Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) continue to garner the most attention from crypto investors, and for good reason. Together, they account for a whopping 70% of the entire market capitalization of the crypto market. And they remain the only two cryptocurrencies with spot ETFs.

But that doesn't mean that there aren't other high-upside investment opportunities within the crypto market. In fact, a surprising number of cryptocurrencies are actually keeping pace with or outperforming Bitcoin this year. Here are two of my favorites: Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (CRYPTO: FET).

Solana

Let's start with Solana, a direct competitor to Ethereum in the Layer-1 blockchain space. Just like Ethereum, Solana has a thriving blockchain ecosystem that includes everything from blockchain gaming and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to decentralized finance (DeFi).

Solana has long been described as a potential "Ethereum killer," and it now appears that it is finally starting to win market share away from Ethereum in key areas. For example, one of the key growth drivers for Solana this year has been DeFi. In July, Solana surpassed Ethereum for the first time ever in terms of monthly trading volume on decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges.

Moreover, Solana has something that Ethereum does not: a mobile strategy for crypto. In 2023, Solana launched its first-ever mobile device, the Saga. And this September, it announced the upcoming launch of the Seeker in early 2025. Both mobile devices are optimized for crypto, with the idea being that most users take their phones with them everywhere they go, so they should be able to take their crypto with them as well.

Admittedly, meme coin mania has been one of the biggest drivers of Solana's growth in 2024, which is likely not sustainable over the long haul. All of that trading on Solana's decentralized crypto exchanges? Yes, that's mostly just people swapping meme coins like crazy, trying to make as much money as possible while meme coins are skyrocketing in value.

But over the long haul, Solana does have the potential to unseat Ethereum one day as the premier Layer-1 blockchain, simply due to its superior speeds and lower costs. For the year, Solana is up a solid 40%, and that comes on the back of an absolutely stellar 2023, when it soared by more than 900%.

Ethereum is only up a meager 7% this year, so 2025 could be the year that we see further divergence in the performance of Solana and Ethereum. This is especially the case if the opt-rumored spot Solana ETFs become a reality next year.

The best AI crypto token: Artificial Superintelligence Alliance

Buoyed by market enthusiasm for everything related to artificial intelligence (AI), it's perhaps no surprise that AI crypto tokens are having a moment right now. The two top AI crypto tokens by market cap -- Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (CRYPTO: FET) and Bittensor (CRYPTO: TAO) -- are both up more than 100% this year. Another top AI crypto token -- Render (CRYPTO: RENDER) -- has been billed as a potential artificial intelligence powerhouse throughout the year. All three rank among the top 35 cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap.

Of these three, my top pick remains Artificial Superintelligence Alliance, which is up 108% year to date. You may not recognize the name, and that's because it is still in the process of merging together three different AI crypto tokens (Fetch.ai, SingularityNET, and Ocean Protocol) into one "super token" that will eventually trade under the ASI ticker symbol.

When the merger was originally announced back in April, the stated objective was to create a top 20 cryptocurrency with a total market value of $7.5 billion. Currently, Artificial Superintelligence Alliance has a market cap of $3.5 billion, so it theoretically has the potential to double in value next year. Other analysts are even more bullish on the token, suggesting it could soar in value by as much as 10x, as long as market participants remain focused on growth occurring within the AI sector.

Caveats for investors

While both Solana and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance have enormous upside potential, there is substantial risk involved as well. If you are a risk-averse investor new to crypto, you are probably best off sticking to Bitcoin and Ethereum, and investing in them via the new spot ETFs.

However, if you are seeking to turbocharge your portfolio returns, and are willing to stomach enormous volatility along the way, it could be worth exploring these up-and-coming cryptocurrencies. By getting in early now, you might be able to capture the same types of incredible returns that investors early to Bitcoin and Ethereum did.

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Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Fetch, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Fetch, Render Token, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

2 of the Best Cryptocurrencies to Buy Now was originally published by The Motley Fool