The Best Trending Altcoins to Buy This Week

It's been one week since Trump took office and the impact is already visible on the crypto market. Trump's government is showing mixed response to the crypto market. President Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web marketplace Silk Road, who was serving two life sentences for crimes including drug trafficking and money laundering.

While this development is celebrated by the bulls, another action tanked the entire market to the ongoing bearish trend. Chinese crypto and AI mogul Zhan Ketuan has come under increased scrutiny from U.S. authorities. The GPU-based AI tokens lost over 40% as Chinese Deepseek comes under the U.S. regulatory radar.

Though the ongoing situation creates a sense of uncertainty in the market, the long-term trend remains bullish for Bitcoin. However, the altcoin market still remains an untapped well of potential, with many projects yet to achieve widespread recognition or adoption.

The crypto market is crowded with projects, and not all are destined to succeed. While some stand out by offering genuine utility and addressing real-world problems, others rely on fleeting trends and hype, making it difficult for investors to separate winners from the rest.

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 148% in 2024, compared to a 77% gain for Ethereum and a 54% gain for stablecoins, according to Coinmarketcap data. 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.

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. Dogecoin is the only altcoin making waves with its $57 billion market cap

How to Pick an Altcoin to Invest?

All cryptocurrency tokens other than Bitcoin are called altcoins (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 top altcoins investors can capitalize on during the ongoing bull run.

Below are our top picks for the best altcoins worth considering right now as of January 27, 2025.

1. Solana (SOL)

Solana is getting more powerful with its meme coins and has become an attractive option for individual and institutional investors. Solana is known for its volatility and offering huge returns in a short period of time. The project enjoys massive traction from the developers and meme coins based on its blockchain are responsible for the increased network activity.

There are hundreds and thousands of meme coins launched on the Solana network using the Pumpfun tool that helps anyone launch their own coin without writing any code or paying huge fees. Though most of these coins are shortlived and offer pump-and-dump situations, they still bring huge trading volume to the blockchain.

The recent launch of the official Trump meme coin endorsed by Trump himself is evidence of the promising future of Solana. The coin was launched at a fair price of $0.35 and the price increased to a high of $75.8 within a few hours. The coin gathered a market cap of $14.92 billion and was listed on major exchanges like Binance.

With these coins launching on the Solana blockchain, the SOL token gains more intrinsic value in the long term. Also the probability of being included in the US crypto reserve under the Trump 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. If Solana drops below the $200 price mark, it is expected to bounce back stronger due to institutional buying

2. Trump Official

TRUMP official, $TRUMP coin, was a major success as a meme coin launch as the project capitalized on the Trump presidency hype and endorsement. However, the Trump coin has lost over 50% within the last 7 days and updated its bottom even after being launched on major exchanges like Binance and OKX.

The current trading price of Trump coin is $25.5 and the price is moving in a bearish trend. Due to the massive transactions of the whales to execute sell orders, the project is losing bullish momentum. However, since the price is reaching its local bottom, the coin is expected to show a reversal in the next big wave and gain potentially 10% this week.

This bullish move will indicate a growing interest by the bulls and might coax retail traders to open leverage positions in the futures. Though the project has the potential to grow to $32 to $35 this week, the risk factor remains high.

3. Near Protocol

Near Protocol is often considered an Ethereum competitor. It is a community-run dApp (Decentralized Application) that focuses on offering a developer- and user-friendly environment. Near Protocol is becoming the go-to choice for many ambitious Decentralized Finance (DeFi) projects due to the advantages it offers over the Ethereum blockchain. Near is the native token of Near Protocol. Near Protocol supports virtual reality (VR) and other metaverse, NFT, and gaming projects.

Near currently ranks #27 among cryptocurrencies with respect to its market cap. Trading at $4.45, it has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion and a circulating supply of 1.17 billion tokens. Notably, 89% of the Near community is bullish on the project and anticipates significant growth during this crypto bull run.

Near has reached its bottom and collecting liquidity. The price is expected to copy its previous demand. Near has a short-term target of $5.69. Once it collects enough liquidity from the ongoing price correction, it can aim for higher targets. With its strategic partnerships and entry into blockchain gaming, Near is expected to show massive growth this year.

4. Ethereum

Ethereum remains the top-ranking crypto among altcoins. Renowned for its smart contract capabilities, Ethereum powers a range of DeFi protocols and dApps. Ethereum powers decentralized finance (DeFi) and enables the execution of smart contracts. It also serves as the backbone for decentralized applications (dApps) with its scalable infrastructure.

Ethereum is a strong contender with its significant market cap, developer community, and brand recognition. The developers behind the project are continuously improving the project. Through key updates, such as hard forks, they shifted the Ethereum consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake to cut gas fees and reduce carbon footprints.

Ethereum faces competition from blockchains like Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and XRP, which offer higher scalability and lower transaction fees. However, with the recent Ethereum ETF approval, investors have high hopes for this leading crypto project.

Ethereum price dropped to $3050 due to a bearish market opening on Monday. The price is resting above the support line after retesting the upper resistance level and bouncing back to take correction. Ethereum has a good local support at $3,000 region. In the short term, the price is expected to show a reversal back to $3250 during this week. A breakout above the resistance level can set the coin to target its ATH of $3,900 and higher.

5. Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin is the most popular and pioneering meme coin, inspiring hundreds of similar projects, like Dogeverse and Shiba Inu, in the crypto space. It boasts a strong community and a growing use case in the broader crypto ecosystem. Backed by the community, celebrity endorsements, and investor interest, Dogecoin mainly moves based on hype and whale activity.

Elon Musk has been the main character in making this project so popular and successful. Many believe he influences its price to benefit his position as he reportedly owns a significant amount of Dogecoin.

With a $46.49 billion market cap, Dogecoin ranks #8 on CoinMarketCap. Trading near the $0.31 zone, this meme coin potentially promises massive gains fueled by extremely positive market sentiments.

The Dogecoin price has been moving in a parallel channel and recently dropped below the channel's lower support. The analysts believe this to be a fakeout and the price should retrace back to the channel soon. The meme coin is expected to consolidate here for a while, collecting more liquidity before resuming its bullish trajectory. Additionally, the crypto meme coin may benefit from Elon Musk's position in Trump's government, potentially driving exponential gains in the future.

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 Milady Meme Coin and Eliza are expected to remain volatile as fresh inflow into their liquidity pools is seen.

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

Investing in Altcoins vs. Bitcoin

The current cryptocurrency bull run is evidently moving in the favor of Bitcoin. However, 2025 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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