Best cryptocurrencies to invest in right now

The crypto market never stands still: some projects explode in value, others fade away, and new coins appear almost every month. Picking a random token and hoping for outsized gains is more like gambling than investing. If you want your crypto portfolio to make sense, you need a clear framework and an understanding of which assets are actually worth looking at.

This guide walks you through a selection of coins that many investors are adding to their portfolios today, explains why each asset is worth considering, and who it might be best suited for. It will be useful both for beginners and for more experienced users who want to refresh and rebalance their holdings.

Contents

• What to check before buying crypto
• Best cryptocurrencies to consider
  • Bitcoin (BTC)
  • Ethereum (ETH)
  • Chainlink (LINK)
  • Quant (QNT)
  • Polygon (MATIC)
  • Toncoin (TON)
  • Monero (XMR)
  • Ethena (ENA)
  • Bonk (BONK)
  • Cronos (CRO)
• Step-by-step: how to build your crypto list
• Risks and safety tips
• FAQ: common questions about crypto investing
• Conclusion: how to move forward

What to check before buying crypto

Before looking at specific coins, it’s important to accept one basic idea: the “best cryptocurrency” is not always the one that grows the fastest. For most private investors, the key is to balance risk and potential return, and to actually understand what you are buying.

Key factors to consider:

• Fundamentals. Project history, team, whitepaper, and real-world use cases.
• Market position. Market cap, trading volume, liquidity, listings on major exchanges.
• Ecosystem and community. Number of developers, partnerships, on-chain activity, social media presence.
• Time horizon. Are you ready to hold for years, or are you planning to manage the portfolio more actively?
• Allocation size. Even strong coins should be limited to a certain share of your capital so you don’t depend on a single project.

The list below is a starting point: these are coins that often attract long-term investors’ attention. It’s not a ready-made portfolio, but a curated watchlist you can build on.

Best cryptocurrencies to consider

Here are cryptocurrencies that stand out thanks to their fundamentals, importance for the overall ecosystem, and strong community support. Each asset has its own growth drivers and risk profile, so you should always make a personal decision.

Bitcoin (BTC): the core asset of the crypto market

Bitcoin is the first and largest cryptocurrency by market cap and is often referred to as “digital gold”. Its fixed supply of 21 million coins and sustained interest from institutional players make BTC one of the most reliable long-term assets in the crypto space. Historically, Bitcoin has survived every major market crash and later reached new all-time highs.

BTC is suitable for investors who want a core position in their portfolio, closely tied to the overall crypto market. It may not deliver the wild short-term moves of smaller altcoins, but it often acts as the backbone of a portfolio and a gateway to digital assets in general.

Ethereum (ETH): smart contracts and DeFi foundation

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency and the leading platform for smart contracts and decentralized applications. A significant share of DeFi protocols, NFT projects and infrastructure tools run on top of Ethereum, which makes ETH a core asset for anyone who believes in the long-term future of Web3.

Ongoing network upgrades, the development of layer-2 solutions and the focus on scalability and efficiency all support the long-term investment case for ETH. The coin may suit investors who want exposure not just to one token, but to the growth of an entire decentralized ecosystem.

Chainlink (LINK): reliable oracles for blockchains

Chainlink solves a mission-critical problem for DeFi and traditional finance: it delivers secure, tamper-resistant data from the outside world into smart contracts. This can be asset prices, event results, or any other information that determines how a contract behaves. As a result, Chainlink has become the default choice for many DeFi projects.

As tokenization grows and more traditional institutions explore blockchain, demand for trustworthy oracle solutions is likely to increase. LINK can fit into the portfolio of investors who are bullish on DeFi infrastructure and the integration of blockchains with existing financial systems.

Quant (QNT): interoperability and cross-network bridge

Quant is focused on interoperability: helping different blockchains and legacy financial systems interact with each other. Its core product, Overledger, acts as an “operating systеm” for a multi-chain environment. The QNT token is used to access the network, pay for licenses and services.

This coin may appeal to investors who believe in a future where tokenized assets, banks and blockchain apps are tightly interconnected. In that scenario, technologies that simplify integration and communication between networks can become especially valuable.

Polygon (MATIC): scaling the Ethereum ecosystem

Polygon started as a scaling solution for Ethereum but has grown into a full ecosystem with its own tools and applications. It enables DeFi protocols, gaming projects and NFT platforms to run with lower fees and faster confirmations compared to the Ethereum mainnet.

Support from large brands and integrations with popular services help strengthen Polygon’s position. MATIC is often added by investors who believe in Ethereum’s future but want extra exposure to infrastructure that makes the network more accessible for millions of users.

Toncoin (TON): closely linked to the Telegram ecosystem

Toncoin is the native token of The Open Network, a blockchain closely integrated with the Telegram messenger. This gives the project a unique advantage: direct access to a global user base of hundreds of millions of people. Payments, mini-apps, games and other Web3 scenarios are being built around TON.

Thanks to high throughput and low fees, Toncoin is well-suited for micropayments, user-to-user transfers and seamless crypto functionality inside a familiar messenger interface. TON is worth a look for those who believe mass adoption will come through everyday apps rather than specialized trading platforms.

Monero (XMR): enhanced transaction privacy

Monero is a technologically advanced cryptocurrency with a strong focus on transaction privacy. Its protocol hides sender and receiver addresses as well as transaction amounts by default, which significantly increases the level of financial confidentiality.

Investors who care about protecting their personal data and prefer not to expose their on-chain activity often consider XMR as part of a diversified portfolio. At the same time, strict privacy features may attract more regulatory attention in some jurisdictions, so it is important to understand local rules before investing.

Ethena (ENA): synthetic dollar and DeFi infrastructure

Ethena is a newer project working on a “crypto-native” synthetic dollar called USDe. The goal is to provide users with a stable settlement and savings instrument that is built on decentralized protocols instead of relying on a single banking systеm.

The ENA token is involved in governance and incentive mechanisms across the ecosystem. It can suit investors who are active in DeFi and are looking for exposure to projects at the intersection of stability, hedging and on-chain financial infrastructure.

Bonk (BONK): a meme coin powering the Solana ecosystem

Bonk is one of the most prominent meme tokens on the Solana blockchain. It started as a community-driven experiment but has gradually turned into an important part of the ecosystem: BONK is integrated into several wallets, NFT collections and DeFi apps on Solana.

Investing in meme coins always comes with elevated risk, but when the narrative is strong, price moves can be explosive. BONK is typically considered by investors who already understand Solana, are comfortable with high volatility and realize that community momentum and retail interest are key drivers here.

Cronos (CRO): token of a major exchange ecosystem

Cronos (CRO) is the native token of the Cronos blockchain and the wider Crypto.com ecosystem, one of the largest crypto platforms in the world. CRO is used to pay fees, participate in staking, receive rewards and unlock additional features across the ecosystem.

This coin is often chosen by users who actively rely on the platform’s products (exchange, cards, DeFi services) and want extra benefits such as lower fees or loyalty rewards. Keep in mind that the performance of CRO is closely tied to the success and reputation of the underlying platform.

Step-by-step: how to build your crypto list

The list above is a helpful reference, but the final decision is always yours. Here is a simple framework that can reduce impulsive buys and make your portfolio more structured.

Step 1. Define your goals and time frame. Are you investing to diversify savings, to beat inflation, to reach a major life goal, or to experiment with trading? Your answer determines how much crypto you should hold and which assets to pick.

Step 2. Build a core. For many investors, BTC and ETH form the core of the portfolio because they are the most established and liquid assets. They help reduce overall volatility and serve as a benchmark for riskier coins.

Step 3. Add thematic coins. Choose a few projects from different segments: DeFi (LINK, ENA), scaling and infrastructure (MATIC, QNT, TON), privacy (XMR), exchange or platform tokens (CRO), and high-risk growth ideas (BONK).

Step 4. Assess risks coin by coin. Look at how each asset behaved in past drawdowns, how transparent the team and funding are, and whether there is real demand for the token.

Step 5. Decide on allocation sizes. More conservative assets can take a larger share, while high-risk bets should stay relatively small. This way, you keep upside potential without overloading the portfolio with risk.

Step 6. Plan your entries. You don’t have to buy everything at once. Many investors use dollar-cost averaging (DCA), gradually building positions at price levels they are comfortable with.

Step 7. Review and rebalance. Markets and personal goals change over time. Periodic rebalancing helps lock in profits, trim overgrown positions and remove coins whose fundamentals no longer look convincing.

A combination of BTC + stablecoins is often used as the basic “frame” of a portfolio. Profits from more volatile coins can be periodically moved into stable assets to reduce risk and give you time to decide on the next move.

— a common path for investors who take profits on Bitcoin and temporarily park them in less volatile assets before reinvesting.

Risks and safety tips

Crypto investing always comes with high volatility and technological risks. Even strong projects can drop tens of percent in price, and some tokens may lose most of their value.

Basic safety rules inсlude:

• only invest money you can afford to lose;
• research projects instead of blindly following hype or social media calls;
• use reputable wallets and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible;
• beware of phishing websites, fake apps and “too good to be true” airdrops;
• stay informed about tax and legal requirements in your country.

The better you understand how the market and specific projects work, the easier it is to stay calm during inevitable price swings.

FAQ: common questions about crypto investing

Conclusion: how to move forward

Choosing the best cryptocurrencies to invest in is not about finding a secret list of coins. It’s about working with fundamentals, risk and your personal goals. Bitcoin and Ethereum remain the core of most portfolios, infrastructure projects like Chainlink, Polygon, Quant and Toncoin add exposure to ecosystem growth, while assets such as Monero, Ethena, Bonk and Cronos allow you to fine-tune specific themes — from privacy to meme narratives and exchange ecosystems.

Start small, write down your own rules, and don’t skip personal research. The crypto market is risky, but with a thoughtful approach it can become a meaningful part of a diversified investment strategy.

Disclaimer: this material is for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, financial recommendations or an offer to buy or sell any assets. The cryptocurrency market is highly risky; always assess your own financial situation and consult an independent professional if needed before making decisions.