As Bitcoin Matures, Altcoins Face a Reckoning. Here's Which Ones Have a Real Use.

Among the biggest and most established altcoins, from XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) on down, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) are the incumbents that show a real use case and a real investment thesis that doesn't depend on the next buyer being willing to buy at a higher price than the seller paid.

Other well-known altcoins like Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) still have something to prove, and they might never prove it. CoinGecko research from early 2026 indicates that 53% of the tokens it tracked from mid-2021 through 2025 had already failed. Given that, here's how each altcoin's thesis holds up, with Bitcoin as the benchmark.

Image source: Getty Images.

Market cap doesn't predict altcoin fees

In crypto, the transaction fees captured by a blockchain are a very helpful metric for evaluating potential investments, because the fees users are willing to pay are a direct indication of a blockchain's use. And people are typically willing to pay those fees only when they need the network they're paying to do something.

With that in mind, consider this table showing the fee intake of some of the top altcoins during the 30-day period ended Oct. 14:

Data source: CoinGecko and DeFiLlama.

Now let's use this data to evaluate the main thesis for each coin.

XRP's thesis is that banks and other financial institutions will use it as a bridge currency, which is a go-between asset that's temporarily held and used for cross-border transfers that would otherwise incur currency exchange and money transfer fees. Using the XRP Ledger (XRPL) -- the blockchain operated by Ripple, the company that created the crypto -- XRP generated just $34,286 in fees. Ripple proposes that fiat currencies and stablecoins, including its own stablecoin, RLUSD, are the main money transfer vehicles used with its services, not XRP.

That stablecoin earned Ripple $7.3 million in reserve income from assets like Treasury bills during the 30-day period. This data undermines the investment thesis, because Ripple is the one capturing value, not XRP holders.

Which other altcoins have a real use case?

For leading smart contract chains like Ethereum and Solana, one thesis is that decentralized finance (DeFi) will create lasting demand for their networks.

Overall, that thesis holds up.

There are $144.6 billion in stablecoins parked on Ethereum, with an additional $50.2 billion in value locked in its DeFi applications, and $15.9 billion in stablecoins on Solana, with $5.9 billion in value locked in its apps. Stablecoins are a key part of their ecosystems, as each dollar in stablecoin capital is a dollar that's available for buying, selling, lending, and investing in various services and projects.

Although Cardano is technically also capable of operating smart contracts and DeFi protocols like Ethereum and Solana, Cardano's investment thesis is today mostly a story about future adoption. It has only $64.9 million in value locked in its chain's DeFi applications and only $71.1 million in stablecoin capital parked on its chain. After years on the market for Cardano, the thesis shows little sign of playing out.

That brings us to Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, two dog-themed meme coins.

In truth, neither of these coins has a real investment thesis, and most of the proposed reasons for buying either of them are based on the possibility that a greater fool will come along and pay an even higher price despite there being no source of fundamental value. Shiba Inu's Shibarium network collected just $13.04 in fees during the 30-day period, and all of Dogecoin's fees are sent to its miners rather than being retained.

Of course, Bitcoin's price depends on there being future buyers, too. But its main job is to be a scarce asset with no issuer, and at least so far, that has been sufficient to continue attracting more buyers over time. Therefore, Bitcoin belongs at the core of a well-balanced crypto portfolio, with perhaps 50% of the total allocation, and Ethereum and Solana are also worth having as smaller positions. Avoid the others until there's real evidence that they're worth buying.

Alex Carchidi has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.