8 Most Expensive Cryptocurrencies by Price in 2025

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March 22, 2025 03:30 EDT

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In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, an early Bitcoin enthusiast, used 10,000 Bitcoins to buy two pizzas. As of March 2025, a single bitcoin was worth $84,220.76, making Bitcoin (BTC) the most expensive crypto. Several other cryptocurrencies trade for hundreds or even thousands of dollars per coin, including some that aren’t mentioned on the nightly news.

For clarity, we are treating the most expensive crypto assets as those with the highest price per coin rather than total market value, the latter of which can be inflated by a large supply. Early success stories like Bitcoin and Ethereum are still among the most expensive crypto assets measured by price per coin. However, newer coins and tokens have joined this elite crypto asset group.

Let’s review the highest-price crypto coins and what makes them stand out in an ever-growing market of new cryptocurrencies.

The Most Expensive Cryptocurrencies Compared

The most expensive crypto coins include some familiar names like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB, but a handful of growing projects also join this select group. One, Tether Gold, even acts as a blockchain proxy for a real-world asset (gold). Let’s compare the most expensive cryptocurrencies.

Coin	Symbol	Price	Market Cap
Bitcoin	BTC -0.35%	$84,220.76	$1.67T
Yearn Finance	YFI +0.31%	$5,357.62	$179.12M
Tether Gold	XAUT +0.58%	$2,952.19	$727.79M
Ethereum	ETH -0.05%	$1,982.64	$239.10B
Maker	MKR -2.82%	$1,224.82	$1.04B
BNB	BNB +0.52%	$632.55	$93.35B
Bittensor	TAO +0.00%	$415.89	$3.42B
Bitcoin Cash	BCH -2.14%	$328.25	$6.51B

ℹ️ The data in this table was last updated on March 21, 2025.

The Most Expensive Crypto Coins Reviewed (Highest Price Crypto)

The most expensive cryptocurrencies each have differing backstories, but they all owe a debt to Bitcoin, which is credited with being the first decentralized blockchain. Although Bitcoin paved the way for newer projects, these new projects brought additional functionality to blockchains.

The highest-priced crypto coins represent a wide gamut of roles within the crypto ecosystem, ranging from fuel tokens to governance tokens to cryptocurrencies backed by real-world assets.

1. Bitcoin ($84,220.76)

Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 by an anonymous entity known as Satoshi Nakamoto, who published the Bitcoin Whitepaper outlining its decentralized, peer-to-peer system. The network launched in January 2009, with early adopters gradually building its infrastructure. Bitcoin had no established value until May 2010, when 10,000 Bitcoins were famously exchanged for two pizzas, marking its first known market price.

The launch of Bitcoinmarket, the first cryptocurrency exchange, in March 2010 enabled broader trading and price discovery. Over time, Bitcoin’s value surged, reaching six figures as it became widely recognized as “digital gold.” Its security is maintained through proof of work, where miners validate transactions and secure the blockchain. This decentralized system prevents tampering and ensures network integrity.

Bitcoin’s appeal also lies in its governance model—while a core group of developers maintains the code, individual nodes determine which software version prevails. Unlike newer cryptocurrencies that claim similar benefits, Bitcoin remains dominant due to its unmatched global adoption and secure, trustless framework.

2. Yearn Finance ($5,357.62)

Yearn Finance is a yield aggregation protocol. Decentralized finance (DeFi) offers a new way to earn yields and put crypto assets to work. However, these opportunities can be difficult to find, and each has its own UI, making navigation challenging. Yearn Finance brings some of the best yield opportunities together in one place, allowing investors to interact with protocols using a familiar interface.

The Yearn Finance token is available on crypto exchanges and awarded to platform users. However, unlike many incentive tokens, the supply is capped. Only 36,666 tokens exist, making Yearn Finance one of the smallest supplies in crypto.

The Yearn Finance token acts as both an incentive to use the platform and a governance token. Tokens are used to vote on platform proposals, called Yearn Improvement Proposals (YIPs). Other governance roles for the token include Yearn Delegation Proposals (YDPs) and Yearn Signaling Proposals (YSPs).

3. Tether Gold ($2,952.19)

Tether made its name in the crypto space with its USDT stablecoin, which tracks the value of the US dollar by backing each token with cash or other reserve assets, such as US treasury bonds. In 2020, the company launched its gold-backed token, Tether Gold (XAUt).

While backed by physical gold, the Tether Gold token offers much better portability than physical gold. Users can transfer a gold-backed asset anywhere in the world in seconds, and holders can also travel anywhere in the world with their gold-backed tokens secured by a cryptocurrency wallet.

Since its launch, Tether Gold has become the leading gold-backed crypto token, owing its popularity to the name recognition of Tether’s USDT itself, which launched in 2014.

4. Ethereum ($1,982.64)

Launched in 2015, the Ethereum protocol is credited with bringing smart contract functionality to blockchains. Although several leading chains also offer smart contracts, Ethereum remains the market share leader with more than $50 billion in total value locked (TVL), including staking, which is the chain’s method for securing the network.

Unlike Bitcoin, which surpassed its 2021 all-time high in 2024, Ethereum has not yet surpassed its previous high, leading many to believe that Ethereum may offer better performance in the future. To manage its supply, Ethereum burns base fees paid for network transactions by sending these fees to an unrecoverable address on the blockchain.

Simultaneously, the protocol mints new tokens as staking rewards. The result has been a slightly deflationary supply of ETH since the protocol switched to proof of stake from proof of work in 2022. Ethereum’s active development, stable supply, and vibrant ecosystem keep ETH in high demand for both investors and those who actively participate in the ETH ecosystem.

5. Maker ($1,224.82)

Although dollars or other real-world financial instruments back other popular stablecoins, MakerDAO launched its DAI stablecoin in 2014, choosing to back the coin with crypto rather than dollars or bonds. In effect, every DAI token has been borrowed, using a select group of cryptocurrencies as collateral. This overcollateralized structure makes DAI safer than algorithmic stablecoins and more transparent than dollar-backed stablecoins.

The MakerDAO Protocol is at the heart of DAI, with the Maker (MKR) token serving as a governance token for the protocol. MKR holders vote on proposed changes to the protocol and which cryptocurrencies are accepted as collateral to back the DAI stablecoin to ensure parity with the US dollar.

MakerDAO has since rebranded to SKY, which now offers token rewards as part of the conversion. DAI stablecoin tokens can be redeemed through the new USDS token, although many external protocols still support DAI.

6. BNB ($632.55)

Originally launched by the Binance exchange as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, BNB later became the fuel token for its own smart contract payments network. At launch, BNB, also called Binance Coin at the time, was intended to pay fees on the Binance trading platform. To this day, Binance still offers a discount for fees paid in BNB.

However, the BNB digital currency now also serves as a fuel token for the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), which shares much of its structure with Ethereum, although streamlining the consensus for the network with a smaller number of validators.

Many remain bullish on the BNB token due to the active burning of the token, which reduces supply and potentially boosts prices for BNB. The BNB protocol uses an Auto-Burn mechanism to burn BNB tokens until the supply is reduced to 100 million tokens.

7. Bittensor ($415.89)

The TAO token is fuel for Bittensor, a peer-to-peer artificial intelligence market. In effect, Bittensor’s TAO token rewards participants for contributing to the network.

Similar to Bitcoin, TAO has a fixed supply of 21 million tokens. Although fewer than eight million tokens are in circulation, meaning most are yet to reach the market, the fixed maximum supply coupled with the early stages of the AI market makes TAO one of the most expensive crypto tokens.

8. Bitcoin Cash ($328.25)

The Bitcoin Cash network began as a hard fork of the Bitcoin network in 2017. The fork came after a debate over scaling. As a result, Bitcoin split into two networks: Bitcoin Cash, which had larger block sizes, and the original Bitcoin network, which retained the smaller block sizes. Both networks had a shared history of transactions up until the fork, then diverged as users chose which network to use.

Like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash has a maximum supply of 21 million coins. The network also uses proof of work to validate transactions and secure the blockchain. Overall, Bitcoin Cash is faster than Bitcoin and offers comparatively inexpensive transactions. Bitcoin Cash also supports smart contracts through a language called CashScript, which follows a similar syntax to Ethereum’s Solidity programming language.

What Defines ‘Expensive’ in Cryptocurrency?

The most expensive crypto can be a confusing term. However, there’s a distinction between the highest price per token and the highest market capitalization. While Bitcoin takes the lead in both categories, the price per coin defines a coin as being the most expensive.

In many cases, supply plays a big role in the price per coin, although demand must also be strong.

Price-Per-Coin vs Market Cap: Which Matters More?

Market cap refers to the collective value of all the coins or tokens in circulation, whereas price per coin refers to the price for each coin or token. Which matters more depends on your investment priorities.

However, market capitalization – and fully diluted market capitalization – are considered more important metrics when assessing an investment from a fundamental perspective. These refer to the value of the circulating or total supply, respectively.

What Causes Coins to Have a High Price?

Several factors can contribute to a higher price per coin, with low supply and high demand being the most common. Some coins are also deflationary, meaning the supply shrinks over time, pushing prices higher if demand continues to rise.

Low Circulating Supply

The low circulating supply can affect the price per token. However, experienced investors are likely to evaluate the supply that will become available.

An increase in the supply can cause the price per token to fall. This means that investors should consider the future supply and how long it will take for the additional supply to reach the market. If an additional token release takes years, the circulating supply will grow slowly, allowing time for demand to grow to match the expected supply.

Fixed or Deflationary Tokenomics

Several of the most expensive crypto coins have fixed or deflationary supplies. BTC, BCH, and TAO all have a maximum supply of 21 million coins. Ethereum and BNB, while not fixed, have been deflationary in recent years due to token burning. This stable or shrinking supply bodes well for the price per coin, assuming demand remains strong.

Growing Demand

Growing market demand can cause the price per token to rise even if more supply is yet to be released. Bittensor’s TAO token provides a good example. Although the maximum supply is 21 million, only 7.4 million tokens are circulated. Despite the overhanging supply, TAO saw a 5x increase between November 2023 and November 2024.

Advantages of Buying The Most Expensive Crypto

Are the most expensive crypto coins too expensive to buy? Not necessarily. Buying an expensive crypto like Bitcoin or Ethereum may be safer than buying a new but unproven coin at a lower price per coin. Let’s look at some advantages of buying the most expensive crypto coins.

Lower Risk of Dilution from Inflation

The highest-price crypto coins or tokens are often further along in their distribution schedule. With Bitcoin nearly 20 million out of a max supply of 21 million bitcoins mined, interest in Bitcoin as an investment has never been higher. Less than 5% of the Bitcoin supply remains to be mined. Bitcoin halving events will cause the remaining bitcoins another 100+ years to be mined in full.

This reduced risk of dilution makes many investors feel more confident in paying more for each coin as demand remains strong.

Established Reputation and Trust

As with many digital assets, a higher price comes from a proven reputation and trust earned over time. When Bitcoin launched, few people understood how it worked or why it might one day have much more value. In effect, a higher price per coin signifies quality for many investors, akin to buying a premium brand rather than a cheaper imitation.

Downsides of Buying the Most Expensive Coins

Owning the most expensive cryptocurrencies comes with some downsides as well. Notably, you can expect less dramatic price performance. However, downswings can also be amplified. Let’s examine how these market forces affect the highest-price cryptos.

Limited Short-Term Growth Potential

During bull market runs, 20x, 50x, or even 1000x crypto success stories are heard of. However, these gains become increasingly unlikely for the most expensive cryptocurrencies in the short term. The stratospheric growth seen with Bitcoin, Ethereum, or BNB in the early days typically subsides, flattening the chart compared to early runs.

This flattening of the chart is, in part, a product of the asset’s market capitalization. At a nearly $2 trillion market capitalization, Bitcoin isn’t likely to see a 20x in a year, making Bitcoin’s market cap three times larger than the US gross domestic product (GDP).

Reduced Liquidity During Downswings

Higher-priced cryptocurrencies can also see steeper declines when the market turns south. As the saying goes: “the bigger they are, the harder they fall.” This can lead to a freefall in market prices, much like we have seen amid the ongoing tariff war in 2025, with Bitcoin and Ethereum dropping notably from their all-time highs.

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