Thilina Kavinda Silva

Investors seeking high-leverage crypto picks under $1 should focus on projects with solid teams, real use cases, and strong adoption. Established platforms like TRON, Stellar (XLM), Cronos (CRO), Algorand (ALGO), The Graph (GRT), and The Sandbox (SAND) fit this profile. They are listed on major exchanges and underpin growing ecosystems (DeFi, payments, gaming, etc.). Emerging tokens like Kaspa (KAS), Entangle (NTGL), and Jupiter (JUP) also show promise due to innovative technology and active development. Expert analyses highlight bullish trends – for example, analysts project TRX and VeChain (VET) could hit new all-time highs in 2025. Below we outline key features of these coins and summarize market trends.

Established Projects (Under $1)

TRON (TRX) – Price ~$0.26, Market Cap ~$24.7B. TRON is a blockchain for high-throughput dApps and content sharing. Its founder, Justin Sun, has driven significant growth: 2024 saw record activity (e.g. USDT supply on TRON jumped from $48B to $62B) and over $22B in total value locked. The TRON network now hosts the largest Tether (USDT) supply (> $60B) and ~286M user accounts. Recent news (e.g. Sun hinting at new blockchain milestones and integrating AI into TRON’s ecosystem) has spurred investor interest. Analysts note TRX “overperformed” in 2024 and may continue rising during the next altcoin season.

Stellar (XLM) – Price ~$0.30, Market Cap ~$9.26B. Stellar is a fast, low-cost blockchain for payments and tokenized assets. It enables quick cross-border transfers via its native token (lumens). The Stellar Development Foundation has secured partnerships with Paxos, WisdomTree, and Franklin Templeton to bring real-world assets (RWA) on-chain. By end of 2025 Stellar aims to have ~$3B in tokenized RWAs on its network. It also powers remittance services (e.g. MoneyGram’s crypto-to-cash rail using USDC). These developments, along with its global payment partnerships, strengthen XLM’s utility and adoption.

Cronos (CRO) – Price ~$0.1008, Market Cap ~$2.67B. Cronos is the EVM-compatible blockchain of Crypto.com, powering payments, NFTs and DeFi in that ecosystem. CRO is used for Crypto.com app rewards, low-fee payments and staking. Cronos has launched features like zkEVM for scalability and prepaid crypto debit cards. With widespread exchange listings (e.g. Binance, Coinbase) and a broad user base from Crypto.com, CRO benefits from the platform’s “ecosystem aiming to increase cryptocurrency adoption globally”. (Crypto.com’s growth and roadmap – e.g. support for an ETF – could further boost CRO demand.)

Algorand (ALGO) – Price ~$0.2348, Market Cap ~$2.02B. Designed by Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand uses a Pure Proof-of-Stake protocol for secure, scalable DeFi and payments. It enables staking rewards and instant finality with very low fees. The Algorand Foundation has forged partnerships across finance and development (e.g. a recent pilot for blockchain-based digital identity and credit scoring for underserved communities). Its on-chain governance (users can stake and vote) and backing by a strong tech team make ALGO a platform with practical use cases (e.g. tokenizing assets and supporting DeFi projects).

The Graph (GRT) – Price ~$0.1061, Market Cap ~$1.04B. The Graph is the leading indexing and query protocol for Web3. It powers data retrieval (via GraphQL) for Ethereum, IPFS and other networks, enabling many DeFi and NFT apps to run efficiently. Thousands of “subgraphs” (open APIs) exist for major protocols (Uniswap, AAVE, Synthetix, etc.), and GRT is required to reward indexers and curators. With adoption steadily growing (Query volume up month-over-month) and integration into DeFi stacks, GRT has a clear utility: fueling data access across decentralized apps.

The Sandbox (SAND) – Price ~$0.3258, Market Cap ~$0.82B. The Sandbox is a top Blockchain gaming/metaverse project. Its ERC-20 token SAND powers an ecosystem of user-created games and NFTs. Players use SAND to buy virtual land (LAND NFTs), trade in-game assets, and vote in governance. The platform includes tools like Game Maker and VoxEdit for creating content. Sandbox’s partnerships (e.g. Atari, Ubisoft) and an active user base support its growth. Its combination of NFTs, DAO governance and gaming makes SAND a leader in Web3 entertainment.

VeChain (VET) – Price ~$0.03, Market Cap ~$2.49B. VeChain is an enterprise-focused Layer-1 blockchain for supply chain and IoT. VET is used to track real goods and data. It has high-profile partnerships (e.g. Walmart China for food tracking, PwC for auditing) that validate its use cases. The network’s dual-token model (VET for value, VTHO for fees) and Proof-of-Authority consensus ensure stability and scalability. A 2025 roadmap (“VeChain Renaissance”) includes EVM-compatibility and new governance structures to attract more developers. This strong utility and enterprise backing suggest solid long-term potential.

Promising New Tokens

Kaspa (KAS) – Price ~$0.10, Market Cap ~$2.64B. Kaspa is a high-throughput DAG-based blockchain (blockDAG) designed for scalability. It launched in 2022 with no founder fees, and its open-source team regularly updates the protocol. The community is active (nearly 250K followers on social media) and the supply is capped (28.7B KAS). KAS is already listed on major exchanges (KuCoin, Gate.io, etc.) and there’s speculation it could reach Binance soon. Its developers are focused on core protocol improvements (e.g. parallel block graphs), and if adoption grows, KAS’s low price and burn-like supply make it a high-upside bet.

Entangle (NTGL) – Price ~$0.00317, Market Cap ~$0.10B. Entangle is a very new, experimental blockchain “infrastructure” project (launched 2024) aiming to create a decentralized data highway. It focuses on multi-chain interoperability and oracle services: features include a Universal Interoperability Protocol (cross-chain messaging), high-speed data feeds, and on-chain proof-of-compute for off-chain work. It operates across both EVM and non-EVM chains (Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos) using secure enclaves (TEE) for trusted data delivery. NTGL is used for gas and staking in Entangle. Although extremely small (ranked ~4000s, MCAP ~$104M), Entangle appeals to investors looking for a “ground-floor” play in cross-chain or AI-connected crypto (the team is developing AI/ML use cases on-chain). This is high-risk/high-reward.

Jupiter (JUP) – Price ~$0.5114, Market Cap ~$1.48B. Jupiter is the leading DeFi aggregator on Solana. It routes token swaps across Solana liquidity pools to give traders the best rates and minimal slippage. JUP token holders get access to fee rebates and governance (voting on upgrades). The protocol recently used millions of dollars in swap fees for token buybacks, and its V2 mobile app launch drove adoption. With Solana’s ecosystem booming, Jupiter plays a key role (a “cornerstone for decentralized finance”) by improving cross-chain liquidity and enabling advanced trading tools. Its price surged 40% in early 2025 on major upgrades, making JUP a notable mid-cap pick in the under-$1 range.

Market Trends & Expert Insights

Altseason and Predictions: Analysts foresee a robust altcoin cycle in 2025. For example, reports suggest “Tron and VeChain are eying growth to new all-time highs in 2025” as altcoins rally. Technical forecasts for TRX and VET are bullish (some models project TRX reaching ~$0.37 by spring 2025). Similarly, other large low-priced coins (like CRO and ALGO) may catch a tailwind as crypto markets broaden. However, experts caution that overall market conditions and adoption will drive the outcome.

DeFi & Stablecoin Growth: Decentralized finance continues to expand on these chains. TRON led 2024 by locking over $22B in DeFi and hosting the largest Tether supply. Algorand and Cronos have also seen growing DeFi TVL and on-chain activity. Stellar is focusing on tokenizing real-world assets, aiming for $3B in on-chain assets by 2025. Greater institutional interest in tokenized finance (e.g. stablecoins, security tokens) favors these platforms.

AI and Web3 Integration: Integration of AI and blockchain is a hot theme. Justin Sun’s TRON announced AI integration for BitTorrent Token (BTTC) in May 2025, sending the price up 12% in an hour. Projects like Entangle explicitly target AI/data use cases. The Graph itself enables AI/Web3 by indexing data. Investors are watching which under-$1 projects can position themselves as “AI coins” (like SingularityNET or Render) that benefit from this trend.

Gaming and NFTs: Metaverse and gaming tokens remain in focus. The Sandbox (SAND) benefits from a growing user base creating NFT content. Other gaming blockchains (not yet sub-$1) will strengthen the sector. Verasity (VRA) and Gala (GALA, just above $1) target gaming/esports, but SAND leads as a proven platform. Continued interest in virtual land and digital ownership supports SAND and similar tokens.

Meme Coin Caution: While meme coins (DOGE, SHIB, PEPE, FLOKI, etc.) often trade under $1, their speculative nature and lack of fundamentals make them very risky. We focus on coins with actual technology or partnerships. (Even Dogecoin, with massive popularity, has no development roadmap and utility beyond payments.)

Sources: CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko, and press reports. Price and market cap data are current as of May 2025. News and analysis cited above indicate ongoing development, partnerships, and market sentiment for these projects.
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