How to choose Crypto? A step-by-step guide to help you find the right investment targets

In an era of increasing volatility in financial assets, more and more people are turning their attention to Crypto. But here’s the question—with thousands of cryptocurrencies available, which one should you buy? Today, let’s discuss how to filter out the truly worthwhile coins from the many options.

Before Buying, Ask Yourself: What Is the Market Situation?

There’s an old saying in the crypto circle: “Bull market grab altcoins, bear market accumulate mainstream.” This is not empty talk; the logic behind it is quite straightforward:

In a bull market, altcoins tend to surge more sharply because of smaller bases and faster rises. But the risks are also higher; a slight misstep can lead to losses.

In a bear market, most people focus on top-tier coins like BTC and ETH. Why? Because these coins have strong resilience against declines and are almost impossible to go to zero. Altcoins, on the other hand, can disappear entirely.

So the first step is to understand the current market trend. This determines your subsequent strategy. Next, consider each coin’s popularity, trading volume, liquidity, volatility, and application scenarios.

Top Coins at a Glance: These Are the Market’s Pillars

Coins ranked high by market cap are usually industry leaders and serve as market indicators. The table below shows the top ten most-followed cryptocurrencies (data as of December 2025):

Note that this ranking is not fixed. Former stars like Filecoin, Luna, Polkadot, etc., have dropped out of the top ten due to changes in market narratives. This also serves as a warning: don’t put all your chips into one coin; diversification is key.

Coins Worth Long-Term Attention

Among many options, the following coins have performed well in multiple bull markets and are worth considering:

Bitcoin (BTC) — Digital Gold

As the pioneer of crypto, BTC remains the market’s cornerstone. Its advantages are clear:

• Scarcity: Fixed supply of 21 million, no further issuance
• Deflationary Mechanism: Halving every four years, latest inflation rate only 0.80%
• Highest Market Recognition: Institutional investors have long entered

Since last year’s spot ETF approval, institutional funds flowing into BTC have continued to grow, supporting its price rise.

Ethereum (ETH) — The Application King

Second in market cap, but its trading volume often reaches 60-70% of BTC’s. Why? Because it has smart contract functionality.

This feature attracts many developers to build applications on Ethereum—from DeFi to NFTs, with a rich range of use cases. According to the latest data, Ethereum’s TVL (Total Value Locked) has reached $93.1 billion, ranking first among all public chains.

Currently, many fund institutions are applying for Ethereum spot ETFs with staking features. Once approved, its attractiveness will further increase.

TAO Coin (TAO) — The Darling of AI Narratives

With the explosive growth of AI, integrating AI with blockchain has become a market focus. TAO emerged, backed by the Bittensor network—a peer-to-peer machine learning service marketplace.

Interestingly, TAO’s design fully references BTC’s approach: fixed 21 million coins, gradually halving. Its current price is around $217, with a fixed maximum supply, making its scarcity clear.

XRP — The Choice of Institutions

Ripple has established partnerships with hundreds of governments and financial institutions worldwide, giving XRP a natural credibility endorsement.

In performance, XRP can theoretically process 1,500-3,400 transactions per second, with actual throughput maintained at 500-700 TPS, far surpassing BTC’s 7 TPS. This makes it an ideal choice for institutions and enterprises. Current price is $1.86, with a market cap of about $112.61B.

Solana (SOL) — The High-Speed Highway

Known as the “Ethereum Killer,” this is no hype. SOL uses parallel processing technology, with a theoretical throughput of 65,000 TPS, and can stably handle 3,000-4,000 TPS in practice, far exceeding Ethereum’s 15-30 TPS.

Most importantly, transaction costs are extremely low, averaging only $0.00025 per transaction, offering excellent value. Current price is $122.35, with a market cap of $68.83B.

Other Notable Coins

Chainlink (LINK) connects the blockchain world with real-world data. Its oracle network allows smart contracts to securely access off-chain data—truly infrastructure, not just hype coins.

TON and DOGE are highly popular because they are backed by strong promoters—Telegram and Elon Musk, respectively. Their actions can trigger token price fluctuations.

Mainstream Coins vs. Altcoins: How to Choose Sides

Simply put, the top ten by market cap are mainstream coins, the rest are altcoins. The differences are significant:

Advantages of mainstream coins:

• More stable capital inflows, less manipulation
• Stronger bear market resilience, almost impossible to go to zero
• Large trading volume and liquidity

Characteristics of altcoins:

• Greater potential for price increases (but also sharper declines)
• Prices can be controlled by project teams or exchanges
• High risk and high reward; beginners can easily get liquidated

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

Stablecoins Are Only Cash Pools

Among the top ten, USDT and USDC are pegged 1:1 to USD, with minimal fluctuations (usually less than 1%). Because of their stability, they almost cannot generate significant returns, making them suitable only as cash reserves.

In contrast, non-stablecoins like BTC, ETH, XRP, DOGE, SOL have created many opportunities for gains in each bull market, making them truly worthwhile investments.

How to Buy and Sell? Practical Operation Guide

The Most Common Method

1. Register an account on a top-tier exchange
2. Complete identity verification
3. Link your payment method
4. First buy stablecoins like USDT or USDC in the “Fiat Trading” zone
5. Then transfer to the “Crypto Trading” zone to exchange for your desired coins

BTC and ETH are special; you can buy them directly with fiat currency.

Over-the-Counter (OTC) Trading

The simplest way is to buy directly from someone you know, but make sure they are trustworthy. Face-to-face transactions are recommended to avoid scams.

Short-term vs. Long-term Trading

Long-term holding seems simple—buy and hold—but in practice, it can be tough because:

• When prices rise, you want to sell to lock in profits
• When prices fall, you want to sell to cut losses

At this point, dividing funds into different accounts or transferring to wallets for physical separation can effectively curb impulsive trading.

Short-term trading carries higher risks but also offers the chance for higher returns. Because mainstream coins have large market caps and are less manipulable, short-term trading is relatively safer. However, leverage trading must be approached with caution; liquidation risk is very real.

Three Key Tips Every Investor Must Know

Beginners should prioritize long-term holding

Day trading, especially intraday, is not friendly to beginners. It requires systematic trading strategies, position management, and mental resilience—all of which beginners lack.

Long-term investing has lower requirements; just understand basic buy/sell operations and the market cap levels of different coins.

Long-term holding often yields higher returns

Theoretically, frequent low-buy high-sell in short-term trading can generate higher profits, but in reality—no one can predict market movements with 100% accuracy.

Most investors end up losing due to over-trading. For example, someone buys BTC at the bottom (around $5,000), then sells at $7,000 in a panic. Later, it surges to $12,000, and they regret missing out.

In contrast, long-term holding advocates “hold and forget,” avoiding missing big moves and effectively locking in profits from upward trends.

Asset security is the bottom line

After enduring from bear to bull markets, discovering your assets have been stolen is a nightmare. Therefore:

• If stored on an exchange, protect your password
• If using a self-custody wallet, keep your private keys or seed phrases safe
• Avoid connecting your wallet to phishing sites
• Do not authorize unknown DApps

Don’t Be Fooled by the Fantasy of “Getting Rich with a Penny”

Newbies often make a fatal mistake: seeing a coin priced at just a few cents and thinking, “If it just reaches one dollar, I’ll be a millionaire.”

The cruel reality is—these altcoins either go to zero or are on the way there. Even worse, newbies often exchange quality coins for junk, ending up empty-handed on both ends.

Who Should You Choose? Advice for Different Investors

If you are conservative: Stick to the most well-known BTC and ETH. They are the market’s safety net with the lowest risk.

If you are growth-oriented: Besides BTC and ETH, consider DOGE, ADA, SOL—provided you have basic market analysis skills.

MEME coins and small altcoins: Highly volatile and speculative, requiring constant monitoring. No recommendation here.

Final Reminder

No matter which coins you choose to invest in, avoid these common mistakes:

• Buying without clear investment goals
• Not setting stop-losses, holding onto losses
• Putting all your assets into altcoins

Otherwise, you’re just paying tuition repeatedly. Remember—the top ten mainstream coins by market cap are suitable for both short and long-term, the key is to choose the right strategy based on current market conditions. That’s the way to win.