Buying and trading cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk activity. Please do your own due diligence before taking any action related to content within this article. Finally, CryptoSlate takes no responsibility should you lose money trading cryptocurrencies. Wintermute’s 2025 OTC report argues that how capital entered crypto mattered as much as how much came in. ETFs and digital asset treasury vehicles concentrate flows into Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a narrow set of large caps, with limited organic rotation into the broader token universe.

Market cap charts

By staking HBAR to network nodes, users contribute to the network’s security and consensus weighting, thereby earning a small share of the transaction fees. Ripple owns the XRP Ledger (XRPL) blockchain, which is home to the XRP native coin. Potential opportunities include investing early in innovative altcoins with strong fundamentals and active developer ecosystems. Early adopters may gain significant returns if these projects (1) deliver on their potential and (2) resonate with the market.

Altcoins I’ve Got My Eye On in 2026

  • These differences reflect the diversity and innovation in the crypto sector.
  • We also have algorithms to detect and exclude anomalous tickers from our prices.
  • Coins are native currencies to the blockchain, while tokens are cryptos built on the blockchain.
  • This report is provided for information and research purposes only and should not be construed or presented as an offer or solicitation for any investment.

As illustrated below, current TVL levels remain below the peaks observed at the end of the previous market cycle, signaling a divergence in the deployed capital in today’s environment. As a result, market dynamics now impede efficient capital distribution across less mainstream assets, altering traditional capital rotation strategies that previously characterized crypto market cycles. The influx of tokens has led to increased competition among projects for investor attention. Consequently, it has become more challenging for any single token to stand out and experience significant price increases. This abundance of investment opportunities dilutes market interest, making dramatic price rallies less frequent. One major reason we haven’t seen a classic altcoin season this cycle, unlike in 2017–2018 or 2020–2021, is the sheer oversupply of newly launched tokens.

Altcoins can be made from scratch, or more commonly, forked from an existing code. Forks occur when a blockchain splits from its original chain in order to create a new network that follows a parallel software protocol, with parentage most often linked to Bitcoin or Ethereum. Generally, forks occur when developers disagree on a platform’s direction and modify the source code to initiate a separate chain. Another risk to consider is the potential for fraud and scams in the altcoin market. The aforementioned $1.3 billion liquidated in just 12 hours was only a portion of the entire amount that was wiped out from over-leveraged investors. CoinGlass data showed at one point that the total value of wrecked positions had skyrocketed to over $2.5 billion.

Litecoin (LTC)

altcoins

Altcoins tackle fundamental blockchain challenges such as privacy, interoperability and scalability. The “silver to Bitcoin’s gold,” Litecoin leverages Bitcoin properties to become a lighter, faster version of its predecessor. Early crypto adopter and computer scientist Charlie Lee created Litecoin two years after Bitcoin’s genesis block debut, making Litecoin one of the first altcoins to enter the market. The LINK token is the native, multi-chain token for the Chainlink ecosystem, deployed https://calvenridge-trust.com/ across numerous networks like Ethereum, Arbitrum and Avalanche. Its primary function is to fund Chainlink services, allowing smart contracts to pay Chainlink node operators for external data and off-chain computation. The token is also the transferrable asset used for cross-chain transfers facilitated by the Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP).

Frequently asked questions about altcoins

Under sustained bearish pressure, ZIL could break below the channel structure. Although these approaches have been technically feasible, their adoption was constrained by regulatory uncertainties around securities classification. Recent developments, such as the EU’s MiCA framework and the growing clarity of SEC guidance around crypto assets, are now in the process of easing these limitations. Finally, Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) are rapidly gaining traction by delivering practical, real-world benefits beyond traditional crypto use cases. For example, Helium Mobile now provides decentralized 5G and WiFi services to over 130,000 users, offering more affordable alternatives to established telecom providers. Over the past two years, many promising altcoin projects, which initially generated considerable excitement, have underperformed significantly.

Instead, it concentrates in majors and occasionally in ETF-credible large caps, while the long tail gets brief, thin narrative pops that fade within weeks. Yet, that small- or medium-cap crypto with promising fundamentals never followed through. A vibrant community increases visibility and acceptance, while a capable development team lays the foundation for innovation and trust. Scalability and efficiency describe a blockchain network’s ability to process an increasing number of transactions quickly and cost-effectively, without losing performance.

Over the past two years, the barriers to creating and issuing tokens have decreased significantly, resulting in a surge of new projects entering the market. As the DeFi boom began to cool, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and gaming took over. Once again, Ethereum remained the dominant chain, hosting projects such as Axie Infinity, CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and numerous NFT marketplaces. The next phase was the meme coin craze, initiated by Dogecoin and amplified by Elon Musk’s tweets and Robinhood’s retail-driven surge. Almost every major DOGE derivative, from Shiba Inu to Floki, was launched on Ethereum. Coin Metrics tracks that altcoins with market caps above $1 billion fell from roughly 105 at the 2021 peak to just 58.

Despite the recovery, Stellar remains capped by a downtrend line that has constrained price action for more than a month, limiting confirmation of a sustained reversal. Reversing it requires either a substantial expansion of deployable capital or a fundamental shift in how institutional and retail capital flows into crypto. Wintermute found that the average altcoin rally lasted approximately 19 days in 2025, down from 61 days in 2024. This reflects reduced follow-through and insufficient liquidity to sustain the themes beyond the initial burst.