Best Trending Altcoins to Buy Right Now: Weekly Picks

The crypto market cap slides down to $3.2 trillion as the price of Bitcoin briefly touches a low of $94,400, followed by a swift pullback to $97,000. Altcoins like ETH, Solana, BNB, and XRP saw a minor dip as they mirror the price movement of Bitcoin. Bitcoin's price is moving on a descending trendline, expected to break on the next big wave to the lower support levels.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are directly impacting the price of the crypto market. Moreover, the January CPI (Consumer Price Index) report on Wednesday starts the list of U.S. economic data with crypto implications this week. In the last meeting, the FED kept their interest rate steady at 4.25%- 4.50%, expected to lower to 0.5% in the upcoming meeting. If this happens, it will positively impact the crypto price due to fresh cash inflow.

Nevertheless, the ongoing bearish trend is for the short-term, presenting an opportunity to buy altcoins at discounted prices. The market is expected to settle and range for a few days before recovering to its bullish trajectory.

In this guide, we'll explore some of the most promising altcoins to consider right now. These projects have demonstrated strong fundamentals and the potential to outperform in the current market cycle.

When Will the Alt Season Start?

Bitcoin's market cap gained 11.23% in January to a $3.51 trillion. Bitcoin has maintained its dominance above 50 during this period. The liquidity inflow to Bitcoin is one of the main reasons for slower gain among the altcoins. Bitcoin's increased volatility has been the primary driver behind the high BTC dominance. As a result, altcoins haven't been able to fully benefit from the ongoing bull run.

Alt Index Chart

Currently, Bitcoin is outperforming the altcoin market. CMC Alt index chart shows the rising altcoin market cap while the declining altcoin season index is due to decreased interest in alternative crypto assets.

The Altcoins season index chart can help traders assess the current phase of the market and potentially decide how to allocate their portfolios. The altcoin season index has entered its lowest due to ongoing bearish market trends.

Top Altcoins by Market Cap

Top altcoins by market cap, excluding stablecoins are Ethereum, XRP, Solana, BNB, and Dogecoin.

The table below shows the token’s current price, year-to-date growth, seven-day percentage change, and total market cap.

It's worth noting that, excluding Dogecoin, all altcoins listed are Layer-1 crypto projects that offer real-world utility. Ethereum is known for its smart contracts and EVM to power the DeFi ecosystem. XRP provides an infrastructure for cross-border payments.

Likewise, the Solana ecosystem is known for active developers' activity and BNB is famous for its most comprehensive ecosystem.

How to Pick an Altcoin to Invest?

All cryptocurrency tokens other than Bitcoin are called alt-coins (short for alternative coins). There are thousands of altcoins already in the cryptocurrency market while only a few of them offer true utility and higher returns for the investors. Here are some of the generic benchmarks for choosing an altcoin for investing.

• Use Case: Choose altcoins that solve real-world problems.
• Team and Community: Check the experience of the development team and the size and activity level of the community.
• Tokenomics: Check supply, emission rates, and whether the coin is inflationary or deflationary.
• Market Metrics: Look at market capitalization, liquidity, trading volume, and exchange listings.
• Historical Performance: Study past price movements, and volatility.
• Fundamental and Technical Analysis: Conduct thorough research on the project’s fundamentals and do technical chart analysis.

Top 5 Best Altcoins to Buy Now

Based on project fundamentals and technical indicators, our team has shortlisted the top altcoins investors can capitalize on during the ongoing bull run. Below are our top picks for the best altcoins worth considering right now.

1. Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin (LTC) is a cryptocurrency created from a hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain in 2011. At the time, Bitcoin was criticized for being too centralized, with large mining firms dominating the network. Litecoin was introduced as a "lighter" alternative to address this issue.

However, over time, Litecoin faced similar challenges, with major mining companies also gaining control over its network. Today, Litecoin is known as one of the most well-known minable cryptocurrencies and a peer-to-peer payment system

LTC price has gained over 20.5% in the last 7 days, becoming the top gainer among the altcoins. In the last 24 hours, the price is 9.31%. Despite bearish sentiment in the market, this gain puts LTC into the spotlight. The price of the token is moving on a bullish trendline and moving to the upper target of $132. Litecoin has more room to grow to this target and record another 14% gain in the coming week.

2. Solana (SOL)

Solana (SOL) has gained significant attention with its meme coins, becoming an attractive option for both individual and institutional investors. Known for its volatility, Solana has the potential to deliver huge returns in a short period of time. The network enjoys massive developer interest, and meme coins built on Solana's blockchain have contributed to increased network activity.

Thanks to tools like Pump.fun, anyone can launch a meme coin on the Solana network without prior coding knowledge. While most of these coins are short-lived and prone to pump-and-dump schemes, they still generate substantial trading volume on the blockchain.

Solana meme coins currently boast a combined market cap of $794.32 billion, marking a 350% growth over the past year. Some of the most well-known coins on Solana include TRUMP, WIF, BONK, and PENGU.

With these coins launching on the Solana blockchain, the SOL token gains more intrinsic value in the long term. With the probability of being included in the U.S. crypto reserve under Trump's administration, Solana is expected to grow massively in the coming weeks.

The coin has already updated its all-time high from $260 to $293.31. Solana is currently trading at $204 after a low of $193 this past week. The price is expected to bounce back stronger due to institutional buying from this zone.

3. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum (ETH) remains the top-ranking altcoin in the crypto space, known for its smart contract capabilities that power a wide range of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and decentralized applications (dApps). Ethereum is the backbone of the DeFi ecosystem and enables the execution of smart contracts on its scalable infrastructure.

Ethereum holds a strong position with a large market cap, a dedicated developer community, and strong brand recognition. The project is continuously evolving, with key updates like hard forks that have transitioned the consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. This shift not only reduces gas fees but also cuts the carbon footprint, making Ethereum more eco-friendly.

Though Ethereum faces competition from blockchains like Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and XRP, which offer higher scalability and lower transaction fees, Ethereum's recent approval of an ETF has sparked optimism among investors, reinforcing its position as a leading crypto asset.

Ethereum has still not recovered from its drop to $2100 during the recent crypto crash. The price is continuously updating its lower lows with spikes to collect liquidity from the lower zones. The price is moving under the local resistance and in case of a breakout from here, it can copy its previous demand and rise to the upper SR interchange, the target of $3000.

4. Bittensor ($TAO)

Bittensor (TAO) is an open-source protocol that powers a community-run, decentralized blockchain network designed for machine learning model training. The native token, TAO, plays a key role in the network by rewarding contributors, granting external access, and allowing users to extract valuable information.

Bittensor aims to create a decentralized AI-driven market where data becomes a valuable commodity. For the price of TAO to rise, increased demand and strategic partnerships will be essential. As the network continues to evolve, its potential to disrupt the AI and blockchain sectors grows.

TAO showed significant growth in this price cycle, 17% up in the last 7 days. The price has been moving in a bearish trend making lower highs and lower lows. Currently, the price is rising after a massive dump. The price action shows copying previous demand and the price can target $420 this week and might continue its ascend to $480.

5. Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin is the leading meme coin, inspiring countless similar projects like Dogeverse and Shiba Inu. It boasts a strong community and growing use case within the broader crypto ecosystem. Backed by community support, celebrity endorsements, and investor interest, Dogecoin's price largely moves based on hype and whale activity.

Elon Musk has played a significant role in propelling the popularity of Dogecoin. Many believe his influence helps drive the price due to his reported holdings in the coin.

With a market cap of $37.09 billion, Dogecoin ranks #8 on CoinMarketCap. Trading near the $0.25 zone, the meme coin offers the potential for massive gains, driven by positive market sentiment and strong community support.

Dogecoin (DOGE) may see potential benefits from Elon Musk’s position in Trump’s government, which could drive exponential price gains in the future.

After recovering from last week’s dip, Dogecoin is currently ranging between the $0.23 and $0.26 zone. While the EMA shows a bearish trend in the short term, the price prediction for Dogecoin this week is $0.288, with February 25 marking its highest point.

Low-Cap Altcoins to Invest in 2025

Low-cap crypto gems are characterized by their low liquidity, therefore making them highly volatile. Even a relatively small investment of a few thousand dollars can significantly impact their price. However, this also means that large holders, or "whales," can easily dump their tokens and crash the price.

Low-cap altcoins offer the potential for huge and quick gains. However, the risk exposure is incredibly high. If you lack a strong understanding of project fundamentals or techniques like wallet tracking, you risk losing your entire investment in these projects.

Coins like Vita Inu, Rekt, and Teddy Bear are expected to remain volatile as fresh inflow into their liquidity pools is seen. Vita Inu gained over 173% in the last 7 days and has more potential to grow.

Here are some of the hot, trending low-cap crypto altcoins worth considering:

Investing in Altcoins vs. Bitcoin

The current cryptocurrency market crash is short term and overall the bull run is evidently moving in the favor of Bitcoin. However, as we enter 2025, this is going to be the year of altcoins, according to many experts.

Whether you should invest in Bitcoin or altcoins depends on various factors. Altcoins offer higher growth potential and diversification benefits compared to Bitcoin. However, Bitcoin's credibility, adoption, and limited supply make it an attractive choice for institutional investors.

If you are someone who prefers risk exposure and wants to benefit from the high volatility, altcoins are your thing. However, if you want to benefit from the high liquidity and balanced gains, you can invest in Bitcoin. It's always better to have a balanced investment portfolio that should include a mix of Bitcoin and altcoins to maximize growth potential and minimize risks.

Conclusion

Altcoins are hard to pick and come with increased inherent risk. However, if you pay close attention to careful evaluation of project fundamentals and technical indicators, you can benefit from their huge gains. Since the altcoin season has not fully started yet, this is probably the best time to invest and benefit from the promising altcoins.

As always, investors should conduct their own due diligence, and consider their risk tolerance.

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