Our most popular Coins Under $1 series continues this month with 3 more great picks. This time we have 2 layer 1 chains and a layer 2. All 3 have substantial DeFi but 2 specialize in it. Ready for this month’s picks? Let’s check them.
Sui
We start today with Sui. In truth, Sui shouldn’t be on this list because it shouldn’t cost less than $1. But for now it is, and you should enjoy it at this price.
One of the cool things they are doing right now is free stablecoin transfers are coming to Sui. This follows a big improvement in the technology that validators can use on Sui to save on storage and compute costs.
It’s big. This one could be even bigger. Programmable privacy comes to Sui. Whether it’s “enterprise-style privacy” like Alkimi needs with protection but not full privacy OR true privacy in terms of access and user controls like Seal now offers in the Sui stack, projects will be able to decide what level of privacy is right for them when building on Sui.
The Sui Stack treats this as a system problem.
– Private execution (Nautilus)
– Scalable data (Morse)
– Onchain verification + settlement (Sui)
– Confidentiality + access control (Seal)Together, these layers enable Alkimi to execute sensitive logic, large data streams, and verifiable results. pic.twitter.com/hZ0p9QxD3P
– Sui (@SuiNetwork) February 4, 2026
Each channel is working on how to incorporate privacy. And Sui’s solution appears to be one of the best options on the market today.
And on the DeFi side, the Deepbook liquidity protocol can now support margin trading, so Sui apps that use Deepbook will be able to support it as well. Sui is looking to develop its Hyperliquid style perp DEX and this will go in that direction.
Now, with Solana and EVM only, Coinbase will use the Sui token standard. This decision is an important point of validation for Sui and what they are building. And it will bring them a LOT of American customers.
Happy to announce our partnership with @Coinbase as they adopt the Sui token standard, making it easier than ever for institutions, builders, and everyday users to participate in the Sui ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/nzPW2Pu1V1
– Sui (@SuiNetwork) February 6, 2026
Price activity
Like I said up top, it’s a surprise that Sui is here at this price, and yet it is. Sui is currently trading at 96 cents. Its market capitalization is $3.6 billion, placing it 28th among all cryptocurrencies. Sui has 3.8 billion out of a total of 10 billion in circulation. It could be better. But Sui has too much going on, as we’ve already discussed in many videos, like this one from about 10 days ago.
Sui continues to build and its products work.
Canton
Canton Network is a rising star among crypto projects. Out of nowhere, it is now project #18 in terms of market value.
But this didn’t happen by accident or hype. Canton is at the intersection of 2 important crypto trends. Privacy and RWA. Now you and I both know that your broker or banker can close your account and control your money. And we hate it and it’s one of the reasons crypto as an industry exists today.
But banks and brokers offer a key element that the RWA market demands from crypto.
Confidentiality.
Not total privacy, but at least transaction protection so other Morgan Stanley clients can’t see what I’m buying and selling. Not to mention that Goldman, Merrill Lynch or others cannot see what I buy and sell directly in my account.
And this level of transactional privacy is something that investors and their banks need and demand from our markets.
Canton is working on the solution. First, it is an institutional channel that approaches privacy as an investment bank would. In the same way that Ondo works with asset issuers, Canton works with the institutional side of RWA. Those who bring assets to be tokenized. Its goal is to offer 24/7 on-chain trading with the level of privacy the public expects for such transactions, instead of the fully open public ledgers we currently have.
Their ecosystem includes ETF/ETP issuers like 21Shares, crypto-native funds like Arrington Capital, leading banks like Banco Santander and Bank of America, and over 200 other partners. There are also tools and infrastructure such as wallets, data analytics and 600 validators.
Canton already does $3 trillion per month in repurchase or repurchase deal volume, which is a clear sign of the chain’s success so far. This also shows how much people want channel and privacy together.
Price activity
The current Canton price is 16.6 cents. It has all 37.6 billion CC tokens in circulation. This gives it a market capitalization of $6.2 billion, but without having to worry about token unlocking. We like it. A LOT. However, you should know that even if the total supply is 37.6 billion and all are in circulation, the theoretical maximum supply is infinite. We don’t like this so much, because no matter how disciplined the team is, something like Luna can happen and they will issue their worthless token. So be aware of this as it is a net negative on what is otherwise a project that has found a market faster than almost any project in the history of our industry.
$CC is up 40% since its TGE in November, so it is significantly outperforming the market.
Coat
Our last piece today is Mantle. Mantle sits in DeFi’s strong sector and where DeFi meets TradFi.
It is one of the most popular Layer 2s, especially for DeFi, and it uses ZK proofs for some privacy and to enable scaling by aggregating many transactions. While most L2s do this, Mantle allows off-chain computing. This is a popular feature of chains and privacy apps, so tracking the entire chain of activity, like ZachXBT using block explorers, is more difficult.
In case you are curious how John Daghita (Lick) was able to steal over $40 million from US government foreclosure addresses.
John’s father owns CMDSS, which currently has an active government IT contract in Virginia.
CMMDS was awarded a contract to assist the USMS in the management/elimination of… pic.twitter.com/PV0IkSuhVy
-ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 25, 2026
Off-chain computing is also great for scaling because you don’t use blockchain resources.
Mantle’s largest product is its institutional-grade liquid staking mETH token. The token is popular and widely used in DeFi as a way for ETH stakers to earn additional yield by providing liquidity when staking. Typical yields for the protocol are now 2.03%, but you can use mETH as collateral on many DeFi platforms for lending, borrowing, or trading.
Price activity
Mantle’s token is $MNT. $MNT is at 62.7 cents and down 47% over the past year. Unfortunately, this is pretty typical for most alternatives currently, given the terrible market conditions we find ourselves in. The circulating supply is 3.2 billion out of 6.2 billion, which is acceptable. Its market capitalization stands at just over $2 billion, placing it 40th in terms of market value.
It reached its ATH of $2.85 in October and has been in steep decline ever since. We love the project and if you can stick it out for the long term then this is a good entry point.
Disclaimer
The information provided by Altcoin Buzz does not constitute financial advice. It is intended for educational, entertainment and informational purposes only. Any opinions or strategies shared are those of the editors/reviewers, and their risk tolerance may differ from yours. We are not responsible for any losses you may incur as a result of investments related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk assets; therefore, perform thorough due diligence. This article is sponsored by Sui.
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