Executive Summary
The Story So Far
Why This Matters
Who Thinks What?
A recent analysis by Michelle DG, an editor at CoinCentral & Blockonomi, published on November 7, 2025, identified four cryptocurrency projects as “top crypto picks,” drawing attention for their distinct market activities, growing communities, or robust funding. The projects highlighted are BlockDAG, Hyperliquid, Pepe, and Ethereum Classic, each demonstrating unique characteristics driving investor interest and visible growth within the volatile crypto landscape.
BlockDAG’s Presale Success and Technical Foundation
BlockDAG (BDAG) has garnered significant attention due to its substantial presale, reportedly raising $435 million and attracting over 312,000 holders prior to its official market listing. The project utilizes a hybrid architecture combining Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work for security with a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) system designed for high transaction speeds, aiming for 2,000–15,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Currently, BlockDAG’s Awakening Testnet is operational, processing over 1,400 TPS and supporting Ethereum-based applications. The project also features a live mining ecosystem with its X-Series miners (X10, X30, X100), with more than 20,000 units sold globally, enabling users to mine between 200 to 2,000 BDAG coins daily.
Hyperliquid’s Decentralized Trading Volume
Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange built on its own Layer-1 network, is another project noted for its high activity. Trading between $42 and $47, with a circulating supply of approximately 333–337 million tokens, it commands a market capitalization close to $14 billion.
The platform offers high-speed order-book trading, mirroring centralized exchanges but without intermediaries. Daily trading volumes have reached an impressive $29 billion, indicating strong demand from active traders seeking leverage, speed, and low fees within a decentralized environment.
Pepe’s Meme-Driven Market Presence
Pepe, a meme token, continues to maintain a significant market presence despite lacking inherent utility. Priced between $0.000010 and $0.000013, its circulating supply of 420.69 trillion tokens places its market capitalization between $2.8 billion and $5.5 billion, depending on data sources.
The token’s rapid adoption was facilitated by a no-presale launch, zero transaction taxes, and renounced contract ownership, fostering trust within meme coin communities. Daily trading volume has soared as high as $1.2 billion, underscoring its liquidity and community-driven appeal as a high-risk, high-reward asset.
Ethereum Classic’s Enduring Proof-of-Work Stability
Ethereum Classic (ETC), trading between $18.50 and $20.50, holds a market capitalization exceeding $2.4 billion with around 154 million tokens in circulation. Unlike Ethereum, which transitioned to Proof-of-Stake, ETC maintains its original Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism, adhering to the “code is law” principle.
The network saw renewed interest following Ethereum’s Merge event, attracting some miners and GPU power back to its ecosystem. While its growth has been stable but limited compared to newer projects, ETC remains a notable option for those prioritizing established security and unchanged fundamentals.
Key Takeaways
These four projects represent diverse facets of the cryptocurrency market, each drawing attention for distinct reasons. BlockDAG is highlighted for its successful presale and foundational technology, while Hyperliquid stands out for its high-volume decentralized trading. Pepe maintains relevance through its strong meme community and liquidity, and Ethereum Classic offers a stable, established Proof-of-Work alternative.
