Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
After briefly breaking past its October 6 record of $126,080, Bitcoin has slipped into a prolonged downtrend that dragged it to a seven-month low near $82,000 on November 21.
Long-time crypto holders remain unfazed. Veteran investors view the recent drop as a healthy cooldown following several months of nonstop record highs, a reset that clears out excess leverage, tamps down speculation, and potentially sets the stage for Bitcoin’s next major leg upward.
As Bitcoin’s dominance softens and attention spreads across the broader market, analysts increasingly expect the next major rally to be powered by altcoins. With valuations still subdued, many believe this is a prime accumulation window for assets like XRP, Solana, and Pepe.
XRP (XRP): A Front-Runner for the Future of Global Value Transfer
Ripple’s XRP ($XRP) continues to be a cornerstone in the digital payments sector thanks to its near-instant settlement capabilities and extremely low transaction fees. The company promotes the underlying blockchain, the XRP Ledger, as an efficient alternative to legacy systems like SWIFT.
Reports from institutions, including the UN Capital Development Fund and the White House, have referenced Ripple’s technology, and a growing network of banks and fintech partners has helped keep XRP’s market capitalization above $120 billion.
Furthermore, Ripple’s new USD-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, highlights its ambitions to capture what could be blockchain’s biggest use case in payments. Each RLUSD transfer destroys a small amount of XRP, reducing supply and tying XRP’s value more closely to the adoption of Ripple’s ecosystem.
Over the past year, XRP broke a six-year stagnation period and reached a new high of $3.65 in July, although its current price of $2 reflects a 45% pullback.
With its relative strength index (RSI) at 27 and a current price of $2 below the 30-day moving average, XRP is now oversold and thus discounted, making it likely to rebound quickly, something that will be helped along by the recent debut of nine XRP ETFs.
More fund launches are expected and will unlock broader institutional access, which may in turn accelerate investment flows. Should U.S. lawmakers pass comprehensive crypto legislation before year-end, analysts say XRP could plausibly target $10 or more by 2026.
Solana (SOL): Ethereum’s Fastest Competitor Targets a Move Toward $750
Solana ($SOL) has established itself as one of the most scalable and efficient smart-contract networks in the industry. With a market cap of over $69.6 billion and nearly $9 billion in total value locked across its DeFi protocols, it remains Ethereum’s strongest challenger.
New Solana spot ETFs from Grayscale and Bitwise, released late last month, have opened the door to substantial institutional inflows, similar catalysts that previously propelled Bitcoin and Ethereum to major rallies.
After bottoming out around $100 earlier this year, SOL now trades near $124, hovering in a crucial support zone. A bullish flag pattern that has been forming since mid-September suggests a potential breakout, though there is a significant resistance zone near $250.
A move above that zone could set the stage for a surge past its all-time high of $293.31, with $750 making for an ambitious but achievable target if festive momentum builds.
Meanwhile, Solana’s low-cost, high-speed architecture continues to attract Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization efforts, with major firms such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton building on the network.
Pepe (PEPE): Crypto’s Favorite Frog Prepares for a Potential New Breakout
Pepe ($PEPE) exploded onto the scene in April 2023, quickly cementing itself as one of the most recognizable meme tokens, inspired by Matt Furie’s iconic character from the Boy’s Club webcomic.
Now carrying a market cap near $1.7 billion, PEPE enjoys global recognition. Elon Musk even briefly switched his X profile picture to a Pepe meme, fueling speculation about his potential interest in the token.
Currently trading around $0.000003998, PEPE sits roughly 86% below its late-2024 peak of $0.00002803 after a slow summer and the slump of Q4.
With its RSI hovering around 25, the heavy selling phase is likely to end by midweek, with traders reestablishing positions at a discount.
Despite trading near its lowest levels in almost 2 years, the promise of U.S. regulatory clarity for digital asset firms could spark renewed investor appetite for higher-risk tokens, potentially setting PEPE up to reclaim its ATH before the end of the year.
Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER): Meme Energy Meets High-Speed Bitcoin Layer-2 Tech
A rising contender as the market heads toward 2026 is Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER), a Bitcoin layer-2 network wrapped in meme branding. Beyond the humor, the project aims to dramatically enhance Bitcoin’s scalability with fast transactions, low fees, and full smart-contract support.
Built using the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM), HYPER features decentralized governance and a Canonical Bridge enabling smooth Bitcoin transfers across multiple chains.
The presale has already raised $28.8 million, and popular analyst Borch Crypto has suggested the token could potentially rise as much as 100×.
A recent Coinsult audit found no smart-contract vulnerabilities, boosting investor confidence. The HYPER token powers fees, governance, and staking, with early presale participants earning yields up to 40% APY.
With Bitcoin set to go $HYPER in 2026, maxies and newbies alike have a chance to become first movers in the realm of Bitcoin layer 2 protocols through the Bitcoin Hyper presale.
Visit the official presale website or follow Bitcoin Hyper on X and Telegram for more information.
