12 Best Crypto to Buy Right Now — Feburary 2026

Are you looking to invest in cryptocurrencies but unsure which one to buy? With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to decide how to invest your money. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best crypto to buy now, based on factors such as project developments, price performance, and market capitalization, as well as the overall potential for growth.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the most promising cryptocurrencies, including staples such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and a combination of several other promising crypto projects. We’ll discuss their features, advantages, and potential drawbacks, as well as provide insights into market trends. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just starting out, this article will help you make an informed decision about the best crypto to buy now. 

So, let’s dive in and explore the best cryptocurrencies to invest in February 2026:

1. Bitcoin – The world’s oldest and largest crypto
2. Ethereum – The leading DeFi and smart contract platform
3. Solana – Smart contracts platform with high speeds and low fees
4. AAVE – A leading decentralized lending and borrowing protocol
5. Toncoin – An efficient blockchain with Telegram messenger integrations
6. Hyperliquid – Decentralized perpetuals exchange with an efficient order book
7. XRP – The leading crypto remittance solution
8. Monero – A privacy-first cryptocurrency with fully obfuscated transactions
9. Zcash – Privacy-focused cryptocurrency
10. Uniswap – A pioneering decentralized exchange protocol
11. BNB – The native coin of the Binance exchange
12. Chainlink – The leading decentralized oracle protocol

The best cryptos to buy right now: Discover top investments for February 2026

The following three cryptocurrency projects highlight our investment selection thanks to important developments and upcoming events that make them especially interesting to follow in the near future. These projects are updated each week based on the most recent developments and trends taking place in the crypto market.

1. Bitcoin

Bitcoin (BTC) is the original decentralized digital currency, enabling peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries such as banks or financial institutions. It was created in 2009 by an unknown person or group of people using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin was the first digital currency to eliminate the double spending problem without resorting to any central intermediaries.

Bitcoin transactions are recorded on a public ledger called the blockchain, which is maintained by a network of computers around the world. This means that the transactions are secure and transparent, as anyone can view them, but they are also anonymous, as the identity of the participants in the transaction is not revealed.

Bitcoin is often referred to as “digital gold” or a store of value, as it has a limited supply of 21 million coins, and its value is determined by market demand. Some people also see it as a hedge against inflation or a way to diversify their investment portfolio. It is by far the largest cryptocurrency by market cap in the industry, accounting for the value of more than 50% of all digital assets in circulation combined, making it arguably the most popular crypto to buy.

Why Bitcoin?

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $66,184, holding above the $65,000 support zone after another volatile week marked by heavy sell pressure and record-low sentiment readings. Price briefly slipped toward $64,000 at the weekly close before stabilizing, keeping BTC confined within the $65,900–$70,500 range that has defined recent trade. The broader mood remains cautious, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index plunging to 5/100, matching historic bear market lows even as Bitcoin sits nearly 47% below its all-time high.

Despite bearish positioning, the derivatives setup suggests the risk may now be skewed higher. A 4.3% move toward $69,600 could trigger more than $600 million in short liquidations, according to CoinGlass, raising the probability of a volatility-driven squeeze. Futures funding remains negative, reflecting persistent bearish conviction, while whale exchange inflows remain elevated near 70%, signaling continued distribution pressure. At the same time, fundamentals are stabilizing: Bitcoin’s seven-day hashrate has rebounded to 1,100 EH/s, and the BIP-360 proposal addressing post-quantum security risks is helping neutralize long-term network concerns. Meanwhile, Michael Saylor hinted at Strategy’s 100th Bitcoin purchase, extending its 12-week accumulation streak, and Missouri lawmakers advanced a new strategic Bitcoin reserve bill, reinforcing the institutional and state-level adoption narrative.

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin remains at a critical inflection point. Bulls must reclaim $68,000–$70,000 to shift short-term momentum, with liquidity clusters building toward $72,000 and beyond. Failure to hold $65,000 opens the door to a deeper retest of the $60,000–$61,000 demand zone, where analysts expect heavier structural support. For now, the market structure resembles late-cycle consolidation rather than capitulation, and with excessive short positioning building overhead, Bitcoin appears positioned for a potential squeeze-driven rally if macro pressure stabilizes.

2. Ethereum

Launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin and a team of developers, Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that allows developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. 

Ethereum has a wide range of use cases beyond just a store of value or medium of exchange. Ethereum’s smart contract functionality allows developers to build dApps that can run without the need for intermediaries, like centralized servers or institutions.

The Ethereum platform has gained widespread adoption and has become the backbone of the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry. DeFi applications built on Ethereum allow users to access financial services without relying on traditional banks or financial institutions. Ethereum’s smart contract functionality has also enabled the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which have gained popularity in the digital art and gaming worlds.

While Ethereum has a strong community and has been highly influential in the cryptocurrency industry, it also faces challenges, such as scalability issues and high gas fees. These issues have spurred the development of various Layer 2 scaling solutions. In the long run, future updates are supposed to massively increase Ethereum’s throughput bringing the transaction per second (TPS) figure from 15 to 100,000.

Why Ethereum?

Ethereum (ETH) is trading at $1,913, struggling to reclaim the $2,000 level after failing to sustain momentum above $2,500 earlier this cycle. The asset remains nearly 60% below its all-time high, with February ETF flows showing $327 million in net outflows. Still, price action has stabilized above the $1,800 support zone, and the recent $1,744 low continues to act as the structural pivot for bulls attempting to form a base.

Institutional positioning is quietly shifting. Harvard’s endowment disclosed an $87 million allocation to BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust, while trimming Bitcoin exposure, signaling selective rotation rather than broad crypto capitulation. BlackRock also amended its staked Ether ETF proposal, pairing staking yield with a competitive 0.25% fee structure, reinforcing Ethereum’s appeal as a yield-generating institutional asset. At the same time, Ethereum continues to dominate the $20 billion real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market, hosting products from BlackRock, JPMorgan, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton. Corporate treasury adoption is expanding as well, with Bitmine increasing its holdings to 4.37 million ETH, 3.62% of total supply, with over 3 million ETH staked, generating an estimated $176 million in annualized yield.

Looking ahead, Ethereum’s structural case rests on reclaiming momentum above $2,100, which would open the path toward $2,500, the key resistance level highlighted by traders. Below current levels, support clusters around $1,800, with deeper demand zones near $1,700 if macro pressure intensifies. While ETF outflows have weighed on short-term sentiment, institutional capital is increasingly targeting Ethereum’s staking yield and RWA infrastructure rather than speculative narratives. For now, ETH appears to be building a consolidation base beneath major resistance, with upside contingent on sustained ETF stabilization and continued institutional allocation.

3. Solana

Solana is a smart contract platform known for its distinctive architecture, enabling it to handle thousands of transactions per second while maintaining very low costs. It accomplishes this by using a combination of a unique Proof-of-History algorithm and a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. SOL, the native cryptocurrency of the platform, is one of the cheapest to transfer, with users typically paying less than $0.001 per transaction.

Founded in 2018 by Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana’s mainnet went live in March 2020 and experienced a surge in adoption throughout 2021. Despite a significant drop in value during the 2022 bear market, Solana remains one of the most robust ecosystems in the cryptocurrency space and continues to be seen as a potential candidate for significant future growth.

Why Solana?

Solana (SOL) is trading at $80.13, hovering just above critical support after a 72% drawdown from its $295 all-time high. The token has repeatedly failed to reclaim the $89 level and remains vulnerable near the $78–$80 zone, where technical structure is weakening. Futures open interest has collapsed 75% from its $13.5 billion peak, signaling that traders are exiting positions rather than adding new leverage, while broader market sentiment remains cautious.

Derivatives data reflects growing stress. Funding rates have remained deeply negative, with shorts paying elevated premiums to maintain positions, underscoring strong bearish conviction. Onchain activity is also cooling, with weekly Solana DApp revenue dropping to $22.8 million, its lowest level since October 2024, and nearly 40% of that revenue coming from memecoin launchpad Pump. Institutional participation remains mixed. While Solana ETF products have attracted inflows in 66 of 74 trading days and accumulated $877 million in cumulative inflows, assets under management still lag far behind Ethereum. Meanwhile, ecosystem developments such as Zora’s new “attention markets” platform add speculative activity but reinforce Solana’s continued dependence on retail-driven narratives rather than high-value DeFi infrastructure.

Technically, SOL is testing a key inflection point. A confirmed break below $80 would validate a bear flag pattern with downside targets near $50–$60, aligning with a larger head-and-shoulders projection around $57. The first support below current levels sits near $73, marked by the lowest MVRV pricing band, a zone that historically preceded rebounds. However, failure to stabilize could expose SOL to another flush toward $48–$50. For now, the path of least resistance leans lower unless institutional inflows accelerate or derivatives positioning unwinds sharply.

4. AAVE

Launched in 2017 as ETHLend before rebranding to Aave in 2018, Aave is a decentralized, open-source liquidity protocol that enables users to lend and borrow digital assets without intermediaries. The platform operates through smart contracts on Ethereum and multiple other networks, allowing users to supply assets to liquidity pools and earn yield, or borrow against collateral in a non-custodial manner.

Aave introduced several innovations to decentralized finance, including flash loans, variable and stable interest rate options, and risk-managed liquidity pools. The protocol’s governance is controlled by AAVE token holders, who vote on upgrades, risk parameters, and treasury allocations through the Aave DAO.

Today, Aave is one of the largest DeFi protocols by total value locked, serving as a core infrastructure layer for onchain credit markets. Ongoing upgrades such as Aave V4 aim to integrate real-world assets, improve capital efficiency, and expand institutional participation, positioning the protocol as a long-term liquidity engine within decentralized finance.

Why AAVE?

Aave (AAVE) is trading at $127.01, rebounding from recent lows near $100 but still down sharply from the $180–$190 range seen earlier this cycle. The token recently printed a strong daily recovery candle, briefly pushing toward $130 as governance and ETF headlines triggered renewed buying interest. Despite the bounce, AAVE remains within a broader corrective structure, with price still below key resistance levels that would confirm a full trend reversal.

The rally is fundamentally driven by a major governance shift. Aave Labs proposed a $50 million funding package that would redirect 100% of revenue from Aave-branded products to the DAO treasury, consolidating value accrual at the tokenholder level. The proposal includes $42.5 million in stablecoins and 75,000 AAVE tokens, while ratifying Aave V4 as the protocol’s long-term foundation. At the same time, Grayscale filed an S-1 for a potential AAVE spot ETF, adding a new institutional narrative. Founder Stani Kulechov has also pitched a long-term vision centered on tokenizing “abundance assets,” arguing that on-chain lending could tap into a $50 trillion opportunity by 2050. Together, these developments reposition Aave as a DAO-driven credit layer rather than just a DeFi lending protocol.

From a technical standpoint, AAVE faces immediate resistance at $140–$142, where the broader downtrend remains intact. A break above that zone would open upside toward $150 and potentially the $165–$170 breakdown area. On the downside, key support sits at $118–$120, followed by the $100–$105 demand zone. While momentum indicators show early recovery signals, the current move still resembles a relief rally inside a wider market consolidation. For a sustained breakout, governance approval, revenue consolidation, and institutional ETF momentum will need to translate into consistent capital inflows.

5. Toncoin

Launched as the blockchain powering Telegram’s Web3 ambitions, The Open Network (TON) is a decentralized, open-source blockchain designed for fast, low-cost transactions and seamless integration with consumer-facing applications. TON was built to support smart contracts, decentralized applications, and native payments at scale, with a strong focus on usability and high throughput.

TON goes beyond simple value transfers by enabling developers to build Mini Apps, wallets, and payment tools that can be embedded directly into Telegram’s interface. This design allows users to interact with onchain services without leaving a familiar messaging environment, lowering friction compared with traditional dApp ecosystems.

Adoption has increasingly centered on payments and consumer use cases, with TON positioned as a settlement layer for in-app commerce, peer-to-peer transfers, and stablecoin payments across Telegram’s global user base. Recent launches such as TON Pay aim to turn Telegram into a native crypto checkout environment, expanding real-world utility beyond trading and speculation.

Despite its growth, TON continues to face scrutiny around decentralization, governance, and its close association with Telegram. Ongoing development is focused on improving developer tooling, scaling transaction capacity, and expanding compliance-friendly payment infrastructure, as the network pushes toward broader mainstream adoption.

Why Toncoin?

Toncoin (TON) is trading at $1.34, up 1.35% over the past seven days, with a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, standing out as one of the few large-cap assets holding steady during a volatile market week. While Bitcoin and Ethereum sold off sharply, TON remained range-bound, reflecting relatively resilient sentiment tied to ecosystem-specific developments rather than broader macro flows. Price action suggests quiet accumulation, with limited downside follow-through despite market-wide risk aversion.

That stability comes as the TON Foundation unveiled TON Pay, a new payments SDK designed to turn Telegram into a native crypto checkout layer for Toncoin and stablecoins. The tool allows Telegram Mini Apps to accept onchain payments through a single integration, with sub-second settlement times and average fees below one cent, targeting Telegram’s 1.1 billion monthly active users. TON Foundation vice president of payments Nikola Plecas said the goal is to remove friction around wallets, gas fees, and checkout, positioning TON as a consumer payments rail embedded directly into one of the world’s largest messaging platforms.

Looking ahead, TON’s narrative is increasingly tied to real-world usage rather than speculative trading. Planned expansions to subscriptions, gasless transactions, and regional fiat off-ramps could broaden merchant adoption, while Telegram’s scale offers a distribution advantage few blockchains can match. From a technical standpoint, TON is holding support near $1.25, with resistance around the $1.45 to $1.50 zone. As long as the Telegram payments rollout progresses, TON appears positioned for gradual accumulation rather than momentum-driven moves in the near term.

6. Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange built to rival centralized trading platforms in speed, liquidity, and user experience—all while remaining fully on-chain. Unlike traditional DEXs that often struggle with performance bottlenecks, Hyperliquid uses a custom high-performance layer-1 blockchain specifically optimized for trading. This allows it to offer ultra-low latency, high throughput, and a seamless trading experience without relying on external validators or rollups.

One of Hyperliquid’s key innovations is its order book-based model, which is uncommon among decentralized platforms. While many DEXs use automated market makers (AMMs), Hyperliquid implements a central limit order book (CLOB), giving traders more control over order execution and tighter spreads. This design makes it particularly appealing to professional and high-frequency traders who expect the responsiveness of centralized exchanges but want the trustlessness of DeFi. Its deep liquidity pools and tight integration with crypto-native assets further enhance its trading dynamics.

Why Hyperliquid?

Hyperliquid has been one of the strongest and only movers in the market this week, with HYPE up 37.42% to around $30.70, lifting its market cap to roughly $9.28 billion. The rally followed a sharp burst of buying tied to staking activity and balance-sheet accumulation, including flows linked to Hyperliquid Strategies, a publicly listed digital asset treasury firm. Onchain data shows millions of HYPE tokens transferred via custodial services like Anchorage and staked shortly after, materially reducing near-term sell pressure following recent unlocks. That supply squeeze helped push prices higher and triggered more than $30 million in short liquidations, amplifying the move.

Hyperliquid Strategies (PURR) hasn't received any HYPE from Flowdesk in 5 days

So either:

a) they stopped buying & weren't part of the move from $22 to $33

Or b) they're still buying but changed their setup to be less easily tracked

For example, @mlmabc identified this wallet… https://t.co/pPJ1DOqHpm

— Luke Cannon (@lukecannon727) January 28, 2026

Beyond staking dynamics, Hyperliquid’s derivatives ecosystem has also been a key driver. Activity on its HIP-3 framework, which allows permissionless deployment of perpetual markets, surged to new highs as commodities trading exploded. Open interest on HIP-3 markets climbed toward the $800–900 million range, driven largely by gold and silver contracts during the ongoing precious-metals rally. Daily volumes across HIP-3 decentralized exchanges also hit record levels, reinforcing Hyperliquid’s growing relevance in niche but fast-expanding derivatives segments.

HIP-3 open interest reached an all-time high of $790M, driven recently by a surge in commodities trading.

HIP-3 OI has been hitting new ATHs each week. A month ago, HIP-3 OI was $260M.

— Hyperliquid (@HyperliquidX) January 26, 2026

That said, the rally has not been accompanied by a dramatic increase in overall perpetual volumes or aggregate open interest compared with major centralized exchanges, suggesting the move may be concentrated rather than broad-based. Recent gains appear closely tied to one-off catalysts such as staking flows, reduced selling from large holders, and renewed speculative interest sparked by bullish research coverage. While Hyperliquid’s long-term fundamentals remain compelling, especially around its permissionless perps model, sustaining upside from here will likely depend on whether user activity and derivatives demand continue to expand beyond the current commodities-led surge.

7. XRP

XRP is a digital cryptocurrency that was created by Ripple Labs in 2012. It is used as a means of payment and transfer of value on the Ripple payment protocol, which is designed to enable fast and secure transactions between financial institutions as well as individuals.

XRP is unique in that it is not based on the blockchain technology used by many other cryptocurrencies. Instead, it uses a distributed consensus ledger called the XRP Ledger, which is maintained by a network of validators. This allows for faster transaction processing times and lower fees compared to traditional payment methods.

XRP has been popular among cryptocurrency traders and investors due to its high liquidity and clear potential for broader adoption, especially as a remittance solution. However, it has also been the subject of controversy and legal action, with US regulators alleging that it is a security and should thus be subjected to securities regulations. This has somewhat hindered the potential of XRP as an investment, and handcuffed Ripple’s growth as a company.

Why XRP?

XRP is trading at $1.90, down 3.94% on the week, with a market cap of $115.53 billion, as the token remains stuck in a fragile range following its steep decline from the $3.66 peak set in mid-2025. But despite weak price action, derivatives data suggests XRP may be building the kind of setup that has historically preceded sharp rebounds. The key signal this week comes from Binance funding rates, which have stayed mostly negative for nearly two months. That indicates leveraged traders are heavily positioned for downside and are paying to maintain short exposure. This matters because crowded shorts often create a built-in reversal mechanism: if price begins moving up, forced liquidations can flip into sudden buying pressure, triggering a squeeze.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost framed it as “latent buy pressure,” noting that similar negative funding periods preceded major XRP rebounds in previous cycles. The idea is that heavy short positioning adds short-term pressure, but it also loads the market with potential fuel if price stabilizes and turns higher. XRP’s ability to hold the $1.80–$2.00 zone is critical here. That range has acted as a major pivot level in past phases, including the launchpad for XRP’s explosive rally earlier in 2025. If bulls can reclaim $2 as support and push back toward key resistance levels, the squeeze scenario becomes more realistic.

However, onchain data also highlights a key risk: the $2 zone has repeatedly acted as a “pain point” where holders exit rather than accumulate. Glassnode data shows that retests of the $2 area have historically coincided with large realized losses, suggesting some investors were using rebounds as chances to reduce exposure. That implies XRP will likely face selling friction near the psychological $2 level, even if price stabilizes first. Technically, the next major bullish trigger sits around the 50-week EMA near $2.22, while the downside risk remains significant if XRP loses the $1.80 support and slips toward the 200-week EMA around $1.40. In short, XRP looks like a coin with compressed positioning: downside is still possible, but if price holds the range and momentum improves, the short-heavy structure could quickly flip into a violent relief move.

8. Monero

Monero is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency designed to offer anonymous and untraceable transactions. Launched in 2014 as a fork of Bytecoin, Monero was introduced through a whitepaper written by the pseudonymous “Nicolas van Saberhagen.” Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, Monero conceals sender and receiver identities, as well as transaction amounts, through advanced cryptographic techniques such as stealth addresses and ring signatures. This strong focus on privacy has made Monero a favorite among users seeking true financial confidentiality.

Monero runs on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism and is deliberately resistant to ASIC mining to support decentralization. It can be mined efficiently using consumer-grade hardware, and its privacy-preserving features also improve fungibility—individual XMR coins are indistinguishable from one another and can’t be blacklisted. Despite its strong standing within the crypto community, Monero has been the subject of regulatory scrutiny due to concerns over its potential use in illicit activities. Nonetheless, it remains the most widely adopted privacy coin in the market today.

Why Monero?

Monero surged to its highest level since 2021 this week, reclaiming the spotlight among privacy-focused cryptocurrencies as XMR briefly pushed past $590 and entered fresh price discovery. The rally coincided with renewed interest in privacy assets and a sharp contrast with governance turmoil at rival Zcash, where internal disputes triggered developer resignations and a steep sell-off. With ZEC faltering, traders appeared to rotate toward Monero as the more stable and decentralized privacy exposure, lifting XMR back toward levels not seen in nearly five years.

Beyond relative strength against peers, Monero’s move also reflects a broader shift in sentiment around financial privacy. Institutional commentary from firms such as Grayscale and Coinbase has increasingly highlighted privacy as a structural theme for 2026, driven by tighter compliance rules, onchain transparency concerns, and growing demand for confidential transactions. While Monero faced scrutiny in 2025 following a large block reorganization and ongoing debates around mining concentration, those concerns have faded from price action as the network continued to operate without lasting disruption. As Zcash’s roadmap faces uncertainty, Monero has regained its position as the largest privacy coin by market capitalization.

From a technical perspective, XMR is now testing a historically critical zone. Previous attempts to break above the $500–$520 range have failed multiple times over the past decade, often followed by sharp corrections once momentum stalled. That history suggests near-term volatility remains likely unless Monero can decisively hold above former resistance. A confirmed breakout would invalidate the bearish fractal and open the door to higher targets around $750, based on long-term Fibonacci extensions. While pullbacks cannot be ruled out after such a steep rally, Monero’s reclaiming of its privacy crown and entry into price discovery place it among the more closely watched large-cap setups heading into 2026.

9. Zcash

ZCash (ZEC) is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that was launched in 2016 by Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn. It is a fork of Bitcoin, designed to enhance privacy and anonymity for its users. Unlike Bitcoin, where transaction details (such as sender, recipient, and amount) are publicly visible, ZCash allows users to choose between two types of transactions: transparent and shielded.

Transparent transactions work similarly to Bitcoin, where all transaction details are recorded on the blockchain and visible to everyone. However, shielded transactions use a cryptographic technology called zk-SNARKs to allow fully private transactions. In shielded transactions, the details are encrypted, meaning that only the parties involved have access to the information, while the validity of the transaction is still verifiable by the network.

ZCash is particularly valued by those who prioritize financial privacy and security, as it offers optional anonymity in a way that few other cryptocurrencies do.

Why Zcash?

Grayscale has taken steps to convert its long-standing Zcash Trust into a spot ETF by submitting an S-3 Zcash has extended its rally this week, trading near $521 and posting a 17% gain over the past seven days, as technical momentum and renewed interest in privacy-focused assets converge. Analysts point to a bullish ascending triangle formation on lower timeframes, a pattern that has been building for several weeks and typically precedes upside continuation. According to chart analysis shared by Ali Charts, a confirmed breakout above the former resistance zone could open the door to a 35% move, with measured targets clustering around the $650 level.

Momentum indicators have supported the constructive setup. The MACD has remained positive for multiple weeks, while shorter-term moving averages continue to trend above longer-term averages, signaling sustained buyer control. Analysts note that price compression near resistance often reflects accumulation rather than distribution, particularly when supported by improving volume and broader sector strength. With ZEC already reclaiming key levels, traders are watching closely for follow-through confirmation.

Beyond price action, onchain data highlights a deeper structural shift underway. According to recent metrics, Zcash’s shielded supply has stabilized at roughly 23% of total circulating ZEC, up sharply from around 8% at the start of 2025. Rather than fading as hype cooled, privacy usage has held firm, suggesting adoption is driven by practical demand instead of short-lived speculation. Large holders have also increased their ZEC balances during recent pullbacks, pointing to continued accumulation by long-term participants.

The broader privacy narrative continues to gain relevance as crypto moves toward more real-world payment and settlement use cases. Public blockchains expose wallet balances and transaction histories by default, creating friction for everyday users and businesses. As stablecoins and onchain payments scale, privacy solutions like Zcash are increasingly viewed as necessary infrastructure rather than niche features. With improving technicals, steady onchain adoption, and a renewed focus on privacy across the sector, Zcash is emerging as one of the more notable large-cap performers heading into 2026.

10. Uniswap

Uniswap is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange that pioneered and helped popularize the automated market maker (AMM) model. This innovative approach eliminates the need for traditional order books, enabling users to swap tokens directly on the blockchain in a streamlined, intermediary-free manner.

The Uniswap protocol operates in a fully decentralized way, allowing anyone to create liquidity pools for any token. As a result, newly launched crypto assets are often traded on Uniswap before becoming available on centralized exchanges.

Uniswap’s model has since been adopted by numerous decentralized exchanges across various blockchain networks. Despite this, Uniswap continues to lead the decentralized exchange space in terms of trading volume.

Governance of Uniswap is handled by holders of the UNI token, who can propose and vote on protocol changes. UNI was initially distributed to past users of the protocol through an airdrop in 2020, and the token can now be bought and sold on many decentralized and centralized trading platforms.

Why Uniswap?

UNI has recently outperformed the broader market, rising 16.5% over the past seven days while many other leading crypto assets moved sideways. This rally appears to be fundamentally driven, as

Uniswap founder Hayden Adams has advanced the long-anticipated UNIfication proposal to a final on-chain governance vote, a move that could significantly reshape how value accrues to UNI holders.

— Hayden Adams 🦄 (@haydenzadams) December 18, 2025

The proposal seeks to enable protocol fees on Uniswap v2 and selected v3 pools on Ethereum, directing a portion of trading fees into an automated UNI burn mechanism. After years of delays due to regulatory uncertainty, proponents argue that the environment has changed, allowing the protocol to finally implement a fee structure that directly links token value to usage.

A key component of the plan is a one-time burn of 100 million UNI from the treasury, intended to account for the value that might have accrued if protocol fees had been active since the beginning. Going forward, fees would be rolled out gradually to limit disruption for liquidity providers, with governance maintaining flexibility to adjust parameters as needed.

The proposal also broadens value capture beyond Ethereum mainnet by funneling Unichain sequencer fees into the same burn process, tying UNI supply reduction to activity on Uniswap’s Layer 2 network, which already handles significant trading volume.

Beyond token economics, UNIfication aims to unify governance, development, and operations under a single structure. Uniswap Labs would eliminate interface, wallet, and API fees, operate using governance-approved funding, and enter legally binding agreements to align its actions with the interests of UNI holders.

If the proposal passes, UNI would evolve from a purely governance-focused token into one with direct, usage-based value accrual, bringing renewed attention to the asset as the vote progresses.

11. BNB

BNB (formerly Binance Coin) is a cryptocurrency created by the popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, allowing users to buy, sell, and trade a wide range of digital assets.

BNB was initially one of the ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain but has since migrated to its own blockchain, known as BNB Chain. BNB is used as a utility token within the Binance ecosystem and has a variety of use cases. For example, users can use BNB to pay for transaction fees on the Binance exchange, receive discounts on trading fees, participate in token sales on Binance Launchpad, and purchase goods and services from merchants that accept BNB as payment.

One of the unique features of BNB is that it has a deflationary model. Binance uses a part of its profits each quarter to buy back and burn BNB tokens, reducing the total supply of the token over time. This mechanism is designed to create scarcity and increase the value of BNB over time, with the end goal of reducing the circulating supply of BNB from the initial 200 million to 100 million BNB.

Why BNB?

BNB reclaimed $900 this week after bouncing sharply from the $800–$820 demand zone, with multiple bullish technical structures now aligning behind a potential push back toward $1,000 in December. A double-bottom pattern on the 4H chart, combined with a clean breakout from a multi-week falling wedge, signals fading seller momentum and renewed appetite from dip-buyers. Liquidation heatmaps reveal over $112 million in short liquidations clustered near $1,020, suggesting a move toward that level could accelerate quickly if BNB breaks and holds above $900–$920.

However, BNB’s narrative this week also revolved around turbulence in the corporate treasury sector. CZ’s YZi Labs launched a formal attempt to overhaul the board of CEA Industries — the largest public BNB-holding company — accusing management of destroying shareholder value after the stock plunged 89% from its July peak. YZi aims to reverse recent bylaw changes, expand the board, and install its own nominees, arguing that CEA has failed to execute on its strategy of becoming the leading BNB treasury company. CEA responded by reaffirming its commitment to the BNB strategy while opening a dialogue with YZi to resolve concerns.

CEA stock collapses as YZi Labs pushes for a board takeover. Source: Google FinanceDespite governance drama and broader market pressure, BNB has held up better than many large-cap assets this quarter, outperforming even as it trades well below its mid-October all-time high of $1,367. CEA’s reported holdings of 515,054 BNB at an average entry of $851 place its treasury slightly underwater, yet BNB itself remains up 17.8% year-to-date, reinforcing its relative strength during the latest downturn. If bullish technicals continue to hold — and especially if liquidation clusters begin to trigger — analysts say BNB could feasibly revisit the $1,020–$1,115 range before year-end.

12. Chainlink

Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network designed to provide blockchains with secure, reliable data from external sources. It addresses the long-standing “oracle problem” by safely connecting on-chain systems with off-chain information, enabling many applications that wouldn’t be possible using blockchain data alone.

Already the dominant oracle provider in decentralized finance (DeFi), Chainlink is also gaining traction in NFT projects and crypto gaming. For example, a DeFi protocol can pull price feeds from centralized exchanges through Chainlink to power its smart contracts, while NFT platforms often rely on Chainlink’s verifiable randomness to ensure fair minting processes and transparent distribution.

Why Chainlink?

Chainlink rallied 15% this week to $14.10, boosted by a major interoperability milestone: Solana and Coinbase’s Base have been connected using Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). The new bridge allows seamless asset transfers between Solana and the Base L2 ecosystem, giving developers the ability to integrate SPL tokens directly into Base applications. This marks one of the first production-ready bridges linking an EVM chain to Solana’s non-EVM architecture, reinforcing Chainlink’s role as the industry’s dominant cross-chain infrastructure provider. Despite the breakthrough, LINK traded slightly lower on the day, mirroring broader altcoin weakness.

Chainlink also secured a significant step in institutional adoption as Grayscale’s spot LINK ETF debuted in the U.S., attracting $41 million in first-day inflows and posting “solid” trading volume, according to ETF analysts. While not a blockbuster launch like XRP’s, the ETF already manages $64 million in assets, showing that investor appetite is extending beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum into high-utility altcoins. Analysts noted the debut signals growing demand for regulated exposure to “long-tail assets,” especially those underpinning real-world tokenization infrastructure — a trend that plays directly into Chainlink’s strengths.

The new Grayscale spot Chainlink ETF did really solid volume on Day one of $13m and looks like it could see same again today (way more than it ever traded as a trust). Also $41m in first day flows. Another insta-hit from the crypto world, only dud so far was Doge but it's still… pic.twitter.com/wlCemHxkQP

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) December 3, 2025

Still, the LINK token remains down 73% from its all-time high, and the ETF launch alone has not reversed its long-term downtrend. But Chainlink’s strategic importance continues to grow: its oracle networks and CCIP are now core infrastructure for DeFi, tokenization protocols, and cross-chain applications across the industry. With Solana, Base, and multiple ETF providers integrating or backing the network, LINK’s recent strength suggests investors are beginning to reprice Chainlink as a foundational layer for the next phase of multi-chain development.

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