Five altcoins an analyst bets on for the next crypto cycle

A crypto analyst compared the current sideways market to the 2020 downturn. Quiet periods often create the best entry points for projects tied to lasting trends, he said. He identified five altcoins as high-conviction bets for the next cycle: Bittensor, Ethereum, Solana, Chainlink, and Hyperliquid.

Bittensor (TAO) is his top AI infrastructure pick. The network uses a “proof of useful work” system. Participants earn rewards by contributing AI models, data, or computational power, not by hashing empty transactions. The network already runs 128 subnets, each dedicated to different AI applications. Some subnets focus on chatbot training, others on image generation or protein folding. The analyst said TAO could emerge as a major winner as artificial intelligence becomes a dominant investment theme over the decade.

Ethereum (ETH) remains his core holding. Institutional adoption is accelerating. BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley are among the firms building on Ethereum. The analyst pointed to record on-chain activity: 13.2 million monthly active users and over 200 million transactions in the first quarter of 2026. Tokenized stocks, bonds, ETFs, and stablecoins are moving onto the network. That shift is visible in deals like the recent ICE and OKX partnership to tokenize NYSE stocks. Ethereum sits at the center of this transformation, the analyst said.

Solana (SOL) is the second beneficiary of the tokenization trend. The analyst said it excels for real-world financial applications and programmable money. Its architecture handles high-frequency transactions, and the stablecoin ecosystem is growing. Tokenization initiatives on Solana include real estate and commodity-backed assets. That could drive long-term demand for SOL as a settlement asset.

Chainlink (LINK) was flagged as essential middleware. As assets move on-chain, blockchains need reliable data feeds and cross-chain interoperability. The analyst said Chainlink’s decentralized oracle networks already secure billions in value. Its cross-chain protocol is being adopted by major financial institutions for settling tokenized assets. Institutional adoption is strengthening the case for LINK, he said.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) represents a project with existing product-market fit, the analyst said. Its decentralized perpetual exchange has seen growing trading volumes, and the user base is expanding. He described it as a bet on real utility beyond speculation, in a competitive decentralized trading market. Rising activity on Hyperliquid reflects demand for on-chain leverage without centralized custody.

The analyst cautioned that most altcoins will fail. Projects tied to powerful trends like AI and tokenization, with real-world utility, offer the biggest opportunities when the cycle turns, he said. Each of the five names has a specific catalyst. The common thread is institutional demand for blockchain infrastructure.