Crypto Whales Are Scooping Up These 5 Altcoins—Here's Why

From regulatory breakthroughs to exciting AI and blockchain innovations, these projects are shaping up to be leaders in their fields.

Crypto whales—those big-time investors holding huge amounts of digital assets—are always looking for the next big thing. They quietly scoop up tokens before prices take off, often spotting trends long before retail traders catch on.

Right now, there’s a lot of buzz around Lightchain AI, XRP, ETH, Kaspa (KAS), and Solana (SOL). So, what’s got these whales interested?

From regulatory breakthroughs to exciting AI and blockchain innovations, these projects are shaping up to be leaders in their fields. Plus, Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions are gaining momentum, opening the door to better scalability and fresh innovations that could shake up the crypto world as we know it.

Let’s dive into the details and see why these projects are making waves.

1. XRP and ETH: Institutional Adoption Signals Potential Price Surge

Ripple’s XRP has just crossed the $3 mark, showing a huge 52% rise in the last month.

This rise is linked to more groups using it and good rules coming up. The okay of Ripple’s RLUSD coin by U.S. rule makers is thought to boost its market part in online money moves.

Also, deals with money groups, like Ondo Finance for turning U.S. Treasury bills into tokens on the XRP Ledger, are making XRP look more trustworthy. Experts think that XRP may hit $5 to $7 in the first half of 2025, pushed by Ripple’s progress and expected clear rules.

At the same time, Ethereum (ETH) keeps its place as a top site for apps that are not controlled by one party, with work going on to make it better at handling many users and keeping safe.

Institutions are quickly turning to ETH Layer 2 solutions, like Scroll ($SCRL) and StarkNet ($STARK), to build and launch projects. These solutions offer lower fees, faster speeds, and huge user capacity, making ETH more appealing to a wider range of applications.

2. Lightchain AI: Rising Contender in AI-Driven Blockchain Solutions

As more institutional investors dive into crypto, Lightchain AI is quickly becoming a standout in blockchain-based AI.

One of its coolest features is the Memecoin Launchpad, which helps meme projects securely launch, manage, and monetize their tokens within a structured ecosystem.

But what really makes Lightchain AI unique is its deflationary tokenomics. A portion of transaction fees gets burned, which means the token supply shrinks over time. Less supply could mean more value as adoption picks up—pretty smart, right?

With $14.4 million already raised in its presale and tokens priced at just $0.005625, investors are jumping in early, eyeing the project’s long-term potential.

3. Latest in Blockchain – Kaspa, Solana, and Bitcoin Layer 2 Technology

As we move into the final quarter of 2025, here are some more blockchain projects that are catching the eye of crypto whales and buzzing in the tech community.

Kaspa (KAS) is gaining attention for its innovative GHOSTDAG protocol, enabling parallel block processing to enhance transaction speed and scalability. As of January 31, 2025, KAS is trading at approximately $0.132, with an intraday high of $0.134768 and a low of $0.123606.

Solana (SOL) is addressing network congestion through the development of Solaxy ($SOLX), its first Layer-2 solution. Solaxy aims to batch transactions efficiently, reducing load on Solana’s main chain while maintaining low costs and high speeds. This initiative seeks to enhance Solana’s scalability and performance.

In Bitcoin’s ecosystem, PlutoChain ($PLUTO) is introducing a Layer-2 solution to enable smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) on the Bitcoin network. With 2-second block times and the ability to handle over 43,000 transactions daily during its testnet, PlutoChain addresses Bitcoin’s limitations in speed and scalability, potentially expanding its use cases.

These developments reflect a broader trend in blockchain technology, focusing on enhancing scalability, speed, and functionality across various networks.