Bitcoin burst onto the scene in 2009, giving rise to what has since become a multi-trillion dollar crypto asset industry that stands out for its innovation in areas like decentralized finance. As Bitcoin’s popularity expanded and its value rose, it wasn’t long before others followed in its footsteps.
Namecoin was the first in its wake, pioneering the idea of “altcoins” that brought new ideas to the crypto world, kicking off a Web3 revolution that has gone from strength to strength. Many of these older tokens have long since fallen dormant, left behind by the emergence of more promising tokens such as Ethereum and Solana and their transformative smart contract capabilities.
That said, many of these “dinosaur” cryptocurrencies continue to survive and in some cases even thrive. Now, with U.S. President Donald Trump ushering in a new era of pro-crypto government policies, quite a few of these older altcoins are positioning themselves for a dramatic renaissance.
1: Dash
Founded in January 2014 as a fork of Bitcoin, Dash stands for “digital cash” and was built to improve the speed and privacy of crypto payments. It stands out for its rapid, low-cost transactions and its laser focus on sending money across borders, with one of its major innovations being the two-tier network, with regular miners and “masternodes”.
It was one ranked as one of the top 20 most valuable cryptocurrencies, reaching an all-time high value of $1,642.22 on Dec. 20, 2017. These days, it’s a far cry from those heady heights, ranked 171 on Coinmarketcap’s list of cryptocurrencies, with a market capitalization of $298.65 million, valued at $24.13 as of August 14, 2025.
That said, Dash continues to push forward, having established itself as a powerful tool for payments, especially in nations like Venezuela that deal with sky-high inflation, and it continues to innovate and improve its network. The recent DashCore v22.0 upgrade, for instance, enhanced its network functionality and security, while the Dash Evolution chain added new features such as decentralized information for users and QR code swaps.
This year, Dash announced it’s partnering with the secure DeFi and Web3 wallet Vultisig. It has also integrated with the social media app InLeo, enabling users to earn DASH through their social interactions, in a move that promises to expand its user base. Laser-focused on enhancing payments, Dash remains very much alive and kicking, with its active and enthusiastic community making it an outside bet for a strong resurgence as crypto becomes more mainstream.
2: Tezos
Tezos is notable for being among the first of a new breed of “energy-friendly” blockchains, publishing its whitepaper way back in 2014. It finally launched its network in 2018, having raised $232 million via an initial coin offering in July 2017.
That meant it failed to beat Ethereum to the punch as the first smart contract network, but it did at least improve on it, and perhaps helped inspire the latter’s switch to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, modeled on its own. Tezos stands out for its novel self-amending governance model that allows stakeholders to propose and vote on protocol upgrades without the need for disruptive forks, enabling its organic evolution according to the desires and needs of its user base.
Tezos’s native token XTZ was priced at $0.891 and is ranked 89th overall with a market cap of $939.92 million, as of Aug 14, 2025, yet there are a lot of reasons to think it can return to its all-time high of $9.18 per coin, set on October 4, 2021.
For one thing, Tezos is making a major play in DeFi with the launch of its EVM-compatible Etherlink Layer-2 network positioning it as a faster, lower-cost and more energy-efficient alternative to Ethereum for dApp developers. Tezos also continues to make progress in arts and culture, where it has emerged as a favorite for NFT creators.
3: NEO
One of the first “Ethereum killers” to emerge was Neo, which began life in 2014 as AntShares before rebranding a year later. For years, Neo was considered one of the top digital assets and was a permanent fixture in the list of top 10 digital assets. Also known as the “Chinese Ethereum”, it was often said to be architecturally superior because of its novel Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBZT)-powered consensus mechanism and its use of GAS tokens for network fees.
Neo was notably one of the first networks to support staking, where users could lock up NEO tokens in smart contracts to earn GAS, but it ultimately failed to keep pace with Ethereum. These days, it’s ranked as the 133rd most valuable cryptocurrency with a market cap of $683.34 million, with one NEO valued at $6.82, far below its all-time high of $196.85, achieved in November 2018.
That said, Neo refuses to die, and it’s now focused on making a comeback with the launch of Neo X, its EVM compatible and MEV-resistant sidechain, supporting seamless asset transfers between the two networks. Besides trying to attract Ethereum developers, the network is also focused on becoming a platform for decentralized AI agents that can automate DeFi investing with the launch of its SpoonOS initiative earlier this year. With continued support from Binance, the prospects for Neo remain compelling.
4: XRP
Ripple’s cryptocurrency XRP was launched way back in 2012, making it one of the oldest surviving tokens in existence, and it’s also getting very close to its all-time high of $3.84 per coin, achieved way back in January 2018 before its regulatory struggles.
Ripple intends for XRP to become the token of choice for international settlements, but despite making solid traction with numerous global banks, its ambitions were held back for years by legal challenges from the U.S. SEC. However, with the arrival of Trump’s regime, the SEC has wound up its efforts to derail the project, and XRP has bounced back hard, with its value soaring by more than 470% in the last 12 months. It’s currently worth $3.30, with a market cap of $195.99 billion putting it third overall, behind only Bitcoin and Ethereum.
XRP’s progress has continued, with notable developments including the launch of its native stablecoin Ripple USD. The token is backed 1:1 by U.S. dollar reserves and is designed for reliable cross-border payments while benefiting from its integration with Ripple’s payments infrastructure.
Meanwhile, XRP is increasingly recognized for its role in settlements in the banking sector, with lower costs and faster speeds than traditional systems like SWIFT. It’s presently focused on expanding its partnerships with banks such as Bank of America and Santander, and also aims to grow its On-Demand Liquidity service to increase demand for XRP.
5: Litecoin
Another Bitcoin fork, Litecoin was created in October 2011 by the developer Charlie Lee, who was motivated to design a faster and more lightweight version of the world’s OG cryptocurrency. By modifying its codebase, Lee made Litecoin transaction confirmations much faster, with significantly reduced fees, and the LTC token quickly grew to become one of the world’s most valuable altcoins.
Although LTC lacks the smart contract capabilities of many other altcoins, it has built up a loyal community of followers and has long maintained its status as one of the world’s most valuable digital assets. As of today, it’s ranked as the 19th most valuable token with a market cap of $10.14 billion, valued at $133.10 per coin. Of course, that’s still far below its May 2021 all-time high of $412.96
Litecoin remains a popular asset because it enjoys strong traction, with support from more than 2,000 merchants globally, providing utility as a fast and reliable payment method. More recently, there has been significant speculation that we could soon see the emergence of the first Litecoin ETFs, which would help to increase institutional adoption. This speculation has contributed to a significant increase in transaction volume in 2025, and helps to explain why its value has risen 107% in the last 12 months.
With its established market position and the promise of growing interest from institutions looking for alternative treasury assets to Bitcoin, it’s clear that LTC still has lots to offer.
Don’t Write Off Crypto’s Oldies
While many of the crypto headlines are focused on Bitcoin, Ethereum and whatever memecoin happens to be hot at the moment, let’s not forget that some of the older cryptocurrencies are still going strong, providing solid utility to legions of hardcore, longtime users.
The resilience of these ancient cryptocurrencies is the result of the rock-solid trust they’ve acquired from years of existence. They’ve proven their staying power by solving real-world problems, and as the adoption of digital assets edges closer to mainstream, it may not be long until some of these tokens return to enjoy the prominence they commanded before.
