Recently reviewing data from the virtual currency market, I found some interesting changes. Indeed, as many people say, in this market cycle, cryptocurrencies have become an indispensable part of asset allocation, especially considering their liquidity and privacy advantages. However, selecting worthwhile investments from thousands of cryptocurrencies does require some strategy.

I'll start with those ranked high by market capitalization. According to the latest data, BTC remains the leader, with a circulating market cap of 1.538 trillion USD and a market share of 43.43%. This coin was born in 2008, with a fixed total supply of 21 million coins, halving every four years. This scarcity design inherently determines its anti-inflation properties. ETH ranks second, with a market cap of 255.30 billion USD and a market share of 7.21%. Its smart contract functionality has attracted a large number of developers, with a rich ecosystem and TVL leading all public chains.

Other top-ranked cryptocurrencies like XRP, USDT, BNB, SOL, USDC, TRX, etc., each have their own stories. XRP is supported by Ripple, with high acceptance among institutions; SOL is called the "Ethereum killer" due to its high processing speed and low fees; stablecoins like USDT and USDC are mainly used for value storage, with volatility generally not exceeding 1%, making it hard to earn significant profits from them.

Regarding investment strategies, there's a popular saying in the crypto world: "Buy altcoins in a bull market, buy mainstream coins in a bear market." The logic is simple: altcoins tend to surge and yield high returns during bull markets, while mainstream coins are less risky during downturns. But this requires first judging the overall market trend, which is the top priority. Then comes considering the coin’s reputation, trading volume, liquidity, volatility, and use cases.

Personally, I favor cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, TAO, XRP, SOL, and DOGE. BTC, as the king of cryptocurrencies, has unbeatable scarcity; ETH has a rich application scenario; TAO is riding the AI development wave, with the Bittensor network aiming to build a peer-to-peer machine learning service marketplace; SOL’s transaction speed reaches 3,000 to 4,000 TPS, far surpassing Ethereum’s 15-30 TPS, with fees around $0.00025 per transaction; DOGE is supported by Elon Musk, and each of his posts can trigger price movements. Chainlink is also worth noting, as it connects blockchain with real-world data and has important infrastructural properties.

The most common way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies is to register an account on a major exchange, complete real-name verification, and link a payment method. Usually, you start by fiat-to-crypto trading to buy stablecoins via C2C, then trade on the crypto-to-crypto market to buy mainstream coins. BTC and ETH are more special, as they can be directly purchased via C2C. If you find the process cumbersome, you can also trade OTC, but it’s best to find a trustworthy counterparty, preferably face-to-face.

As for investment strategies, I believe long-term investing is more suitable for beginners because it requires less—just understanding basic buying and selling operations and the market cap of cryptocurrencies. Short-term trading, especially intraday trading, requires an independent and systematic trading strategy, position management skills, and good psychological resilience. Beginners are not suited for this. From a profit perspective, short-term trading can theoretically yield higher returns, but in reality, it’s very difficult to predict market movements with 100% accuracy. Long-term investing advocates holding for the long haul, effectively locking in profits from upward trends.

I remember in 2018, I bought three BTC around $5,000 each, sold them at $7,000, and then it later surged to $12,000, which I regretted deeply. Fortunately, the 312 event gave me a second chance to buy in. That’s the risk of short-term trading.

It’s especially important to emphasize that the crypto market changes rapidly, and rankings can shift. We need to choose cryptocurrencies based on our trading goals. If you’re a conservative investor, only consider the most well-known ones like BTC and ETH. If you’re a growth-oriented trader and skilled at trading, besides BTC and ETH, you might consider DOGE, ADA, SOL, and other mainstream coins. Smaller altcoins are highly volatile and speculative, requiring constant market observation, and are too risky for most people.

Finally, a reminder: protecting your assets is crucial. If you use exchange accounts, keep your passwords secure. If storing assets in a wallet, safeguard your private keys or seed phrases. Also, beware of a common beginner mistake—don’t be fooled by low-priced cryptocurrencies, thinking that just because they go up by a cent and you hold millions of coins, you can get rich quickly. The reality is harsh: these altcoins either go to zero or are on the way there. No matter which cryptocurrencies you choose to invest in, avoid unclear goals, not knowing how to cut losses, and holding onto altcoins long-term without a plan, as this will only lead to ongoing losses and paying tuition.