 73% from its peak. The market is voting with its feet on specialized layer ones. But if derivatives and spot trading dominate the next cycle, Sei’s architecture could matter.

The Innovators: Layer-1 Crypto with Novel Approaches

The Open Network (TON) - Telegram’s Blockchain

Price: $1.86 | 1Y Change: -67.55% | Market Cap: $4.49B

TON started as Telegram’s project, faced regulatory heat from the SEC, and is now community-governed through the TON Foundation. The multi-level sharding architecture handles high transaction volumes. Toncoin serves as the network’s currency and gas token.

The killer app? Telegram integration. The announcement that Telegram would distribute 50% of ad revenue to channel owners in Toncoin sparked a 40% rally. If Telegram’s IPO happens and the company deepens blockchain integration, Toncoin’s utility could explode. Until then, it’s a bet on messaging app tokenization.

Internet Computer (ICP) - Serverless Web3

Price: $3.20 | 1Y Change: -74.01% | Market Cap: $1.75B

ICP aspires to reinvent the internet as a decentralized, serverless compute layer. Canisters (smart contracts) can make HTTPS calls to Web 2.0, execute complex logic, and host entire applications on-chain. The Bitcoin integration and Websocket support open real-time interactivity.

ICP trades at a 74% discount from its all-time high. The thesis is intact, but execution matters. The $88M TVL suggests institutional adoption remains limited. Watch for DAO tooling and infrastructure plays to drive the next leg.

Polkadot (DOT) - The Internet of Blockchains

Price: $2.10 | 1Y Change: -72.64% | Market Cap: $3.47B

Polkadot’s entire value proposition is interoperability. The relay chain provides security for parachains, specialized blockchains that plug into the network. The Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol enables trustless value and data transfer between different chains.

Polkadot 2.0 promises governance improvements and enhanced scalability. The 49% jump in staking through Nomination Pools shows users are engaged. With five new parachains added and tools like Rocco Testnet optimizing transactions, Polkadot’s infrastructure is maturing. It’s less flashy than Solana but more resilient.

Cosmos (ATOM) - Sovereign Chain Coordination

Price: $2.27 | 1Y Change: -68.92% | Market Cap: $1.10B

Cosmos builds blockchains that can interact without sacrificing sovereignty. The IBC protocol and Tendermint BFT consensus make it possible for specialized chains to exist independently while communicating seamlessly. Interchain Security lets smaller chains borrow security from the Hub.

The Cosmos Hub’s 500,000 daily transactions and recent $26.4M allocation from the Interchain Foundation point to genuine ecosystem activity. Migration of major protocols like dYdX shows other projects see value in the Cosmos infrastructure.

The Rising Stars: Newer Layer-1 Crypto Making Waves

Aptos (APT) - Move Programming Rethink

Price: $1.91 | 1Y Change: -80.86% | Market Cap: $1.44B

Aptos, built by ex-Meta blockchain researchers, uses the Move programming language for smart contracts. The parallel execution engine processes independent transactions simultaneously, dramatically increasing throughput compared to traditional sequential architectures.

With $400M+ in funding from Tiger Global and PayPal Ventures, Aptos has serious backing. TVL exceeds $85M, and partnerships with Microsoft, Coinbase, and NEOWIZ bring institutional credibility. APT’s down 80% from peaks, but the technical team and investor quality are differentiated.

Sui (SUI) - Object-Centric Architecture

Price: $1.54 | 1Y Change: -73% | Market Cap: $1.54B

Sui takes a novel approach by treating objects as first-class citizens. This object-centric programming model enables faster transactions and better parallelization. The zkLogin feature lets users authenticate via social accounts, reducing friction for mainstream adoption.

Post-mainnet, Sui achieved 65.8M transactions in a single day and peaked at $188M TVL. The TurboStar program on Turbos DEX drives ecosystem growth. Like Aptos, Sui is down heavily but has technical fundamentals and capital backing.

ZetaChain (ZETA) - True Omnichain

Price: $0.08 | 1Y Change: -87.37% | Market Cap: $92.15M

ZetaChain launched in March 2023 with an ambitious goal: be the first truly omnichain layer one. Unlike previous cross-chain solutions, ZetaChain can interact with any blockchain—Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, you name it—without requiring them to support specific standards.

Over 1M testnet users across 100+ countries and 6.3M cross-chain transactions validate the demand. The $27M funding round and partnerships with Chainlink and The Sandbox show institutional recognition. At $92M market cap, ZETA is a micro-cap bet on omnichain infrastructure. Early, speculative, but the thesis is compelling.

Kava (KAVA) - Cosmos Meets EVM

Price: $0.08 | 1Y Change: -84.83% | Market Cap: $90.32M

Kava runs two parallel chains: one using Cosmos SDK (for interoperability) and one EVM-compatible (for Ethereum developer comfort). This dual-chain architecture lets you access both ecosystems. The USDX stablecoin and native minting of USDt on Cosmos add utility.

Kava 14 brought USDt minting capabilities and deepened stablecoin integrations. The transition to fixed KAVA supply (Tokenomics 2.0) aims to create scarcity and drive adoption. A strategic vault with $300M in assets shows community commitment. KAVA’s down 84% YTD, but it’s a legitimate bridge between Cosmos and Ethereum ecosystems.

The Layer-1 Landscape: What’s Actually Happening

Every layer one crypto project on this list reflects the same tension: security vs. scalability. Bitcoin chose security and immutability. Solana chose speed. Ethereum chose developer ecosystem. Polkadot chose interoperability.

Layer-2 solutions (rollups, sidechains, state channels) don’t replace these choices—they complement them. Layer-2 can make any layer one faster and cheaper in the short term, but it depends entirely on the base layer’s security for final settlement. This is why the best blockchains have robust layer-2 ecosystems (Ethereum), not just standalone throughput.

The data paints a picture of a maturing market. Valuations are under pressure across the board (most projects down 60-85% from peaks), but technical development accelerates. More parachains launch. More infrastructure matures. More real adoption happens on less-hyped chains.

The Verdict on Layer-1 Crypto

The 2025 layer one crypto landscape rewards specificity over generality. Projects that do one thing exceptionally well (Bitcoin’s security, Solana’s speed, Ethereum’s developer ecosystem) outperform jack-of-all-trades blockchains. The infrastructure plays (cross-chain protocols, developer tooling, staking services) may matter more than the base layers themselves.

If you’re building, choose the layer one that matches your use case. If you’re investing, remember that layer one dominance compounds over time through network effects. The developer-rich ecosystems win. The security-first protocols survive bear markets. The speed demons attract traders during bull runs.

Watch the data—transaction volume, staking participation, actual dApp usage (not just promise of future utility). That’s where layer one crypto reveals its true story, separate from the hype cycle.