Up 45% for the year, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) continues to outperform almost every other top cryptocurrency. That includes peers like Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), which has struggled to a 5% gain for the year.

But there are three broad categories of cryptocurrencies that are outperforming Bitcoin. In fact, some of these cryptocurrencies are up 100% or more for the year and appear to be poised for a major breakout in 2025. Let's take a closer look.

Meme coins

Remember the days when Dogecoin was the only meme coin in town? Well, now there are literally thousands of different meme coins, and some of them are posting unbelievable, off-the-charts performance in 2024. For example, there's a new cat-themed meme coin with a billion-dollar market cap that's up nearly 15,000% this year.

If we narrow our search down to meme coins with a greater than $2 billion market cap, however, there are only three candidates to consider: Dogwifhat, up 1,495%; Pepe, up 621%; and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB), up 65%. Long-time crypto investors will likely recognize the name Shiba Inu, given that it was one of the meme coins that soared in value during the previous crypto bull market rally.

The problem with all these meme coins, however, is that they are boom-and-bust cryptos that are just as likely to soar 100% for the year as they are to go to zero. In other words, you're playing with fire here. It's possible to see the appeal of these meme coins as a very speculative short-term play. But, over the long haul, they have no role to play in your overall portfolio.

AI crypto tokens

AI crypto tokens are also outperforming Bitcoin. Loosely defined, these are cryptocurrencies that are highly leveraged to the current artificial intelligence investment boom. In most cases, these digital currencies are used to transact for AI-related goods and services within specific blockchain networks. So, for example, instead of paying for a large language model (LLM) with dollars, you'd pay for it with an AI crypto token.

Within this category, two top names are Bittensor (CRYPTO: TAO) and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (CRYPTO: FET). Both boast valuations above $3 billion, and both rank among the top 30 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

The newest crypto market darling is Bittensor, which has rallied more than 160% over the past 30 days. Bittensor is a decentralized blockchain network designed to foster the development, training, sharing, and trading of artificial intelligence and machine learning models. The vision behind it is the creation of a decentralized, blockchain-based AI organization that can compete with the behemoths of Silicon Valley. Some investors believe that it has the potential to increase in value 10-fold, especially as more money pours into the AI sector.

Ethereum challengers

In 2023, the primary Ethereum challenger was Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), which was up more than 900% for the year. In 2024, however, the new Ethereum challenger making waves is Sui (CRYPTO: SUI), which is up 137% for the year.

There are several factors responsible for Sui's meteoric rise. These include the recent announcement that Circle's USDC stablecoin would be coming to the Sui blockchain network. This means more liquidity for Sui's expanding ecosystem of decentralized finance (DeFi) offerings, as well as the potential for new use cases and applications.

Another factor was the announcement earlier this year of a major blockchain upgrade making Sui even faster than Solana, which is generally acknowledged to have the fastest transaction processing speeds. With the upgrade, Sui is now poised for an even bigger presence in gaming and DeFi. As a result, it's easy to see why some are now calling Sui a potential "Solana killer."

The only caveat here, of course, is that Ethereum has faced a long line of potential challengers, and has successfully fended off each of them. Anyone still remember Cardano as a potential Ethereum rival? Or maybe Avalanche? Both of these cryptocurrencies are now down more than 30% in 2024, and investors appear to be abandoning them as they hunt for the Next Big Thing.

Can any crypto outperform Bitcoin over the long run?

Obviously, it's quite possible for cryptocurrencies to outperform Bitcoin over the course of 12 months. We're seeing it this year with the soaring values for meme coins and AI crypto tokens. The big question, however, is whether any of these investments have long-term staying power. Ten years from now, would you rather be holding Bitcoin or a dog-themed meme coin?

That's why, unless you're a super-aggressive investor looking for maximum upside potential within a very short time period, you're probably better off just investing in Bitcoin as long as it continues to set the pace for the broader crypto market.

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

These Surprising Cryptocurrencies Are Outperforming Bitcoin This Year (and It's Not Even Close) was originally published by The Motley Fool