In this article, we will discuss the 10 Worst Performing Altcoins in 2025.
The broader cryptocurrency market faces near-term downside risks. Those are sentiments echoed by analysts at JPMorgan amid growing concerns that weakening demand and slowing momentum will trigger a significant pullback. The sentiments come on the heels of flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin, pulling back by about 10% from all-time highs.
After reaching record highs of $3.72 trillion in market cap late last year, the broader cryptocurrency market has pulled back by about 15%. According to JPMorgan analysts, the pullback signals a significant decline in investor confidence.
“The correction over the past couple of months saw both bitcoin and ethereum futures approaching backwardation. This is a negative development and indicative of demand weakness by those institutional investors that use regulated CME futures contracts to gain exposure into these two cryptocurrencies,” JPMorgan wrote in a research note.
One of the reasons fueling the weakening demand in the crypto market is the lack of short-term catalysts needed to push prices higher. JPMorgan, in a research note to investors, notes that institutional investors have been taking profits in the aftermath of cryptocurrencies rallying to record highs following the reelection of Donald Trump as the US president.
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While there are growing expectations that the new US administration will pass positive regulations that foster the nascent industry’s growth, most are only expected in the second half of the year.
“As we argued in our recent publication, crypto initiatives by the new US administration are more likely to take place in the second half of the year. Until then, weakening demand poses downside risk to crypto markets,” stated JPMorgan.
According to JPMorgan analysts, the lack of fresh catalysts in the short term could trigger further downside pressure in the crypto markets. After Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell issued an inflation warning on December 18, the post-election cryptocurrency rally faded into the end of 2024. Bitcoin saw even more severe losses as investors dumped growth-oriented risk assets due to a spike in bond yields.
Stock market strategist and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors Tom Lee believes Bitcoin will be one of the best-performing asset classes in 2025 despite the recent deep pullback.
“But I think that there is still an argument that in the short term bitcoin is a risk-on asset so as the market liquidates, which happened over the weekend, bitcoin takes a hit so I’d say February is not looking great for bitcoin in the near term ” Lee said
Lee believes Bitcoin could drop to $70,000 before rebounding. Current levels are “probably not the floor for this month so it could visit much lower levels, even 70, but of course that’ll end up being a buying opportunity,” said Lee.
Source: Unsplash
Our Methodology
To make the 10 worst performing Altcoins in 2015, we scanned the cryptocurrency market, focusing on the top 100 alternative coins by market cap. We then trimmed the list and focused on the top ten coins that have shed significant market value year to date. Finally, we ranked them in ascending order based on the percentage loss that the alternative coins have incurred year to date.
At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Worst Performing Altcoins in 2025
10. Algorand (ALGO)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $2.32 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 18.90%
The Algorand ALGO is the native token of the Algorand blockchain. It primarily facilitates transactions, pays transaction fees, and incentivizes network validators to secure the platform. Being a public blockchain platform, people can build decentralized applications on top of it. On the other hand, the native token ALGO has been under pressure ever since it peaked in 2025.
The coin has tumbled significantly and has fallen by about 18.90% in the year to date. The sell-off has coincided with a correction in the overall cryptocurrency market. Algorand’s long-term prospects and competitive edge stem from its ability to solve the inefficiencies of ledgers in any blockchain, be it Ethereum, Bitcoin, or any other. These issues include high transaction costs, energy waste, and scalability. Algorand utilizes the benefits of both centralized and decentralized blockchain projects. It is practical and efficient, like a centralized platform and a governance model for decentralized projects, to guarantee accountability.
9. Hedera (HBAR)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $9.44 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 19.45%
HBAR is the native token that powers the Hedera Hashgraph network. It acts as the fuel that powers transactions and operations within the network. Consequently, it is used to pay fees for smart contract execution and token transfers. It also serves as the means to secure the network through a proof of stake consensus mechanism.
It’s been a tumultuous few weeks for the HBAR token, losing about 19.45% a year in market value and emerging as one of the worst-performing Altcoins in 2025. The selloff can be attributed to investors taking profits on the coin, capitalizing on Donald Trump’s recent reelection and the inking of a strategic partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
One of the catalysts that could trigger the potential bounce back of alternative coins after the selloff is the growing demand for Hashgraph technology for use in various industries to enable faster, more efficient, and scalable alternatives to traditional blockchain solutions. Hedera Hashgraph, a sophisticated distributed ledger technology (DLT), is a more practical option than conventional blockchain. It enables simultaneous transaction processing, reduces delays, and improves scalability.
8. Bitget Token (BGB)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $5.57 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 20.78%
Bitget Token (BGB) is the native utility token for the centralized Bitget cryptocurrency exchange. The token allows users to pay trading fees in the exchange and participate in platform activities. It also offers a way of accessing exclusive benefits within the Bitget ecosystem, including profit sharing and social trading. While the coin is down by about 20.78% year to date, it has emerged as one of the worst-performing Altcoins in 2025.
The selloff year to date comes on the token rallying by more than 400% in December, hitting record highs of $8.49. The recent pullback could be attributed to profit-taking after the Donald Trump-driven rally cooling off. Bitcoin has also cooled off significantly from its all-time highs.
The Biggest Token’s macro momentum indicates strong long-term support from HODLers. The percentage of BGB token supply owned by long-term investors has risen 11% in the last month. These investors are essential to preserving price stability and market confidence because they usually hold assets for more than a year.
The risks of short-term selling are offset by this expanding HODLer base, which shows a strong belief in BGB’s long-term potential. Because solid fundamentals support the token, it can withstand any brief declines brought on by profit-taking and keep its generally optimistic outlook.
7. VeChain (VET)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $2.69 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 23.89%
VeChain (VET) is a token that powers the VeChain network designed to improve supply chain management. The network provides transparency and traceability throughout a product’s life cycle in supply chains. The VET is the token used to transfer value within the VeChain blockchain network. VET is one of the alternative tokens that has felt the full brunt of the broader cryptocurrency market correction.
The token is down by about 23.89%, emerging as one of the worst-performing Altcoins in 2025. While it appears to be a normal correction, VeChain’s long-term prospects remain intact as it focuses on building a trust-free and distributed business ecosystem platform. Its primary focus is building a transparent information flow blockchain network that enables efficient and high-speed value transfers.
VeChain’s proven blockchain-as-a-service model has helped it gain a lot of traction. In fact, VeChain offers one of the strongest arguments that a new era is indeed upon us in terms of the fusion of blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies with tangible goods. There is a huge amount of room for growth in the IoT market and it’s just getting started.
6. NEAR Protocol (NEAR)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $4.21 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 29.15%
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is the native token that powers the decentralized layer one blockchain Near Protocol The blockchain network is mostly used in building decentralized applications. The NEAR token powers the network’s transactions, enabling staking and other developer incentives.
The native token has been under pressure since reaching a cycle high of $9 early last year. The token has already dropped by about 29.15% in the year. The selloff has coincided with a significant cryptocurrency market pullback in recent weeks. Amid the sell-off, the NEAR Protocol has moved to strengthen its long-term prospects by providing a new way of conducting transactions between artificial intelligence and the real world.
Consequently, it has set out to simplify the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) experience by supporting multi-chain transactions. The push puts it in direct competition with Ethereum, which accounts for 45% of the market share in the segment.
5. Avalanche (AVAX)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $10.56 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 31.23%
Avalanche (AVAX) is one of the most valuable alternative coins that power the decentralized finance world. It boasts of a unique, innovative contract-based DeFi system that continues to see strong growth amid the rapid growth of decentralized finance. Thanks to Avalanche’s technological innovations, the network can process up to 6,500 transactions per second while maintaining some of the best security and scalability.
After rallying in the last quarter of last year, AVAX has been under immense pressure. It has faced a significant decline in price, retracing all of its gains made in November. The coin has already been down by about 31.23% for the year, underperforming the overall cryptocurrency market. The drop in active addresses and network expansion is one of the biggest worries for AVAX holders since it may indicate a lack of market confidence and decreased demand.
In mid-December, Avalanche’s Total Value Locked (TVL) peaked at $1.65 billion but has since dropped to $1.28 billion. This decline in TVL suggests that there is less liquidity in the network, which may cause AVAX’s price to drop even more.
4. Render (RENDER)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $2.32 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 32.65%
Render (RENDER) is the native coin that powers the Render Network. The decentralized platform offers access to spare GPU computing power for performing rendering tasks like creating 3D graphics, animations, and visual effects. The networks also offer a way for people to monetize their idle GPU capacity by providing rendering services to others in exchange for RENDER tokens.
While the RENDER token is down by about 32.65% year to date, the significant sell-off is part of a broader trend in the cryptocurrency market. The overall segment has pulled back from record highs following the election of Donald Trump as the US president. Additionally, the coin has been under pressure amid a significant decline in whale participation in the token, signaling waning confidence among major market participants.
The Render token’s future depends on significant market movements, technological advancements, and the adoption rate of new web-based technologies. Render may reach new heights if these factors come together.
3. Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $1.88 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 33.67%
The Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) is a blockchain project that seeks to create a decentralized AI research ecosystem focused on accelerating the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). It functions as a platform to promote decentralized AI research through a unified token system. Consequently, it allows users to access various AI services within the ecosystem. Its native token, FET, has seen a significant drop of 33.67%.
Over the past two months, the underperformance has significantly caused whale activity in the token to decline. Whales between 10,000,000 and 100,000,000 FET have offloaded over $25 million worth of tokens. The waning whale activity is the catalyst behind the token’s sell-off in the market as it raises serious concerns about its long-term exits amid the significant outflows.
2. Cronos (CRO)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $2.27 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 43.12%
Cronos (CRO) is the native cryptocurrency that powers the Cronos blockchain. It is primarily used to pay transaction fees and participate in staking for network security and rewards. The token also offers access to various decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Amid the short-term bearishness in the crypto markets, the CRO token has dropped by about 43.12% in the year to date.
The deep pullback comes from the bullish crypto market spurred by Donald Trump’s reelection and the appointment of Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary fizzling. In general, Cronos and the cryptocurrency industry have faced greater difficulties in the New Year. When Trump announced tariffs on Chinese, Canadian, and Mexican goods, the slump turned into a collision.
Amid the slump, CRO remains a key player in the decentralized finance landscape, with total value locked at more than $400 million. It also boasts of a stablecoin market of more than $18 million, influenced by the success of the crypto.com exchange. More than 100 million people have registered on the cryptocurrency exchange worldwide, primarily as a result of important licenses from important jurisdictions. The Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) regulations have already granted the exchange complete authorization to conduct business in Europe.
1. Pepe (PEPE)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $4.12 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 51.87%
Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Pepe (PEPE) coin is a meme cryptocurrency based on the popular internet meme “Pepe the Frog.” The alternative coin seeks to capitalize on the popularity of meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu by leveraging the lighthearted and humorous nature of the Pepe character. It has emerged as one of the worst-performing Altcoins, having lost about 51.87% in market value year to date.
Following the selloff, the token’s market cap dropped from $10 billion to about $3.84 billion, representing a $6 billion loss since December. Data on trading activity shows that investor behavior has changed significantly, with futures open interest dropping from $556 million in January to $258 million. This decrease points to a slowdown in token-related speculative trading activity. Holder data shows an intriguing contrast despite the price drop. There are now 404,100 Pepe token holders, up from 384,000. This pattern suggests that long-term holders are holding onto their investments while short-term traders may be liquidating their holdings.
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