Which Cryptocurrency to Buy Right Now? Bitcoin (BTC), Ripple's XRP, or Dogecoin (DOGE)?

The total value of all cryptocurrencies in circulation is currently $3.5 trillion, which is nearing the record high of $3.9 trillion that was set in December

The total value of all cryptocurrencies in circulation is currently $3.5 trillion, which is nearing the record high of $3.9 trillion that was set in December. Positive sentiment is returning to the financial markets after a rough start to 2025, but investors are also enthusiastic about a series of crypto-friendly policies recently enacted by President Donald Trump.

Among the world's most popular cryptocurrencies are Ripple's XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), and Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), which are being followed for very different reasons.

Dogecoin was the best performer of the three in 2024 with a gain of 251%, but Bitcoin is the only one that continues to set new highs. Which one might be the best buy in the remainder of 2025? To me, the answer is clear.

The case for XRP: Ripple's regulatory troubles are done

Financial technology company Ripple designed a unique system called Ripple Payments that facilitates instant cross-border transactions. It eliminates the need for intermediaries by connecting banks with one another directly, which paves the way for immediate settlements.

To give banks an alternative to using fiat currencies within Ripple Payments, Ripple created the XRP cryptocurrency. A cross-border XRP transaction costs a fraction of one cent (0.00001 XRP), so it's much cheaper than sending a domestic currency, which can incur fees of anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the transaction amount when it's converted to the foreign currency.

XRP has a total supply of 100 billion tokens. About 58.6 billion are in circulation, and the other 41.4 billion are held by Ripple, which releases them gradually to meet demand from institutions.

Since that makes Ripple the sole issuer, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued the company in 2020 alleging XRP should be classified as a financial security, like a stock or a bond. Had the regulator won in court, Ripple might have been forced to change its business model and incur significant compliance costs.

The case was finally resolved mostly in Ripple's favor in August 2024, but the company was hit with a $125 million fine. The SEC appealed the decision, which threatened to tie the parties up in court for several more years, but everything changed when Trump was elected.

The SEC is now ran by crypto advocate Paul Atkins, and the agency withdrew its appeal and settled its case against Ripple earlier this month. It even agreed to reduce the fine from $125 million to just $50 million.

The legal battle weighed heavily on the price of XRP, which is why the token has soared more than 300% since Trump won last November.

The case for Dogecoin: Elon Musk, but his influence might be fading

Dogecoin was founded in 2013 by two friends as a joke. They were inspired by the "doge" meme, which was spreading rapidly across the internet at the time. Elon Musk has been a supporter of Dogecoin since 2019, but the token didn't really take off until 2021 when he began promoting it more vocally on social media.

Musk even appeared on an episode of Saturday Night Live in May of that year, where he participated in a Dogecoin-themed comedy skit. The token soared to a record high of $0.73 that very night, but once it became clear that Musk didn't have a real plan to back up his social media banter, it collapsed. The crypto then lost more than 90% of its value by mid-2022, and it remained mostly little changed throughout 2023 and for most of 2024.

But it shot up again after the November election. Investors were feeling optimistic about Trump's pro-crypto policy proposals, and they were especially excited about Musk's potential involvement in the administration since he was a regular figure on the campaign trail. Trump went on to appoint Musk as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE for short), which is an initiative tasked with cutting spending to reduce the U.S. national debt.

The DOGE acronym is a clear nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency. But his support once again proved to be hollow -- there is still no indication that Dogecoin will play a concrete role in the DOGE project, and it has plunged by 50% from its recent 52-week high, leaving investors with a sense of déjà vu.

The case for Bitcoin: A strategic government reserve

Bitcoin is the world's largest cryptocurrency. Its market capitalization of $2.2 trillion accounts for more than half the $3.5 trillion total value of all coins and tokens in circulation. Unlike almost every other cryptocurrency, it continues to set new highs thanks to a set of unique qualities that make investors