Best Crypto to Buy Now: XRP, AI Coins, or Bitcoin Layer 2s?
Markets are moving, and the smartest capital is already allocating. As institutional capital flows in and alts coil up ready for another explosion, the only question investors need to answer is: which narrative has the greatest upside from hereXRP, AI, or Bitcoin Layer 2s?
XRP has opened the regulatory door with the SEC greenlighting three XRP futures ETFs, but is this upside already priced in?
AI coins got decimated in the first quarter of this year, but will the decentralized training layer revitalize the sector? Nouse Research recently secured $50 million from Paradigm, indicating that venture capitalists are still captivated by AI. However, many AI tokens are empty vessels riding a narrative wave, and investors need to learn to spot projects like PepeX that are building real infrastructure and leveraging AI effectively.
Massive BTC ETF inflows suggest that Bitcoin Layer 2s are vastly undervalued, and projects like Bitcoin Pepe that seek to unlock all this dormant capital could quickly become the fastest growers this year.
XRP vs. AI coins vs. Bitcoin Layer 2s A narrative showdown
XRP has already broken the regulatory dam, and the futures ETFs approval is a historic moment, especially given the turbulent time Ripple had in the courts with the SEC under the last administration. Institutions are warming up to altcoins, but how much of this momentum is already priced in? When institutions arrive, investors are no longer early, and XRP, while flying the flag and carving a path for other alts to follow, is fast becoming a safe, liquid, and lower-volatility asset moving forward. Anyone aiming for asymmetric returns will need to look elsewhere. AI coins completely captured the zeitgeist and traded like alt layer 1s did last cycle, peaking in December last year. Many tokens are down 90%, but there are gems that are still shipping with Eliza Labs launching a pump.fun alternative called auto.fun and projects like PepeX democratizing access to early-stage investment, solving clear market problems, and leveraging AI. Bitcoin Layer 2s like Bitcoin Pepe are still massively misunderstood and underhyped, making them greatly undervalued. Institutional capital flow has been facilitated by the ETFs, and a single project has the potential to absorb all this capital. Time to dive into the best crypto ICOs to invest in as the narrative wars heat up.
Bitcoin Pepe: What if Bitcoin becomes the home of memes?
Bitcoin has proven that it is the winning asset this cycle. Battling upwards while alts were crucified and even outperforming US equities as the decoupling narrative catches on. But facts are facts, and Solana continues to dominate in terms of fee generation and on-chain activitybut BTC has an ace in the hole, nearly $2 trillion in idle capital. Until now, that capital has been locked up, nonspeculative, and passive. But Bitcoin Pepe changes everything. This Bitcoin Layer 2 introduces the PEP-20 token standard, enabling anyone to mint native meme coins directly on Bitcoinnot bridged, not wrapped, but living on-chain. It offers a Solana-style user experience with the settlement security of Bitcoin. It is building the first memecoin-native trading layer for BTC.
While XRP gives institutions access to crypto assets, Bitcoin Pepe gives that capital a cultural endpoint. BTC already has enormous ETF capital flows. The question is: where does that capital go? Bitcoin Pepe gives it the answera high-octane, meme-fueled trading layer that brings DeFi to BTC for the first time. Bitcoin Pepe shoots to the top of the list when discussing the best crypto ICOs to invest in, powering access to liquidity and culture. Already raising $7.4m in its presale, this ICO is about to blow the magic of speculation into BTC.
PepeX: The AI project actually building
Most AI coins are vapor. Half-integrated models, copy-paste front ends, or pure speculative tokens riding the AI wave, offering nothing at all. PepeX is different. It is AI-native at the infrastructure level, and its product provides the next-gen experience of capital formation.
PepeX turns global ideas into investible tokens in real time. Anyone, anywhere, can mint a tokenized project with a single click and let the AKIRA AI Growth Engine handle marketing, scaling, and tokenomics. This is AI meeting the open market and a permissionless, AI-automated launchpad for the next generation of builders.
The platform features anti-sniping bots, enforces fair distribution, caps founder allocations at 5%, and transparent bubble maps give users real-time insight into token ownership. PepeX is scaling Internet Capital Markets and putting retail back in the drivers seat. An impressive raise of $1.7m signals that investors are listing, and the current price of PEPX, $0.0255, seems very undervalued considering it is the native token of the platform, which acts as the economic engine.
If XRP represents the institutional acceptance of crypto, PepeX represents the oppositea retail-first, borderless marketplace for ideas where AI does the heavy lifting.
CartelFi: Memecoins that pay rent
CartelFi wants meme coins to earn yield and solves one of cryptos longest-standing inefficiencies. Instead of holding meme coins waiting for a 100X move, CartelFi lets holders stake their assets and earn up to 10,000% APYall while maintaining full upside exposure.
Through meme-specific specialized liquidity pools, CartelFi enables single-sided staking. And CartelFi uses up to 100% of protocol fees to buy back the CARTFI token, with 50% of those purchases permanently burned. The more activity on the platform, the more deflationary pressure is applied to the token supply.
This model upgrades memecoins from speculative lottery tickets to productive capital assets. And with billions of dollars currently locked in idle meme tokens across chains, the flywheel opportunity for CartelFi is ludicrously big. When considering the best crypto ICOs to invest in, CartelFi is a natural choice for anyone bullish on the future of meme coins and investors desire for yield. Raising $1.3m in its presale and set to monetize cryptos most popular sector and volume-heavy sector, CARTFI looks like a total lay-up at its current price of $0.0408.
Finding the fastest horse
Markets do not reward the obvious, and the XRP trade is pretty much now consensus. AI is far more interesting, and PepeX does stand out, building an AI-native financial launchpad turning any crypto wallet into a VC. But increasingly, it looks like the next phase of capital rotation will favor infrastructure plays, and Bitcoin Layer 2s remain an untapped gold reserve. Bitcoin Pepe is about to unlock nearly $2 trillion in idle BTC for meme culture and bring a next-gen trading experience to cryptos oldest network. When comparing XRP to AI and Bitcoin L2s, it is all about picking the fastest horse; the best crypto ICOs to invest in are not where capital is today, but where it flows next. And Bitcoin Pepe looks ready to step into the limelight.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article and is for informational purposes only. It does not reflect the views of Crypto Daily, nor is it intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, or financial advice.
Read more: https://cryptodaily.co.uk/2025/05/best-crypto-to-buy-now-xrp-ai-coins-or-bitcoin-layer-2s
Text source: Crypto Daily™
