2025’s most owned cryptos among Americans: BTC, ETH, and DOGE still rule 

Do you know what the most commonly owned cryptocurrencies actually are? Because the internet overflows with news targeting cryptos of all levels and importance, from the biggest ones with power to move the market, like BTC and ETC, to the lowest-cap ones you’ve likely never even heard of. The more one hears about a cryptocurrency in favorable contexts, in crypto circles, from influencers, and so on, the more prone they are to believe that that’s the best one to buy – and so, the one more investors look to buy. The one with more demand -> the one that’s most likely to reward them better. But this is almost never the case.

Security.org, a leader in research and reviews on digital safety and more, has just released a study on the most popular cryptos in 2025, based on a survey of around 2K American adults, confirming that ETH/BTC still dominate ownership, even as newer coins fight for attention. As a spoiler, crypto ownership has risen by almost 100% since 2021, driven by factors such as Donald Trump’s reelection and growing confidence stemming from amplified institutional adoption. And 6 in 10 crypto-aware adults think crypto prices will go up under a potential reelection of now-president Trump.

A rising understanding of crypto through Bitcoin

If not long ago, people you’d come across would generally be skeptical towards crypto – that is, if they knew anything about it at all – today, there’s rising confidence in them. Around 66% of Americans know the basics of crypto. And the once-prevalent misperception that crypto is a scam or hoax has gradually vanished. Now, more people in inner tech circles and mainstream understand that crypto is a form of international value transfer that eradicates the middlemen found in traditional finance, namely banks, brokerages, governmental bodies. They know that crypto transfers are cheaper than bank transfers because they don’t need to be routed through an intermediary for processing and approval. This way, they’re also cheaper, and enable the underserved and financially underdeveloped countries to receive remittances from abroad – something that made crypto truly powerful in those areas.

Crypto has been slowly decoded. Now, as a natural consequence, people are seeking exposure to it to generate profits from trading, store value in the long run, and protect it against inflation, and so on. One year ago, the market was cheering Bitcoin for outperforming the S&P, jumping 14% while the index managed only 3%.

BTC, ETH, DOGE – 2025’s chart toppers

A handful of names consistently top discussions today – not because of online hype but because they managed to earn people’s trust, increasing market recognition, and in many cases, real utility. Bitcoin, for instance, is the first crypto ever, launched in 2009 and worth almost nothing for months. It has steadily worked through the ranks to now boast the equivalent recognition of “digital gold”. Its scarcity, longevity, and widespread adoption won it a sense of stability that newer crypto projects often lack. It’s not the fastest-moving crypto, but it’s the safer bet for those who’d rather sidestep the market’s reputable volatility and instability. It is, indeed, a support rock when markets get rough.

Then there’s Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest crypto by market cap and leader in decentralized applications (dApps). It supports non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance (DeFi), smart contracts, and more, and remains the leading Layer-1 solution, even with the ever-emerging Layer-1 solutions constantly coming out. It’s worth noting that competitors in this area, like Avalanche and Solana, are making notable strides thanks to their cheaper fee structures and faster settlement times. But Ethereum remains the benchmark for smart-contract platforms and the backbone of the decentralized ecosystem, and maintains a network effect that would be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve by other networks. Ethereum remains a top contender for anyone looking beyond quick gains and toward real utility and long-term potential, too. 

And right behind the two giants at the top, American investors are most likely to hold or purchase Dogecoin (DOGE), the meme-born token that began as a joke yet still manages to secure a consistent top-three market-cap position, often trading places with Tether (USDT).

Software engineers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus created Dogecoin to poke fun at Bitcoin and its inefficiencies and presumed lack of utility. The project focused on community rather than financials, a reason why it was designed as such a low-cost copy, with an unlimited supply – unlike Bitcoin which is capped at 21MN.

Other cryptos that continue to be on fire

Other cryptos basking in fame in the most reliable popularity charts, whether to-buy or owned, include Solana, often pitched as a “faster, cheaper Ethereum”; USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar; and Shiba Inu (SHIB), a meme coin spin-off. These coins illustrate the spectrum that crypto now spans, from long-term value storage (BTC), to infrastructure and functionality (ETH, SOL), to community-driven speculation (DOGE, SHIB), to stability and utility (USDC). Knowing this helps eliminate the noise and makes it easier to decide what kind of crypto you want to hold, determining if you value safety, opportunity, risk, or utility more.

Why crypto ownership keeps growing

One of the most thought-provoking parts about crypto’s rise in the U.S. is that it’s no longer seen as a peripheral financial experiment; instead, it’s securing a place at the same table with stocks, gold, or real estate. Something you own because you believe in long-term potential, not because you’re hoping it will 100x by next month.

Rising ownership stems from a combination of factors; however, the main one is simple: people want to feel in control of their financial future. Traditional markets feel rigid, banks feel outdated, and inflation feels like an intrusive stalker. So digital assets are starting to look like a more fitting alternative for the modern world – flexible, global, available around the clock, and not tied to a single institution’s decisions.

Americans are choosing currency and investments that combine trust, utility, and community, so it’s easy to see how digital assets are becoming a real part of finance.