Which Cryptocurrencies Under $1 Could Take Off? A Look at Dogecoin, Cardano, Stellar, HBAR, and a Comparison with XRP at $1.47

Coins priced under a dollar feel like bargains, but that logic can quietly wreck a portfolio. Before you trade XRP for Dogecoin, Cardano, Stellar, or Hedera, there are a few uncomfortable truths about supply, market cap, and real growth potential…

Published October 7, 2026, 9:30am ET · 4 min read

The Crypto Desk desk. Editor: Sam Daodu.

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

A close-up view of a digital screen displaying cryptocurrency names, with 'Ripple' prominently featured in white text. A large, bright green 3D arrow points diagonally upwards over the word 'Ripple', symbolizing growth. In the blurred background, financial charts with red, green, and white lines and bars are visible, alongside partially visible names like 'Litecoin' and 'Stellar'.
A prominent green arrow illustrates the upward trajectory for Ripple, reflecting positive market sentiment in the cryptocurrency space. © Travis Wolfe / Shutterstock.com

When new investors venture into the world of cryptocurrencies, they often want to know which coins under $1 might skyrocket. Dogecoin (CRYPTO:DOGE), Cardano (CRYPTO:ADA), Stellar (CRYPTO:XLM), and Hedera (CRYPTO:HBAR) often top these discussions. The idea that a coin priced in pennies has more growth potential than XRP (CRYPTO:XRP), which trades at $1.47 as of October 7, 2026, can be misleading.

On the surface, all five coins have seen declines over the past day: Cardano dropped about 5%, Hedera fell by 4%, and both Dogecoin and Stellar lost around 4%, while XRP fell about 1%. So, which of the four coins priced under $1 has the best chance for a major price increase, and how does XRP stack up?

Why a Price Under $1 Doesn’t Make a Coin Cheap

A silver Stellar (XLM) cryptocurrency coin, featuring a rocket design and the words "STELLAR" and "XLM," stands upright in the foreground. Behind it, a blurred U.S. one-dollar bill is visible. The coin is highly reflective on the surface, and the overall lighting is dim, creating a focused contrast between the digital currency and traditional money.

DIAMOND VISUALS / Shutterstock.com

A cryptocurrency’s market value is determined by its price multiplied by the total number of coins in circulation. This means that price alone isn’t a clear indicator of a coin’s value. A price under $1 doesn’t necessarily mean the coin is inexpensive.

Take Dogecoin, for example. It is valued at around $0.091, yet its market capitalization is about $14.2 billion, which is larger than that of Cardano, Stellar, or Hedera. This is because approximately 156 billion Dogecoins are currently in circulation. In comparison, XRP has about 63 billion coins, HBAR has 44 billion, ADA has 38 billion, and XLM has 35 billion.

The number of coins in circulation also impacts how much the price can grow. Cardano limits its total supply to 45 billion coins, Hedera to 50 billion, and XRP to 100 billion. Stellar, which stopped producing new coins in 2019, has a fixed total of about 50 billion coins. On the other hand, Dogecoin has no supply cap and increases its supply by about 5 billion coins each year, which can hinder price increases.

How Dogecoin, Cardano, Stellar, and Hedera Compare

Cryptocurrency on Binance trading app, Bitcoin BTC with BNB, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Cardano, Litecoin, altcoin digital coin crypto currency defi p2p decentralized finance and fintech banking market

Chinnapong / Shutterstock.com

Among the four, Dogecoin has the largest market cap, yet it has plummeted about 65% over the past year and is currently trading about 88% below its 2021 peak of $0.73. While large holders continue to accumulate Dogecoin, its boundless supply poses challenges for any potential price rallies.

Cardano, trading at approximately $0.26, has a market cap close to $9.7 billion. It’s the only one of the four that has risen recently—up about 6% over the past week—thanks to the launch of Cardano’s RealFi stablecoin yield product. Nevertheless, ADA still sits about 92% below its all-time high of $3.09 from 2021.

Stellar is currently priced around $0.21, with a market cap of about $7.2 billion. It has experienced the smallest decline over the past year, around 48%. However, XLM has dropped about 7% over the past week and is now trading about 76% below its 2018 high of $0.88.

Hedera, the smallest by market value at about $4.2 billion, is trading near $0.096. After a rally of about 22% through early October, HBAR has given back some gains, dropping about 9% over the past week. It remains about 83% below its 2021 peak of $0.57.

Why XRP Costs More but Carries a Bigger Market Value

A flat lay image showing a blue and green South Korean 1000 won banknote placed horizontally. On top of the banknote, three round silver cryptocurrency coins are arranged in a row: two coins featuring the Ripple (XRP) logo and one coin with a world map and 'ripple' text. The entire setup is positioned on a background of numerous neatly stacked rows of silver coins.

byswat / Shutterstock.com

XRP, priced above $1, has also declined, dropping about 50% over the past year and currently standing about 60% below its peak price of $3.65. With a market value of around $93 billion, XRP is worth more than the combined total of the other four coins, approximately $35 billion.

This higher market cap has its pros and cons. While XRP needs significantly more investment to double in value, it also attracts more substantial buying interest, including from exchange-traded funds that deal with XRP. In contrast, a coin with a market cap of $4 billion can double with far less new money, but it also risks falling more quickly when buyers retreat.

Which Crypto Under $1 Has the Best Chance at a Big Move?

In our assessment, Hedera appears to have the most potential for significant growth, while Dogecoin has the weakest case. As the smallest cryptocurrency of the four with a capped supply, Hedera could see a substantial percentage increase with even modest buying interest. Cardano ranks second due to its supply cap and recent positive performance.

However, it’s essential to remember that a low price alone doesn’t guarantee any of these coins will see explosive growth, especially since all four are currently over 75% below their all-time highs. For Hedera, a sustained move above $0.11, where it started in 2026, could suggest its recent rally is more than a temporary bounce. For XRP investors considering a shift, the smaller coins could offer more theoretical upside, but they also present a higher risk of abrupt losses.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Sam Daodu

Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing

All articles →