BanklessTimes

Best Altcoins to Buy Now

Sam Atkins
Sam Atkins
Sam Atkins
Author:
Sam Atkins
Crypto Writer
Samuel is an experienced copywriter and editor, working as Head of Content at a UK-based digital marketing agency. Since completing his Creative Writing degree in 2021, Samuel has produced educational content and marketing copy for some of the world's largest centralized exchanges and Web3 projects. Outside of work, Samuel is heavily invested in the cryptocurrency space, including as an early investor in several DeFi companies.
Updated: August 20th, 2025
Editor:
Ruby Layram
Ruby Layram
Editor:
Ruby Layram
Crypto Content Editor
Ruby is a seasoned Editor with 5 years of experience working in the cryptocurrency space. She currently works as a Crypto Content Editor for BanklessTimes with a focus on creating informative content that helps our readers navigate cryptocurrency with confidence. Ruby discovered crypto whilst working as a freelance writer at University. She has been passionate about shedding light on crypto and DeFi through valuable content ever since. Before joining the team at BanklessTimes, Ruby worked on a number of established finance sites including The Motley Fool, TradingPlatforms.com, StockApps, ICOBench, and MoneyMagpie.com.
Fact Checker:
Ruby Layram
Ruby Layram
Fact Checker:
Ruby Layram
Crypto Content Editor
Ruby is a seasoned Editor with 5 years of experience working in the cryptocurrency space. She currently works as a Crypto Content Editor for BanklessTimes with a focus on creating informative content that helps our readers navigate cryptocurrency with confidence. Ruby discovered crypto whilst working as a freelance writer at University. She has been passionate about shedding light on crypto and DeFi through valuable content ever since. Before joining the team at BanklessTimes, Ruby worked on a number of established finance sites including The Motley Fool, TradingPlatforms.com, StockApps, ICOBench, and MoneyMagpie.com.

The best altcoin to buy now is Bitcoin Penguins for a short term upside. For longer term growth and stability, the best altcoin is Ethereum.

What is an Altcoin?

An altcoin is any cryptocurrency that isn’t Bitcoin (BTC). This means the term is capture all for thousands of assets, and as such can be a risky investment.

Ethereum, which powers much of the crypto market’s infrastructure, and Dogecoin, a community-driven meme coin, are both altcoins.

As investment opportunities these are very different. 

The Importance of Altcoins in Cryptocurrency Market

Altcoins are incredibly important within the cryptocurrency market.

Although Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency, it has limited use cases. As a result it struggles with scalability. Buy in from investors who feel they have ‘missed the boat’ also turn to altcoins as a route into crypto trading.

Altcoins are created for a number of different reasons:

  • As payments tokens
  • For governance
  • As security tokens
  • For community participation
  • For use within decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems

Altcoins can be used to secure blockchain networks through a variety of consensus mechanisms (Proof of Stake (PoS), Proof of Work (PoW), Proof of Authority (PoA), etc.).

The provide wide-ranging opportunities for investors to get involved in the cryptocurrency space.

Altcoins can also provide diversification opportunities within an investor’s portfolio. For example, they allow for hedging against the risks of a Bitcoin investment.

Top Altcoins to Buy

Presale or Established Altcoins?

When researching altcoins, you’ll find both presale tokens and established projects. So, what sets them apart?

Presale altcoins are brand-new tokens offered before they hit exchanges, usually at lower entry prices. They carry higher risk but can deliver big rewards if the project takes off.

Established altcoins, on the other hand, are already live on major exchanges.

Coins like ETH come with stronger liquidity and a track record in the market. This isn’t to say the upside potential has passed, but it can be slower. 

Altcoin Presales

Here’s the top altcoins currently at the presale stage.

Project Network Type Audit Whitepaper Presale End Raise
Recommended Rising fast
Bitcoin Penguins
BPENGU
SOL
Meme Presale Ended $4,200,000 Buy BPENGU
Recommended
Block3
BL3
SOL
AI No Listing $1,400,000 Buy BL3
Ozak AI
$OZ
ETH
AI
Unverified
No Listing $2,000,000
Unich
$UN
SOL
Meme
Unverified
No Listing $0
Catzilla
$CATZILLA
SOL
Meme No Listing $2,300,000
DeepSnitch
$DSAI
ETH
AI No Listing $157,000
Fred the Dog
$FRED
ETH
Meme
Unverified
No Listing $0
Pepe Dollar
PEPD
ETH
Meme No Listing $1,400,000
Little Pepe
LILPEPE
ETH
Meme
Unverified
No Listing $21,000,000
Vorn AI
$VRN
ETH
AI
Unverified
No Listing $71,000
HuntFi
HUFI
TON
AI
Unverified
No Whitepaper No Listing $98,000
Harry the Hippo
HIPO
ETH
AI No Listing $1,900,000
PEPENODE
$PEPENODE
ETH
Meme No Listing $220,000
Disclaimer: Crypto presales are speculative products and do not guarantee returns. Never invest more than you are comfortable losing.

How We Rate Crypto Presales

Tokenomics: We check if the token’s structure rewards early buyers and supports long-term growth.
Whitepaper: We review the whitepaper for clarity, credibility, and real utility.
Roadmap: We assess whether the project has a clear, time-based plan with real milestones.
Community: We look at how active and authentic the community is across key platforms.

Established Altcoins to Buy Now

Ethereum (ETH)

$ 4,289
Real-time Data
1 hr
-$75.31 (-1.72%)
24 hr
-$100.43 (-2.28%)
7 Days
-$117.93 (-2.67%)
Trading volume:
$ 28.85B
Trading volume rank:
2
Current market cap:
$ 524.89B
Market rank:
2

ETH Overview

Ethereum is one of the most innovative cryptocurrency projects available. Built to improve upon Bitcoin’s lack of scalability and smart contract functionality, Ethereum is a decentralized application (dApps)-focused Layer 1 blockchain that allows developers to deploy a huge variety of DeFi protocols.

Positive sentiment

Cardano (ADA)

$ 0.80679
Real-time Data
1 hr
-$0.00469 (-0.57%)
24 hr
-$0.00697 (-0.85%)
7 Days
-$0.02431 (-2.90%)
Trading volume:
$ 1.06B
Trading volume rank:
13
Current market cap:
$ 29.69B
Market rank:
11

ADA Overview

Cardano is a Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain founded on peer-to-peer research. It was created to solve the blockchain trilemma – the idea that no blockchain can be scalable, secure and decentralized at the same time.

Much like Ethereum, Cardano is an open-source, decentralized blockchain that allows developers to deploy smart contracts on-chain. This means that the Cardano ecosystem is made up of a range of decentralized applications and financial tools.

Very positive community sentiment
$ 198.98
Real-time Data
1 hr
-$1.91 (-0.94%)
24 hr
$0.75078 (0.38%)
7 Days
$13.07 (6.96%)
Trading volume:
$ 6.45B
Trading volume rank:
4
Current market cap:
$ 108.61B
Market rank:
6

SOL Overview

Solana (SOL) is one of the best altcoins to buy. It is the native cryptocurrency of the Solana network and can be used as a payment method for both daily and cross-border transactions. SOL can also be used for staking, transaction fees and governance.

As the Solana DeFi ecosystem continues to grow, SOL will have increasing utility across different Solana protocols.

Positive sentiment
$ 2.78
Real-time Data
1 hr
-$0.02330 (-0.83%)
24 hr
$0.01048 (0.38%)
7 Days
-$0.11680 (-4.03%)
Trading volume:
$ 6.22B
Trading volume rank:
5
Current market cap:
$ 166.77B
Market rank:
4

XRP Overview

Ripple (XRP) is one of the largest cryptocurrency-focused companies in the world.

Ripple aims to use blockchain technology to enable low-cost cross-border payments using the XRP cryptocurrency. Ripple primarily targets large institutions, banks and payment providers, allowing them to send money overseas with minimal fees.

Positive sentiment
$ 0.20848
Real-time Data
1 hr
-$0.00176 (-0.83%)
24 hr
-$0.00620 (-2.86%)
7 Days
-$0.00104 (-0.49%)
Trading volume:
$ 2.01B
Trading volume rank:
8
Current market cap:
$ 31.92B
Market rank:
10

DOGE Overview

Dogecoin (DOGE) is the original meme coin. It was created in 2013 as a joke but has since become one of the best altcoins to buy, having experienced huge mainstream adoption and a significant price increase since its launch.

Dogecoin is a Layer 1 blockchain. It uses a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, although it doesn’t consume as much energy as the Bitcoin blockchain does.

Positive sentiment
$ 3.10
Real-time Data
1 hr
-$0.02402 (-0.77%)
24 hr
-$0.03036 (-0.97%)
7 Days
-$0.01908 (-0.61%)
Trading volume:
$ 123.69M
Trading volume rank:
68
Current market cap:
$ 7.99B
Market rank:
30

TON Overview

TON is focused on cross-chain interoperability, helping blockchain networks to communicate with one another through the Toncoin cryptocurrency. Toncoin (TON) can be used across the TON network. The TON altcoin can be used for transactions, within Web3 games, to purchase NFTs, and more. There is a total supply of over 5 billion TON tokens, which have an annual inflation rate of 0.6%.

Very positive community sentiment

Criteria for Selecting the Best Altcoins

Market Cap: A higher market cap usually signals a more established altcoin with broader adoption.

Utility: The best altcoins to invest in are those that have been created with a purpose and that can potentially fix a genuine problem.

Growth: Altcoins with utility and community have likely already shown growth opportunity and should continue to do so.

Community: If lots of people are talking positively about a token it’s a good indication that the project is actively being adopted by real-users.

What Impacts Buying Altcoins?

Cryptocurrencies are incredibly volatile, and this is especially the case for altcoins.

Budgeting and Risk

Setting a budget is just as important as choosing which altcoins to buy. A good rule of thumb is never to invest more than you can afford to lose.

Altcoin investing is rarely a one-off – your budget might be weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even yearly. This will depend on your strategy.

Most trading apps also let you set limits to help keep spending in check. And since crypto markets can be unpredictable, sticking to your budget and avoiding the temptation to chase losses is key.

Market Trends

Market trends can directly impact the price of an altcoin. The cryptocurrency market moves in cycles, typically revolving around the Bitcoin halving.

If the crypto market is experiencing a “bull market”, the price of an altcoin is more likely to increase.

On the other hand, if the crypto market is bearish, the price of an altcoin is probably going to fall.

There are also trends within the different sectors contained within crypto.

For example, altcoins destined to be used within Web3 gaming ecosystems will likely all move in conjunction with one another.

The same can be said for utility tokens, AI tokens, DeFi tokens, and other niches.

Usually (although not always), altcoins with the largest market caps will move first. This is followed by low cap cryptos within the same sector.

Technological Developments

Technological developments could impact the price of an altcoin. With that in mind, the best altcoins to buy are those at the forefront of their respective sectors. Find those altcoins that are more technologically advanced than their competitors.

As technologies advance, altcoins may experience price increases. .

For example, the recent increase AI uptake has seen AI altcoins increase in value.

Regulatory Environment

Regulatory changes can significantly influence the price of altcoins. This can be for the positive and negative.

If regulators like the SEC impose stricter rules on crypto, altcoin prices often dip. Though this is usually only in the short term.

Conversely, if restrictions ease or crypto tax policies improve, altcoins tend to rally. This is because the market reacts to the friendlier environment.

The Process of Buying Altcoins

How you buy altcoins will influence the choices available.

Using a broker (like eToro) or a major exchange (such as Binance) gives you access to established coins. To get into presales, however, you’ll need a crypto wallet.

That said, wallets can also be used to purchase established altcoins.

Wallets offer a more hands-on experience. Brokers and exchanges are usually better suited for beginners.

When investing in altcoin presales, consider how and when tokens can be claimed. Trading often isn’t immediate, so be sure you know the timescales you are buying in to.

For established altcoins, you can buy through exchanges, brokers, or directly with a wallet. The right choice depends on your strategy and risk appetite.

Key Takeaways
  1. The best altcoin presale at the moment is Bitcoin Penguins.
  2. The best altcoin to buy at the moment is Ethereum.
  3. Altcoins can have huge growth, and drops, based on outside factors.
  4. Altcoin investment is volatile, never invest more than you can afford.
  5. If you want to invest in altcoin presales, you will need a crypto wallet. 
  6. If you want to buy established altcoins you can use a broker or a wallet.

Contributors

Sam Atkins
Crypto Writer
Samuel is an experienced copywriter and editor, working as Head of Content at a UK-based digital marketing agency. Since completing his Creative Writing degree in 2021, Samuel has produced educational content and marketing copy for some of the world's largest centralized exchanges and Web3 projects. Outside of work, Samuel is heavily invested in the cryptocurrency space, including as an early investor in several DeFi companies.