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Most people think you need thousands of dollars to make serious money in crypto, but some of the biggest fortunes started with pocket change invested in penny cryptocurrencies.
These low-priced, small-cap tokens come with risks, but they can also turn your Instagram caption to “retired at 28”.
After digging into the most talked-about presales and upcoming projects, we think Bitcoin Hyper, Maxi Doge, and PEPENODE are the three best penny cryptos to buy right now. Bitcoin Hyper blends meme appeal with real utility, Maxi Doge is a Dogecoin spinoff offering massive staking rewards, while PEPENODE is an innovative project that provides the first digital crypto mining meme coin.
In this guide, we’ll break down how to navigate the wild world of penny cryptos, why these three projects are worth watching in 2025, and other cheap tokens that could be worth your money.
⚡ Highlighted
Top Gainers (24h)
Osmosis
OSMO
Neiro on ETH
NEIRO
WhiteBIT Coin
WBT
Hamster Kombat
HMSTR
Movement
MOVE
Top Losers (24h)
Helium
HNT
I love puppies
PUPPIES
DAO Maker
DAO
Unicorn Fart Dust
UFD
Ethena
ENA
| # | Coin | Price | 24h % | Market Cap | Volume | 24h Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
current price: $0.01 | raised: $32,812,850 | Learn more | ||
| 2 |
TRON
TRX
|
$0.32 | -1.39% | $30,482,171,601 | $518,776,741 |
$0.32
―
$0.33
|
| 3 |
|
current price: $0.0(3)28 | raised: $4,796,535 | Learn more | ||
| 4 |
Stellar
XLM
|
$0.19 | -3.94% | $6,508,699,105 | $326,756,634 |
$0.19
―
$0.21
|
| 5 |
PepeNode 🎯presale stage
PEPENODE
⭐New
|
current price: $0.0012 | raised: $2,487,753 | Learn more | ||
| 6 |
Shiba Inu
SHIB
|
$0.0(5)46 | -3.02% | $2,722,834,108 | $56,984,996 |
$0.0(5)46
―
$0.0(5)47
|
| 7 |
Pepe
PEPE
|
$0.0(5)27 | -3.96% | $1,144,622,534 | $174,013,551 |
$0.0(5)27
―
$0.0(5)28
|
| 8 |
Kaspa
KAS
|
$0.03 | -6.61% | $840,836,034 | $17,630,609 |
$0.03
―
$0.03
|
| 9 |
Algorand
ALGO
|
$0.09 | -5.32% | $792,122,280 | $37,494,030 |
$0.09
―
$0.09
|
| 10 |
Ethena
ENA
|
$0.08 | -11.82% | $736,396,560 | $235,574,841 |
$0.08
―
$0.09
|
| 11 |
VeChain
VET
|
$0.0048 | -4.50% | $410,357,869 | $10,857,476 |
$0.0048
―
$0.0050
|
| 12 |
Bonk
BONK
|
$0.0(5)42 | -4.49% | $375,812,527 | $24,401,172 |
$0.0(5)42
―
$0.0(5)44
|
| 13 |
Immutable
IMX
|
$0.14 | -2.34% | $116,128,767 | $10,031,608 |
$0.13
―
$0.14
|
| 14 |
Banana For Scale
BANANAS31
|
$0.01 | -0.70% | $106,475,137 | $18,080,820 |
$0.01
―
$0.01
|
| 15 |
Entangle
NTGL
|
$0.0(4)96 | - | $59,579,408 | - | - |
| 16 |
Movement
MOVE
|
$0.01 | 6.45% | $59,258,410 | $218,707,236 |
$0.01
―
$0.02
|
| 17 |
VVS Finance
VVS
|
$0.0(5)10 | -3.92% | $45,758,016 | $94,130 |
$0.0(5)10
―
$0.0(5)11
|
| 18 |
CorgiAI
CORGIAI
|
$0.0(4)34 | 0.92% | $12,347,511 | $68,353 |
$0.0(4)31
―
$0.0(4)35
|
| 19 |
Cookie DAO
COOKIE
|
$0.0095 | -4.34% | $7,308,346 | $2,225,878 |
$0.0094
―
$0.0099
|
| 20 |
MESSIER
M87
|
$0.0(5)51 | -3.56% | $4,523,607 | $204,543 |
$0.0(5)51
―
$0.0(5)53
|
| 21 |
Orbiter Finance
OBT
|
$0.0(3)49 | -8.92% | $2,774,309 | $224,175 |
$0.0(3)47
―
$0.0(3)54
|
| 22 |
Dione
DIONE
|
$0.0(4)40 | -0.02% | $480,656 | - |
$0.0(4)39
―
$0.0(4)42
|
| 23 |
Jupiter Project
JUP
|
$0.0(3)21 | -2.60% | $211,457 | $21,361 |
$0.0(3)18
―
$0.0(3)22
|
| 24 |
STRIKE
STRIKE
|
$0.0(4)29 | -5.75% | $125,735 | - |
$0.0(4)29
―
$0.0(4)31
|
| 25 |
Carlo Acutis
SAINT
|
$0.0(4)20 | -6.01% | $20,136 | - |
$0.0(4)20
―
$0.0(4)21
|
| 26 |
Laïka
LAIKA
|
$0.03 | 1.32% | - | $7,163 |
$0.03
―
$0.03
|
Bitcoin Hyper
HYPER 🎯presale stage
TRON
TRX
Maxi Doge
MAXI 🎯presale stage
Stellar
XLM
PepeNode
PEPENODE ⭐New 🎯presale stage
Shiba Inu
SHIB
Pepe
PEPE
Kaspa
KAS
Algorand
ALGO
Ethena
ENA
VeChain
VET
Bonk
BONK
Immutable
IMX
Banana For Scale
BANANAS31
Entangle
NTGL
Movement
MOVE
VVS Finance
VVS
CorgiAI
CORGIAI
Cookie DAO
COOKIE
MESSIER
M87
Orbiter Finance
OBT
Dione
DIONE
Jupiter Project
JUP
STRIKE
STRIKE
Carlo Acutis
SAINT
Laïka
LAIKA
What Is the Best Penny Crypto to Buy Now?
Let’s take a look at 10 penny cryptos that have strong growth potential and could be among the best penny tokens to buy today.
1. Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) – Layer 2 Meme Coin With Massive Potential & Huge Staking APY
Bitcoin Hyper is building the first-ever Layer 2 chain on the Bitcoin ecosystem. Using Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) technology, the crypto project unlocks Bitcoin’s full potential by enabling faster and cheaper transactions.
$HYPER, the native crypto, drives the entire Bitcoin Hyper platform as users fund transactions using the utility token. Additionally, individuals with $HYPER holdings get to vote on the project’s future through the platform’s decentralized governance.
The Bitcoin Layer 2 project implements some of the top crypto rollup technologies, including Optimistic Rollups, the Lightning Network, and ZK-Rollups. As a result, users can enjoy faster cryptocurrency transfers while retaining Bitcoin’s security.
So far, the Bitcoin Hyper presale has raised over $14.4 million through sales of the $HYPER utility token. The Ethereum-based cryptocurrency is currently priced at $0.012875, and presale buyers can stake their holdings and earn over 75% APY rewards while the presale is live.
Find out more about Bitcoin Hyper
2. Maxi Doge ($MAXI) – Trending Dog-Themed Meme Coin & Lifestyle Asset
Next on our list of top penny cryptos to buy is Maxi Doge, which is currently priced at $0.000256 per token in its ongoing presale. This new Doge-inspired meme token embodies a “Perma 100x leverage” mindset, with nonstop bodybuilding sessions fueled by bull market energy.
Yet again, dog-themed meme coins are surging, with $DOGE up by over 100% in the past year. Maxi Doge aims to be bigger and better than Dogecoin by leveraging Doge’s viral appeal and fostering a new meme-fueled movement.
While Maxi Doge offers minimal utility, 25% of the project’s total token supply is allocated for community-building campaigns and partnerships. The team has hinted at creating future collaborations with trading platforms, where token holders get access to 100x or even 1000x leverage trading pairs on $MAXI.
The Maxi Doge presale has garnered nearly $2 million in token investments since its presale started in July. Investors can immediately lock up their $MAXI holdings upon purchase and earn presale staking rewards at up to 164% APY. Over 4.5 billion $MAXI tokens have been staked so far.
Find out more about Maxi Doge
3. PEPENODE ($PEPENODE) – World’s First Mine-to-Earn Meme Token
If you’re tired of passively waiting for your crypto investments to grow and want a more active participation in your token holdings, consider PEPENODE ($PEPENODE). This innovative project is the first Mine-to-Earn meme coin, encouraging token holders to engage in virtual crypto mining to earn real token rewards.
PEPENODE is currently in the early stages of its token presale, which has already hit over $848,000 through sales of the native utility asset, $PEPENODE. When the mining simulator platform launches, token holders can purchase “Mining Nodes” using $PEPENODE tokens. These nodes can be configured in users’ digital server rooms to generate mining power.
Users can compete in the PEPENODE ecosystem’s leaderboards, and the top miners receive meme coin airdrops in $PEPE, $FARTCOIN, and other cryptocurrencies. The best part is that the crypto mining platform does not require any complex hardware to participate, opening PEPENODE to the broader crypto community.
At press time, $PEPENODE is priced at just $0.0010491. Presale buyers can stake their tokens to earn annual rewards at up to 1,600% APY. Further supporting the meme coin’s price is PEPENODE’s deflationary tokenomics, where 70% of $PEPENODE tokens spent on miner nodes are permanently burned.
Find out more about PEPENODE
4. SUBBD ($SUBBD) – Next-Gen Platform For Influencers
Priced at $0.056375 at the time of writing, SUBBD is the next high-performing penny crypto on our list. It introduces a next-generation creator subscription platform that aims to transform the $85 billion influencer industry.
One of SUBBD’s key features is its AI tools, which benefit both creators and followers. Creators can implement AI assistants to manage schedules and automate subscriber interactions, enabling them to scale their engagements more effectively.
On the other hand, followers can use SUBBD’s AI creation tool to generate unique content based on their favorite influencers. Creators can approve the AI-generated content, allowing followers to share their creations with the community.
The SUBBD presale has garnered over $1.1 million in crypto capital as more users secure the $SUBBD native token. Buyers can stake the token to receive 20% fixed annual rewards and staked tokens can be claimed once $SUBBD official launches.
Find out more about SUBBD
5. Flare ($FLR) – L1 Project With Its Own Blockchain Oracle
Flare ($FLR) is a unique Layer-1 blockchain designed to support data-heavy decentralized operations. It’s also one of the most-used blockchains for interoperability, enabling connections between Ethereum, Ripple, and others.
Flare has its own blockchain oracle, which enables it to pull real-time data from across the internet and Web3, including other blockchains. This makes the system something of a cross between Ethereum and Chainlink, two of the biggest and most foundational networks in the crypto ecosystem.
The $FLR token is used to secure the Flare blockchain through staking, pay for network fees, and give token holders a say in governance. It has a strong established community of more than 30,000 token holders, plus a relatively high market cap over $745 million. Flare is currently working on Flare 2.0, a major upgrade to the network, which could make it even more versatile and help $FLR break out.
Find out more about Flare
6. Gala ($GALA) – Platform Built as a Decentralized Marketplace For Content Creators
GALA Price Chart
(GALA)
GALA (GALA)
Gala ($GALA) is an all-in-one play-to-earn crypto platform and decentralized marketplace for content creators of all stripes. It supports musicians, videographers, graphic designers, and more within its Web3 marketplace, allowing anyone to monetize their creative work on-chain.
The project has already established a niche for itself as one of the top play-to-earn gaming cryptos. Gala Games has enabled developers to release popular titles like Townstar, Champions Arena, and Echoes of Empire. The $GALA token powers all of this development—it’s required for developers to build with Gala and can be used as an incentive token to entice players to engage with Gala-built games.
$GALA has a market cap of nearly $600 million and is listed on most major centralized exchanges. The project team is now working on its own Layer-1 blockchain optimized for gaming, GalaChain, which could open a path to new applications for the $GALA token and major price appreciation.
Find out more about Gala
7. VeChain ($VET) – Blockchain Built For Supply Chain Management
VeChain Price Chart
(VET)VeChain (VET)
VeChain ($VET) is a highly unique blockchain designed specifically for supply chain management. It’s intended to make products and raw materials more traceable, more sustainable, and more efficient. It also serves a critical role in preventing fraudulent goods from entering the global marketplace, saving companies billions of dollars annually.
VeChain is used by major companies worldwide. Sensors like RFID trackers and QR codes allow companies to track products and materials throughout their journey, and all data is recorded immutably to the blockchain for full traceability.
The blockchain’s $VET token is required in order to use VeChain resources, such as accessing information or adding transactions to the blockchain. So, as more companies turn to VeChain for supply chain management, demand for $VET is expected to increase. VeChain is already one of the largest penny cryptos with a valuation of $1.7 billion, and it has the potential to get much larger.
Find out more about VeChain
8. Pudgy Penguins ($PENGU) – Crypto Project That Sells Its Merch at Walmart
Pudgy Penguins Price Chart
(PENGU)
Pudgy Penguins (PENGU)
PENGU is the utility token for the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem, launched on Solana in December 2024 with a total supply of 88.8 billion tokens. The token traded at a $3 billion fully diluted valuation at launch, so it’s one of the largest NFT-to-token transitions in crypto history.
Entrepreneur Luca Netz bought the collection for $2.5 million in April 2022 and rebranded it into a cultural phenomenon. The project has grown into physical merchandise sold at major retailers like Walmart and Amazon, plus social media success with over 3 million followers and 32 billion views on Giphy.
The team distributed 25.9% of tokens to Pudgy Penguins NFT holders and communities, with another 22% going to Solana and Ethereum users through airdrops.
The token gives the millions of Pudgy Penguin fans and hundreds of millions of people who see the brand daily a way to join “The Huddle” community. PENGU works as a governance token that lets holders vote on ecosystem decisions and participate in community initiatives.
The team also hints at staking opportunities and marketplace transactions within the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem as future use cases.
Find out more about Pudgy Penguins:
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Why Invest in Penny Cryptos?
Penny cryptos are a speculative class of cryptocurrency tokens with low prices, small market caps, and high volatility. They are usually priced around $.01 or less (sometimes much less) and have market caps of a few hundred million dollars to around $1 billion.
Many investors and traders focus on penny cryptos because they offer the potential for high returns. If a token gains traction, buying activity could easily force its price to jump by 10x or even 100x. That’s a much higher potential return than investors are likely to get from holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other major tokens.
In addition, penny cryptos can be appealing to investors with a small budget. $100 will buy you a lot of penny cryptos, but only a tiny fraction of one Bitcoin. That’s especially important in crypto since many tokens offer governance rights, and holding more tokens means a small-time investor has a bigger say in a project’s future.
Some crypto traders also focus on penny cryptos because they enjoy the volatility of these tokens. It can be exciting to trade around highly volatile tokens that can move 5% or more in a single day. This volatility may turn off some investors, but for others, it can be a major draw.
How We Choose the Best Penny Cryptocurrencies
Wondering how we chose the best penny cryptocurrencies? We review top contenders using several criteria that are important for investing and trading. Let’s take a closer look.
Affordability & Accessibility (25%)
One of the main benefits of investing in penny cryptos is that they’re affordable for small-budget traders and investors. So, we always look at a token’s price and entry requirements to ensure that it’s actually easy to buy with a small amount of money.
For example, some penny tokens have minimum token holding requirements to unlock benefits, which isn’t very fair to investors with limited budgets. We specifically look for tokens that offer perks even if you only hold a small number of tokens.
Another thing we consider is how accessible a token is to purchase. Can you buy it off any major crypto exchange, or do you have to jump through hoops in order to get your hands on a specific penny crypto? We give a ratings boost to tokens that are more widely available. This is also usually a sign of mainstream adoption and support, which is important for a token’s future growth.
Market Hype & Community Support (25%)
Another major factor we consider in choosing the best penny cryptos is how likely a token is to grow in the near term. This depends in large part on the degree of excitement around the token or project, upcoming catalysts, and how engaged the project’s community is.
Ideally, we look for tokens that are seeing a surge of new buying activity to generate momentum and buzz, and that usually includes projects with strong utility or meme coins. Penny cryptos can slowly gain value over time, but more frequently we’ve seen tokens slowly build momentum and then explode higher all at once after the market at large realizes a project could be big. Sustained buying activity and hype is the first stage of this explosive growth process.
We also look for tokens that have potential catalysts on the horizon, since these can put a project in the news and bring in new investors. Potential catalysts can include a new development release, a centralized exchange listing, or even macroeconomic events like a reduction in interest rates.
Finally, we consider how engaged a project’s community is by looking at social media and a project’s own analytics dashboard. High user engagement typically translates to strong demand for a token, even during a market downturn. A vibrant community can also be a form of marketing for a project, helping draw in even more investors.
Liquidity & Trading Volume (25%)
One potential downside to penny cryptos is that they can have low liquidity on exchanges, which makes them more difficult to buy and sell. Investors and traders may not be able to get the price they expect if there isn’t enough trading volume in a token.
This is why we look for penny tokens with relatively high trading volume and strong liquidity, ideally across multiple centralized exchanges. These tokens are much more seamless to trade and token holders can feel confident that they’ll be able to sell their coins at any time.
Ideally, daily trading volume should be at least 25% of a token’s market cap. This isn’t a strict rule, but it does give a baseline for when to worry about a penny crypto’s liquidity.
Security & Risk Assessment (25%)
It’s extremely important to ensure that a penny crypto is safe and legitimate before buying it. While many penny tokens represent real projects with underlying value and a fully decentralized community, that’s not always the case.
We consider multiple factors to assess whether a penny crypto is secure. First, we always look for security audits from third-party services like Coinsult and SolidProof. On top of that, we read a token’s whitepaper to ensure the platform or utility that is being built is within the realm of possibility and that the project’s token clearly relates to that utility.
Other ways we assess a project’s risk include conducting peer analysis against crypto tokens in the same niche and surveying token holders on social media to better understand why they are invested in a project. Centralized exchange listings can also be a sign that a project is legitimate since the best crypto exchanges do their own vetting, although this is not a guarantee of safety.
How to Buy and Store Penny Cryptocurrencies
Buying and storing penny cryptocurrencies is relatively easy. However, there are some important things to keep in mind.
First is choosing where to buy penny cryptos. The tokens we highlighted are available from most major centralized exchanges, including Binance, LBank, Gate.io, and others. However, not all penny tokens are available to trade at all exchanges. You must look to see where a token is available, then create an account with that exchange.
Once you buy penny cryptos, you can store them in an exchange account. This isn’t recommended, though, because these are custodial accounts, and you are not in full control of your crypto. If the exchange were to go bankrupt, it could take your cryptocurrencies. This is what happened to FTX users when that exchange imploded in 2022.
Instead, we recommend storing your cryptocurrencies in your own crypto wallet, like Best Wallet. There are several different options for the best crypto wallet. Software wallets (also known as hot wallets) are typically free, easy to use, and allow you to actively trade your crypto. Hardware wallets (also known as cold wallets) are more secure, but they cost money and aren’t as seamless to use for active trading. With either type of wallet, you’ll have full self-custody over your cryptocurrencies.
Finally, it’s important to think about your risk when buying penny cryptos. These tokens are volatile, so it’s a good idea to diversify your portfolio across many different penny cryptos or across a mix of penny and large-cap cryptos. This diversification strategy can protect your overall portfolio value if the price of one of your penny cryptos falls.
What Are the Risks of Buying Penny Cryptos?
While penny cryptos have high potential, they also have high risk relative to other types of cryptocurrencies. It’s very important for investors and traders to be aware of these risks before buying.
High Volatility
Penny cryptocurrencies typically have very high volatility, meaning they can experience large price swings with very little warning. It’s common for penny tokens to see their prices rise or fall by 5% or more in a single day, even without a specific catalyst.
This is great when the price goes up, since investors and traders can earn a quick profit. However, when prices go down, you can lose a significant amount of money just as quickly. It’s important to be aware of this volatility and to be comfortable holding through downturns or using stop losses to limit how much you can lose.
Scams
While many penny stocks are legitimate, it’s also important to be wary of scams in this market. Some penny cryptos—especially those with very small market caps—are real tokens but are not backed by any utility or value. The project team can walk away with investors’ money and leave behind a worthless token in a move known as a rug pull. According to Immunefi, rug pulls and hacks together cost crypto investors $473 million in 2024.
Another type of scam to watch out for is a pump-and-dump scheme. This occurs when the people behind a token hype it up and generate a lot of fake buying activity, encouraging other investors to buy in as a token’s price goes up. Then the project team sells, setting off a major wave of selling and leaving investors in the lurch.
Always do your own research into a token and evaluate whether it’s legitimate before buying. Be sure to read a project’s whitepaper, explore the project’s community on social media, and check whether the wallets that are buying a token are connected in any way.
Low Liquidity
Penny cryptos can also suffer from low liquidity, which happens when there isn’t much trading volume in a token. Low liquidity can make it more difficult to buy and sell a token at the current market price, since there may not be any tokens available at that price. As a result, buyers may have to pay more to buy a token, and sellers may have to sell below market.
Be aware of liquidity risk when trading penny cryptos, and keep in mind that low liquidity can significantly eat into profits from a trade.
How to Manage Risk as a Penny Crypto Investor
There are several different strategies penny crypto investors can use to manage their risk and achieve the most profit.
Diversify Your Portfolio
One of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself as a penny crypto investor is to diversify your portfolio. If you hold many different penny cryptos, your entire portfolio won’t crash if a single token loses a lot of its value. Holding more penny cryptos also increases the chances that you own a winning coin that could deliver 10x or better gains.
Penny cryptos are highly correlated and can all rise or fall together as crypto market conditions change. So, it’s a good idea to diversify your portfolio not just across different penny tokens, but also across different assets. Smart investors often hold penny cryptos, large-cap cryptos, stocks, real estate, and other asset classes. Staking and yield farming can also provide steady returns regardless of what happens to token prices.
Use Stop Losses
Stop losses are orders at an exchange to automatically sell a token if it falls to a specific price. They can be very helpful for selling off tokens that lose significant value, so you get rid of them before they drag down your whole portfolio. Stop losses also encourage you to stick to your investment plan rather than become emotional and hold onto a token no matter how far it falls.
It’s also important to have an exit strategy for the upside. For example, if a token reaches a specific price, you can sell a portion of your holdings to lock in profits. Then you can continue holding the remaining portion of your position in hopes of earning a greater return.
Monitor the Market
Finally, it’s important for crypto investors to stay informed about the latest crypto news and trends. This can help you stay ahead of catalysts, positive or negative, that might affect the penny cryptos you own. It also enables you to identify hot market sectors or projects that might be worth investing in. The more you know, the better positioned you are to turn a profit in the crypto market.
Conclusion: Are Penny Cryptos Worth the Risk?
Penny cryptos can provide life-changing returns, but they come with serious risks. While some tokens really do explode to 100x, many others crash to zero or turn out to be scams.
And most penny cryptos crash because they’re built on nothing but hype, or because the teams behind them disappear once they’ve raised enough money.
Smart investors diversify and only risk what they can afford to lose. The volatility that creates millionaires also destroys portfolios.
Want to diversify your portfolio with different types of projects? Check out our best altcoins guide for projects across all price ranges and risk levels.
