How to Choose Crypto? The Most Promising Crypto Investment Guide

In the era of diversified asset allocation, cryptocurrencies are becoming an increasingly popular hedge and wealth appreciation tool due to their unique liquidity and privacy features. But with millions of virtual currencies to choose from, how should one get started? This article will help you identify the most promising cryptocurrencies from three perspectives: investment psychology, market cycles, and risk management.

The Core Logic of Cryptocurrency Investment

Bull and bear cycles determine coin selection strategies

“Buy altcoins in a bull market, embrace mainstream coins in a bear market”—this phrase has been circulating in the crypto community for a long time, but the underlying logic is often overlooked.

Why chase altcoins in a bull market? Because altcoins are easier to pump, offering higher profit potential. But the price volatility is intense, and risks multiply.

Why focus on mainstream coins in a bear market? Because they have strong resilience against declines, with a very low chance of going to zero. Altcoins, on the other hand, are often the opposite—many projects lose everything during bear markets.

Therefore, before choosing any cryptocurrency, the first step is to assess the overall market phase. The trend of the market index always takes priority, followed by considerations of notoriety, trading volume, liquidity, volatility, and application prospects.

Don’t be fooled by low prices

The most common fatal mistake for beginners is being misled by price. Seeing a coin priced at just a few cents or even with a string of zeros after the decimal point, they dream, “If only it reaches a dime, I’ll get rich.”

The reality is harsh: Low price does not equal low risk; in fact, it often signals high risk. These ultra-low-priced cryptocurrencies are either due to their huge total supply, making it impossible to pump, or are on the path to zero. Even more dangerous, beginners often exchange high market cap coins for a bunch of trash tokens, ending up empty-handed on both ends.

Top 10 Cryptocurrency Ecosystems by Market Cap

Market cap rankings often reflect market consensus. These projects are not only high-quality themselves but also often leaders in their respective sectors, serving as market indicators.

Note that rankings are not fixed. Projects like Filecoin, Luna, Polkadot, which once were in the Top 10, have already fallen behind. Back then, people chased them for higher returns, but their high volatility also brought enormous risks. Therefore, rankings are only for reference; never “put all eggs in one basket” in a single bet.

Current Market Cap Overview

*Data updated as of December 24, 2025

The Most Promising Cryptocurrencies

1. Bitcoin (BTC) — The Scarcity of the King of Crypto

As the pioneer of cryptocurrencies, BTC has become the industry’s benchmark for value. With a fixed supply of only 21 million coins and a halving mechanism every four years, it ensures its deflationary nature. The latest circulating inflation rate is below 0.80%, making BTC even scarcer than gold.

Since the SEC approved spot ETFs in 2024, institutional funds have flooded in, pushing BTC’s price higher. For long-term investors, BTC is an indispensable part of crypto asset allocation.

Core advantages: highest global recognition, strongest risk resistance, institutional-grade liquidity

2. Ethereum (ETH) — The Value Carrier of Smart Contracts

Ethereum’s position as the second-largest market cap cryptocurrency hinges on its pioneering of the smart contract era. Rather than just a currency, ETH is the fuel for DeFi, NFT, Layer 2 ecosystems.

Recent data shows Ethereum’s TVL (Total Value Locked) reaching $93.1 billion, ranking first among public chains worldwide. More importantly, ETH’s trading volume often reaches 60-70% of BTC’s, indicating highly liquid markets. After the approval of ETH spot ETFs in 2024, more institutions are entering, and staking features will further enhance its appeal.

Core advantages: richest application ecosystem, most developers, highest institutional allocation

3. TAO Token — The Intersection of AI and Blockchain

If BTC represents the past’s gold dream, and ETH the present’s smart contracts, then TAO symbolizes the future of AI×Blockchain narratives.

Backed by the Bittensor network, TAO aims to build a decentralized machine learning service marketplace. Users can purchase AI model services on nodes via TAO, achieving an organic integration of AI and blockchain. The design draws from BTC’s experience—a fixed total of 21 million coins with a gradual deflationary mechanism, making scarcity significant.

Core advantages: riding the AI wave, rigorous design philosophy, clear scarcity

4. Ripple (XRP) — Institutional-Grade Payment Solution

Ripple’s company has established deep collaborations with governments and financial institutions worldwide. This not only boosts XRP’s recognition but also demonstrates its real-world application value as a cross-border payment tool.

Unlike BTC’s 7 transactions per second limit, XRP’s theoretical processing speed reaches 1,500-3,400 TPS, and in practice, maintains 500-700 TPS. For large cross-border transactions and institutional integration, XRP is an ideal choice. During the last bull run, XRP surged from $0.2 to $1.8, an 800% increase. Although lower than BTC’s 1800%, this reflects the stability expected of an institutional-grade asset.

Core advantages: highest institutional recognition, strongest cross-border payment utility, best policy friendliness

5. Solana (SOL) — The High-Performance Public Chain Dark Horse

Known as the “Ethereum killer,” Solana has risen rapidly due to its outstanding performance metrics. Using parallel processing technology, SOL’s theoretical throughput can reach 65,000 TPS, with real-world stability at 3,000-4,000 TPS, far surpassing Ethereum’s 15-30 TPS and Bitcoin’s 7 TPS.

Most astonishing is the cost—an average of only $0.00025 per transaction, offering unmatched value. For users troubled by Ethereum’s high Gas fees, Solana provides a completely different experience.

Core advantages: fastest transaction speed, lowest transaction costs, rapidly developing ecosystem

6. Chainlink (LINK) — The Bridge to Reality for Blockchains

Chainlink’s unique strength lies in connecting on-chain data with the real world. Its oracle network allows smart contracts to securely access off-chain data, making Chainlink an indispensable infrastructure component.

Unlike many “air coins,” Chainlink has real utility in the market, with clear demand. Current price is $12.12, market cap $8.58 billion, supporting many decentralized applications with data needs.

Core advantages: infrastructure attribute, clear application demand, high ecosystem dependency

7. DOGE and TON — Power Behind the Scenes

Dogecoin and TON are highly sought after mainly because of their powerful backers—Elon Musk for DOGE, Telegram for TON.

Every tweet from Musk about DOGE can trigger price swings, demonstrating the influence of celebrity effect and also highlighting the risks of over-reliance on external promotion. However, DOGE’s large community and genuine trading volume give it some resilience.

Core advantages: strong community base, ample trading depth, high notoriety

Mainstream Coins vs. Altcoins: The Selection Framework

Cryptocurrencies can be categorized by different dimensions:

By Market Cap

• Mainstream Coins: Top ten by market cap, highest market recognition, concentrated institutional funds
• Altcoins: Projects ranked below, with higher risks and opportunities

By Price Stability

• Stablecoins: USDT, USDC, pegged 1:1 to USD, with less than 1% volatility, used mainly for value storage
• Non-stable Coins: BTC, ETH, SOL, etc., with high volatility but unlimited growth potential

The Unchanging Rule for Long-term Investment

From a safety perspective, mainstream coins are more suitable for long-term holding over 4 years (a full bull-bear cycle).

In bear markets, altcoins are often sold off first due to high risk, with funds flowing into mainstream coins. This is why mainstream coins are almost impossible to go to zero. Conversely, many altcoin projects’ founders run away or tokens become worthless.

But long-term holding is not just passive buying. You need to:

• Clarify your investment goals (asset appreciation or risk hedging?)
• Use a combination of long- and short-term strategies to avoid frequent impulsive trades
• Diversify assets across different accounts or cold wallets for physical separation

This approach helps lock in long-term gains while participating in short-term opportunities appropriately.

Investment Tips for Beginners

Long-term investing is more suitable for beginners

For newcomers, short-term trading, especially day trading, is not suitable because it requires:

• Systematic trading strategies
• Precise position management
• Healthy trading psychology

These skills take years of market experience to develop.

In contrast, long-term investing has a very low entry barrier—just understand basic buy/sell operations and the market cap of cryptocurrencies. Since mainstream coins have large market caps, they are less susceptible to manipulation, and individual investors’ risks are more controllable.

Why long-term investing can yield higher returns

On the surface, short-term trading seems to generate higher profits by continuously buying low and selling high, increasing the principal base. But in reality, almost no investor can predict market movements with 100% accuracy, let alone execute plans flawlessly.

Most short-term traders experience: missing big moves due to small gains, falling into a cycle of buying high and selling low, resulting in losses.

My personal experience: In 2018, I bought 3 BTC near the arc bottom (~$5,000), and sold in a panic at $7,000. BTC then soared to $12,000, and I regretted missing out. Fortunately, the March 2020 crash provided a second chance to buy in.

Long-term investment’s buy-and-hold approach avoids such regrets. You won’t miss the big moves, nor will you buy high and sell low, effectively locking in profits from upward price trends.

Asset security is the bottom line

When you hold through a bear market to a bull run, only to find your assets stolen one day, it’s devastating. Therefore, asset security must be prioritized:

• Exchange accounts: Use strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication, regularly check account activity
• Personal wallets: Safeguard private keys or seed phrases, avoid DApp scams, refrain from signing unknown contracts

Better to be cautious than sorry—ensure your assets are safe.

How to Start Trading Cryptocurrencies

Mainstream Purchase Methods

The most standard process is:

1. Register on an exchange and complete identity verification
2. Link payment methods
3. Use fiat-to-crypto trading to buy stablecoins like USDT or USDC
4. Then trade in the crypto-to-crypto section to buy BTC, ETH, and other main coins

BTC and ETH are the most recognized and support direct fiat purchases.

Derivatives and Tools Exploration

Exchanges not only offer spot trading but also various derivatives:

• Crypto futures: Can go long or short, but risk increases exponentially
• Leverage tokens: Automatically adjust leverage multiples, suitable for advanced traders
• Crypto staking: Lock assets to earn yields, relatively stable

Beginners should avoid leverage trading lightly, as market volatility can lead to liquidation in an instant.

Recommendations for Different Investors

Conservative Investors

Only consider the two most well-known coins: BTC and ETH.

They represent the core of the crypto world, with the largest market cap, highest liquidity, and lowest risk. Holding these long-term allows participation in the overall growth of the crypto market while avoiding the risk of small coins going to zero.

Growth-Oriented Investors

If you understand the market and are skilled at trading, consider adding DOGE, ADA, SOL, and other mainstream coins to your portfolio.

While riskier than BTC/ETH, these coins still have large market caps, some resilience, and greater growth potential.

Speculators’ Forbidden Zone

MEME coins and other ultra-small market cap projects are highly volatile and purely speculative assets; this article does not recommend them. These require constant monitoring, and a slight mistake can wipe out your capital.

Final Warning

No matter which virtual currencies you choose to invest in, avoid these common pitfalls:

1. Lack of clear goals—don’t know if you’re short-term trading or long-term holding, leading to being swayed by market fluctuations
2. Not knowing how to cut losses—holding on to losing positions, ending up with total loss
3. Long-term holding of altcoins—a common rookie mistake driven by gambler’s mentality
4. Over-leverage—using high leverage on altcoins, risking liquidation sooner or later

The crypto market is full of opportunities but also traps. Arm yourself with knowledge, discipline yourself, and the most promising cryptocurrencies will bring you true investment returns.

Remember: the market always exists, opportunities always exist, but your principal is only one. Protect it—more important than chasing profits.