In the chaotic world of cryptocurrency, there are always legends about the old-school altcoins.
They are like forgotten old heroes in the corners of the market—quietly drinking, not competing for fame, but once they take action, it’s a stunning rise.
In this issue, we present a "Historical Review of Old Altcoins":
- Why were they popular back then?
- Are they still alive now?
- Why haven’t they died?
- Is there still a chance for a surge in the future?
The market is feeling the chill, so why not brew a pot of old wine and listen to some tales from the past.
If you are someone who has experienced multiple cycles in this world and have bought more than half of the coins mentioned in this article—remember to share this article with friends who are new to the space, reminding them to dress warmly.
It really is cold at the top. But the old-timers all understand:
No matter how long the winter lasts, it cannot stop the return of spring.
Chapter 1: The Payment Giants
XRP: The Blockchain Veteran Most Skilled in Lawsuits
- Background
Born in 2012, older than Ethereum. Created by Jed McCaleb (an early Bitcoin OG) and the Ripple Labs team.
The intention was very clear:
Not to create a "coin for the crypto world," but to build a "cross-border settlement network for banks." The ambition was to replace SWIFT, reducing the traditional cross-border remittance time from days to seconds.
Thus, it quickly secured partnerships with banks, financial institutions, and large payment companies, and in 2017-2018, it surged to the top 3 in global market capitalization, second only to BTC and ETH. Indeed, XRP was genuinely playing alongside bankers back then.
However, it was unexpected that in 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) came down hard: you are a security, and I will penalize you.
Ripple: ?
XRP: ??
Investors: ????
After years of back and forth, XRP has now become the most legally savvy coin in the entire crypto space. It has strength, technology, and bank partnerships, only lacking a favorable regulatory environment. The lawsuit between Ripple and the SEC was announced to conclude in March 2025, officially closing on August 7, confirming that XRP is not a security in the secondary market, with the fine ultimately adjusted to Ripple paying $50 million (returning $75 million from the original $125 million).
- Technology and Features
Uses the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA)
Transaction speed is impressively fast: 3-5 seconds
Low fees + no mining + primarily aimed at financial institutions and banks
- Future Surge Points
Approval wave for XRP ETFs
Global banks adopting cross-border payments
Explosion of the RLUSD stablecoin ecosystem
XRP is a typical project that belongs to "once regulations loosen, it will take off again." After the lawsuit, ETF approval, and bank collaborations—these three moves could transform XRP from "a suppressed giant" to "a liberated beast."
If one day global financial institutions suddenly want to "accelerate cross-border settlements," XRP is likely to turn the page again.
LTC: The "Silver Brother" in the Bitcoin Family Who Doesn't Cause Trouble
- Background
Bitcoin too expensive and slow? Then use the lightweight version—LTC (Litecoin).
Created by former Google engineer Charlie Lee in 2011, as a lighter version of Bitcoin.
LTC is a native fork of BTC, designed to make payments faster and transactions cheaper, and after its release, it was regarded as the silver to Bitcoin's gold, being listed on all major exchanges early on. In every bull market, LTC would suddenly make its presence felt with a "I'm still here" moment.
The biggest criticism is the founder selling at the peak: Yes, founder Charlie Lee sold all his LTC at the peak of the 2017 bull market. The reason was: "to avoid conflicts of interest."
Investors: ???
Market: ????
Coin price: ??????
Since then, LTC has entered a long period of "low-profile operation." The latest news is that in 2025, Canary Capital announced the launch of the Canary Litecoin ETF (Nasdaq: LTCC), the first spot Litecoin ETF approved for trading by the SEC. Additionally, LitVM launched the first zero-knowledge Layer-2 network, built using Polygon CDK, supporting EVM-compatible smart contracts and cross-chain interoperability with Bitcoin, Cardano, and Dogecoin.
- Technology Features
Consensus mechanism is Scrypt PoW
1/4 of Bitcoin's block time (2.5 minutes)
Focuses on stability, speed, and small payments
- Future Surge Points
Continued emphasis on payment and privacy narratives
As a "long-standing stablecoin type" driven by funds when the BTC ecosystem rebounds
Market sentiment driving
LTC belongs to the type of "old soldiers never die, they just wait for the wind to come." It won't surge 10 times like new public chains, but it also won't go to zero like a worthless coin.
Chapter 2: The Noble Lineage of Smart Contracts—"Also Wanting to Challenge Senior Ethereum…"
ADA: The Blockchain Prodigy from Academia
- Background
Cardano (ADA) was founded by one of the co-founders of Ethereum, Charles Hoskinson, in 2015 and officially launched in 2017.
The ambition is very clear:
- Not to rush to market, but to create "the most rigorous and scientific" blockchain
- Every upgrade must go through: paper → review → peer review → formal verification
- This has given ADA the early reputation of being "the most rigorous blockchain system."
With the founder being an early team member of Ethereum, ADA's starting point carries the label of "noble lineage," attracting a large number of academics and institutional investors. The latest news is that in its quarterly report, it announced a partnership with Brazil's PUC-Rio to establish Ada Labs, focusing on blockchain economics, DeFi, and renewable energy solutions.
The biggest criticism:
The market has limited patience for "writing papers." The ecosystem's dApps have been weak for a long time, leading investors to jokingly refer to ADA as: "the strongest thing is the roadmap, not the ecosystem."
- Technology and Features
Uses the Ouroboros PoS consensus mechanism (the first peer-reviewed PoS algorithm)
Layered architecture: Settlement Layer (CSL) + Computation Layer (CCL), separating functions to enhance flexibility
Plutus smart contract language: Based on Haskell, supports formal verification
Focuses on security + scalability + sustainability
- Future Surge Points
Real implementation of on-chain governance
Major applications (finance/gaming/social) going live
Adoption of its underlying technology by African countries (projects already in progress)
ADA's explosive logic resembles a "slow-burning revival." The good news is that the ecosystem has indeed been slowly growing over the past two years.
However, challenging Ethereum's position remains as difficult as "becoming an academician right after graduating with a PhD."
DOT: The Elegant Architect of Cross-Chain Concepts
- Background
Polkadot (DOT) was founded by former Ethereum CTO and Parity Technologies founder Gavin Wood in 2016, with the mainnet officially launched on May 26, 2020. It features parachains, shared security, and slot auctions… Its designed cross-chain model is almost the most complete in the industry, directly competing with Cosmos, becoming one of the "cross-chain dual heroes." In the latest episode of PolkaWorld's English livestream, the official announced that Polkadot has been included in the "strategic enterprise" project by the Hong Kong government (managed by the OASES program under the Hong Kong Financial Secretary), becoming one of the few blockchain projects to receive such official recognition. The livestream also mentioned institutional investments entering the ecosystem, such as HIC (Harbor Industrial Capital) investing in Polkadot ecosystem projects.
Why hasn’t it achieved legendary status?
The architecture is beautiful but complex. High development difficulty, large costs for building new chains, and slower-than-expected ecosystem expansion.
- Technology and Features
Relay chain + Parachain architecture: The relay chain is responsible for security, while parachains handle execution
Shared security mechanism: All parachains share the security of the relay chain, eliminating the need for separate validator maintenance
XCM cross-chain messaging protocol: Supports seamless communication between chains
Slot auction mechanism: Projects bid for parachain positions by locking DOT
- Future Surge Points
Real explosion in cross-chain demand
More parachains launching
Emergence of star applications in the ecosystem
DOT belongs to the "infrastructure-level value" category, it will not disappear, and once the cross-chain narrative returns, it still has the potential to take off.
NEAR: High-Performance Sharded Chain, King of Developer Experience
- Background
NEAR Protocol was founded by former Google engineers Illia Polosukhin and Alexander Skidanov in 2018, with the mainnet launched in April 2020. The intention is very clear: **to create "the high-performance public chain that developers love to use," and various builders generally describe it as *"comfortable,"* which is a rare quality in the public chain space.
Why hasn’t it dominated the market? Because every chain now claims to be fast, cheap, and user-friendly. The competition is too fierce, and NEAR's advantages have been diminished. It is still strong, just not as flashy. The latest news is that OceanPal has partnered with the NEAR Foundation to announce a $120 million PIPE investment to launch SovereignAI, which will build blockchain-native confidential AI cloud infrastructure using NEAR, combined with NVIDIA technology to support proxy businesses.
- Technology and Features
Nightshade Sharding Technology: Dynamic sharding, supports infinite scalability
Rainbow Bridge: Seamless cross-chain with Ethereum
Human-readable account names: No need to remember a long string of addresses, directly use account names like alice.near
Developer-friendly: Supports Rust, AssemblyScript, with a complete toolchain
- Future Surge Points
Large social/AI applications going live
Strong ecosystem user growth
Deep integration with popular narratives (AI/Web3 gaming)
NEAR belongs to the "strong but low-key player" category; once the AI + Web3 narrative truly explodes, it will be in the first tier.
ICP: The Most Ambitious Public Chain Dreaming of "Rebuilding the Internet on the Chain"
- Background
Internet Computer (ICP) was founded by the Swiss DFINITY Foundation, with founder Dominic Williams being an expert in distributed systems. The project started in 2016, and the mainnet officially launched in May 2021.
ICP's dream is incredibly ambitious: It aims not just to be a chain, but a blockchain version of the entire internet.
It envisions a chain-based version of YouTube, chain-based TikTok, and chain-based cloud services. The vision is enormous, even somewhat sci-fi—directly competing with AWS and Google Cloud, aiming to move the entire Web 2.0 onto the chain.
The biggest criticism: The token unlock structure at launch was unfriendly, causing the price to plummet from its peak, falling from hundreds of dollars to single digits, a phenomenon referred to as "reverse light speed."
- Technology and Features
Chain Key Technology: Allows smart contracts to interact directly with external systems without the need for oracles
Container (Canister) Architecture: Similar to smart contracts but more powerful
Network Nervous System (NNS): Fully on-chain governance
Infinite Scalability: Supports large-scale dApps running directly on the chain
- Future Surge Points
Emergence of large-scale on-chain applications
Trend of internet services migrating to the chain
New cross-chain capabilities (progress already made)
If one day it really launches a "chain-based Instagram," it could easily return to the top ten. ICP belongs to the type of "dreams are big, but the technology is indeed impressive."
ATOM: The Father of Cross-Chain Ecosystems, but the Most "Laid-back" in Its Own Right
- Background
Cosmos (ATOM) was founded by Jae Kwon and Ethan Buchman in 2016, with the mainnet launching in 2019.
Why it was so popular back then: Because the Cosmos architecture (IBC + SDK) allowed countless projects to easily create their own public chains.
Those chains that are strong today, such as Osmosis, dYdX (new version), Celestia ecosystem, all have the shadow of Cosmos. It provides not just a public chain, but a "complete toolbox for building chains."
The biggest issue: ATOM's own value capture is weak.
The entire Cosmos ecosystem is strong, but ATOM often fails to rise as much as other sub-chains. Some jokingly refer to it as: "the father of the ecosystem, but the poorest."
As of now in 2025, the situation is that staking has surged, with stable annual interest rates: According to institutional analysis reports, despite market fluctuations, ATOM staking has increased by 15.7%, reaching a historical high of 274.04 million ATOM. The staking annual interest rate for Cosmos remains stable at 16.34%, driven by proposal #996, which redirected 98% of inflation to stakers.
- Technology and Features
IBC Protocol: Cross-chain communication standard, which has become an industry benchmark
Cosmos SDK: Allows developers to quickly build their own blockchains
Tendermint Consensus: High-performance BFT consensus mechanism
Application Chain Model: Each application can have its own chain
- Future Surge Points
Upgrade of the ATOM economic model (already in progress for 2025)
Wider adoption of IBC
Ecosystem chains exploding
ATOM belongs to the type of "value may be late but will not be absent"—the stronger the ecosystem, the more ATOM will eventually catch up.
Chapter 3: The Three Giants of Decentralized Finance—"The Best Money-Makers on the Chain"
AAVE: The On-Chain Bank, Flash Loan Magician
- Background
Aave was founded by Finnish entrepreneur Stani Kulechov in 2017 (originally named ETHLend), and officially rebranded to Aave in 2020 with the launch of version V1. It was the first project to bring "flash loans" into the public eye—an on-chain magic that allows for zero-collateral borrowing, with automatic repayment after the operation.
Does it sound like a "money-making tool"? Yes, but it is actually:
- An arbitrage tool
- A liquidation tool
- The core infrastructure of DeFi Lego
At the same time, it is the leading player in DeFi lending, with the largest asset scale and the highest recognized security. During the DeFi summer (2020-2021), Aave became synonymous with "on-chain bank."
- Technology and Features
Flash Loans: Uncollateralized borrowing that must be completed within a single transaction
Multi-chain Deployment: ETH, Polygon, Avalanche, Base, Arbitrum, etc.
GHO Stablecoin: Aave's native over-collateralized stablecoin
Isolated Market Model: Introduced in V3 to reduce risk contagion
- Future Surge Points
Recovery of the DeFi market
Expansion of the multi-chain lending market
New asset types going live (RWA real-world assets)
Aave is one of the most stable "cash flow protocols" in the entire crypto market— as long as DeFi doesn't die, Aave will be a money printer.
UNI: The Grandmaster of AMM, the Eternal King of DEX
- Background
Uniswap was founded by Hayden Adams in 2018, with version V1 launching on the Ethereum mainnet in November 2018. It defined the AMM (Automated Market Maker) model, allowing anyone to instantly create trading pairs on-chain.
Before Uniswap, on-chain trading required order books and centralized matching.
The emergence of Uniswap directly rewrote the rules:
- No permission needed
- Anyone can provide liquidity
- Any token can go live
The emergence of Uniswap was the starting point for the entire DeFi movement; without Uniswap, there would be no DeFi summer. On January 31, 2025, Uniswap officially announced the launch of Uniswap v4. This is a major upgrade, referred to as "the new era of DeFi." V4 introduces stronger customizability and lower costs. The new architecture introduces "hooks" contracts, allowing developers to customize pools, fees, LP behaviors, etc., greatly enhancing the protocol's flexibility.
- Technology and Features
AMM Model: The constant product formula x * y = k, which opened a new era for DEX
No Permission Needed: Anyone can create trading pairs
V3 Concentrated Liquidity: Allows LPs to provide liquidity within specific price ranges, improving capital efficiency
V4 Hooks: Launched in 2025, allowing developers to customize AMM logic
The "hard flaw" of the UNI token: UNI is primarily a governance token, with no protocol dividends, so UNI's price fluctuations are unrelated to protocol revenue. This often makes it seem "lackluster."
- Future Surge Points
Reform of the protocol revenue model
Opening of the regulatory environment
DEX trading volume hitting historical highs
If one day UNI starts buybacks/dividends, it will explode immensely.
MKR: The Guardian of the Stablecoin DAI
- Background
MakerDAO (now announced to be renamed Sky Protocol) was founded by Rune Christensen in 2014, officially launching the DAI stablecoin and MKR governance token in December 2017.
DAI is the largest decentralized stablecoin on-chain, and MKR is the token responsible for governance + risk control. MakerDAO was at its peak during the DeFi summer of 2020-2021, serving as the cornerstone of the entire DeFi ecosystem—almost all DeFi protocols require DAI as their stablecoin layer.
The biggest highlight: It is a truly decentralized stablecoin, unlike USDT/USDC, which are backed by centralized institutions.
- Technology and Features
Over-collateralized Stablecoin: Users collateralize assets like ETH to generate DAI
MKR Governance: Holders vote to determine key parameters such as collateral rates and stability fees
RWA (Real World Assets): MakerDAO is the first protocol to bring real assets like government bonds onto the chain.
Rebranding to Sky: Renamed to Sky in 2024, with MKR converting to SKY.
Current Issues:
MakerDAO's risk structure is complex, even needing to manage real assets like government bonds. The rising complexity has led to greater volatility in MKR.
- Future Surge Points
RWA (Real Assets) igniting on-chain finance
Increased demand for stablecoins
Reform of MakerDAO's organizational structure
As long as the demand for stablecoins remains, MKR will be a super core asset. It is the "central bank" of DeFi, with an unshakeable position.
Chapter 4: The Meme Triad—“Logic? It Doesn’t Exist.”
DOGE: The King of Dog Coins, Musk's Favorite Toy
- Background
Dogecoin was created by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer in December 2013, initially to satirize the speculative frenzy around cryptocurrencies.
Its story is simple and straightforward:
- There’s a dog 🐕
- There’s a community 💪
- There’s Elon Musk 🚶
- That’s enough
DOGE relies entirely on internet culture + community power + Musk's superpower. From a joke to a top ten cryptocurrency by market cap, DOGE's existence is the greatest satire on "value investing"—but it does have value because consensus is value. In November 2024, Donald Trump announced the creation of a new government agency called the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), led by Elon Musk. This political-brand combination is not just a gimmick; it reinforces DOGE's status as a "meme coin" and a symbol of power.
- Technology and Features
Based on Litecoin code, using the Scrypt algorithm
Unlimited supply: 5 billion new coins added each year (inflation design)
Fast transaction speed, low fees
Focus on micro-payments and tipping culture
- Future Surge Points
A tweet from Musk, or even just a photo of a dog… DOGE will rise.
The logic of meme coins remains effective: internet culture + consensus = value
Technological upgrades provide long-term potential: If ZKP, Libdogecoin, etc., are implemented, DOGE may combine community enthusiasm + on-chain capabilities in the future, becoming not just a joke but also infrastructure.
SHIB: From Meme to "Hardworking Player"
- Background
Shiba Inu (SHIB) was created by an anonymous founder Ryoshi in August 2020, claiming to be the "Dogecoin Killer." It is "the brother of DOGE," but with a more active community. More importantly—unlike traditional meme coins that just joke around, it attempts to create: ShibaSwap (DEX), Metaverse (Shib The Metaverse), NFTs, games.
- Technology and Features
Based on Ethereum ERC-20
Shibarium: Its own Layer-2 solution
Three-token ecosystem: SHIB (main token), LEASH (liquidity), BONE (governance)
Burn mechanism: Continuously reduces supply to combat inflation
- Future Surge Points
Ecosystem truly taking off (Shibarium, Metaverse)
Another wave of meme enthusiasm
SHIB is a hybrid player that wants both meme traffic and real products—if the Shibarium ecosystem really takes off, it will be more than just a meme.
PEPE / FLOKI: Emotion + Meme = Market Cap
- Background
PEPE: Launched in April 2023, based on the classic internet frog meme Pepe the Frog. This coin is essentially a pure MEME revolutionary product, similar to Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. The project does not claim to have a long-term business roadmap or technical support, instead emphasizing "no taxes, no pre-sales, no team token distribution." After launching on Binance, it officially became one of the "mainstream MEME coin triad" (DOGE, SHIB, PEPE).
FLOKI: In June 2021, Elon Musk tweeted that "I will name my Shiba Inu Floki," leading to the rapid rise of the Floki Inu token; like DOGE and SHIB, it initially relied on the "Musk effect" and meme dissemination; however, FLOKI is one of the few projects in the meme space that actively develops a real application ecosystem.
The intentions behind these two coins are simple:
- Community
- Emotion
- Topic relevance
- High-frequency trading
PEPE is a typical representation of culture + emotion; FLOKI has begun to combine community culture + practical applications + compliant investment value.
- Technology and Features
Pure meme, no practicality
Relies on social media for dissemination
High volatility, high speculation
FLOKI:
(1) Valhalla Metaverse Game
- An on-chain Play-to-Earn game, with FLOKI as the in-game currency.
(2) FlokiFi DeFi Ecosystem
- FlokiFi Locker: A crypto asset locking protocol, claimed by the team to be used by multiple chain projects (locking TVL in the millions of dollars).
- Future plans for FlokiFi Bank, lending, and other services.
(3) Educational Platform "Floki University"
- A learning platform for Web3 users, offering courses from beginner to advanced levels.
- Future Surge Points
Just two words:
Emotion. Meme resurgence.
If you can accept that "value comes from culture and emotion," then the Pepe coin is your playground.
If you insist that "meme investments should also consider fundamentals," then FLOKI is worth paying attention to, as it begins to develop practical value 😂
Chapter 5: Storage Heavyweights—“We May Not Be the Hottest, But We Are the Most Essential”
FIL: The Millennium Undertaking of Decentralized Storage
- Background
Filecoin was proposed by Juan Benet, founder of Protocol Labs, in 2014, raising $257 million through an ICO in 2017 (the largest ICO in history at the time), and officially launched its mainnet in October 2020. That year, Filecoin was the first project to truly turn "decentralized storage" into an industry.
This project is not just about storytelling; it actually allows people to store files:
- Competing with centralized storage like AWS S3 and Google Cloud
- Turning idle hard drives around the world into a distributed cloud storage network
- From technology to business model, it embodies long-termism
Filecoin's vision is to rebuild the storage layer of the internet—to store data permanently, securely, and in a decentralized manner on the chain.
- Key Highlights:
It is the incentive layer for IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), which is the underlying protocol for Web3 storage, and Filecoin provides economic incentives for this protocol.
Why is there significant price volatility? Because its economic model and storage mining mechanism are complex, with miners selling large amounts of coins putting pressure on the price—miners need to stake FIL to mine, but after mining, they need to sell coins to realize value, creating selling pressure.
- Technology and Features
Proof of Spacetime: Proves that data has indeed been stored for a period of time
Proof of Replication: Proves that data has been genuinely replicated to physical storage
FVM (Filecoin Virtual Machine): Supports smart contracts, making Filecoin more than just storage
Storage + Retrieval Market: A dual market mechanism that incentivizes miners to provide services.
- Future Surge Points
Widespread adoption of decentralized storage in Web3
Growing demand for AI data (training data, model storage)
Global trend towards decentralization in the storage market
FIL is an infrastructure type; as long as crypto doesn't disappear, it will always have a place. Just like building roads—it's not sexy, but someone has to do it.
Investor: When will FIL rise?
FIL: Oh, you'll have to wait for the day Web3 truly explodes.
Market: So when will that be…
FIL: I said, a millennium undertaking.
Chapter 6: Invisible Champions of On-Chain Infrastructure
15. LINK: The God of Oracles
- Background
Chainlink was founded by Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis in 2017, raising $32 million through an ICO in September 2017, and launching its mainnet the same year. Currently, at SmartCon 2025 (Chainlink's own developer industry conference), Chainlink officially launched the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE). This is an orchestration layer for institutions to build end-to-end smart contracts, capable of connecting external data, cross-chain, and meeting compliance and privacy needs.
The Importance of Chainlink: Without oracles, there is no DeFi. Without LINK, there are no oracles. Its position in the entire on-chain ecosystem is equivalent to: "the blockchain's weather station + data highway."
- Why is it so important?
Because blockchain is a closed system, it cannot directly access external data (such as ETH prices, weather, sports event results).
Oracles serve as the bridge between on-chain and off-chain:
DeFi protocols need price data → LINK provides it
Insurance protocols need flight delay data → LINK provides it
Games need random numbers → LINK provides it
- Technology and Features
Decentralized Oracle Network: Multiple nodes provide data to prevent single-point tampering
CCIP (Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol): Cross-chain communication protocol
Chainlink Staking: Staking mechanism to enhance network security
Price Feeds: Provides real-time price data for DeFi
VRF (Verifiable Random Function): Verifiable random numbers used for games, NFTs, etc.
- Why hasn’t it surged in a long time?
Because everyone is focused on "new narratives," but the entire industry uses LINK every day—just like you use water and electricity daily, but you don’t think about the utility company's stock every day.
- Future Surge Points
RWA asset integration (already in the process of exploding)
Off-chain data connections exploding
Widespread institutional adoption of on-chain finance
LINK belongs to the type of "quietly working, surging at critical moments"—it’s not a social media star, but it is the "water, electricity, and gas" of the entire crypto world.
Conclusion: The Hero's Ambush
So, what will the market direction be in the next episode?
Heroes do not ask about short-term gains and losses; they set the stage and lurk in the shadows, waiting for that moment when the winds rise and the clouds gather.
“All human wisdom is summed up in two words; wait and hope.” — Alexandre Dumas
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
