Recently, while organizing my cryptocurrency investment ideas for 2026, I found that many beginners get stuck on the “coin selection” problem. Instead of blindly following the trend, it’s better to first figure out whether you actually want to hold for the long term or trade in the short term.

Let’s start with the conclusion: mainstream coins are always the first choice—especially BTC and ETH. Based on the latest data, BTC has a market cap of $1.55 trillion and a market share of 57.32%, and it remains the absolute king of the crypto market. ETH closely follows, with a market cap of $257.35 billion, accounting for 9.50%. These two coins have been through countless bull-and-bear cycles, and simply surviving this long says it all.

When it comes to coin selection, there’s an old but well-known logic: buy altcoins in a bull market, and buy mainstream coins in a bear market. The underlying principle is simple—altcoins are more volatile, can rally quickly, but they also carry higher risk; mainstream coins have stronger downside resilience, and the probability of them going to zero is low. So what stage are we in right now? That’s the first question to answer. Next, you should also look at a coin’s reputation, trading volume, liquidity, and application scenarios.

I checked the current market cap ranking, and the top ten cryptocurrencies haven’t changed much: BTC, ETH, USDT, XRP, BNB, SOL, USDC, DOGE, ADA, TRX. Among them, USDT and USDC are stablecoins, mainly used for storing value and not really suitable for investing to grow. The other non-stablecoins are the ones truly worth paying attention to.

BTC doesn’t need much explanation: its scarcity and anti-inflation characteristics make it a must-have for conservative investors. ETH has a smart-contract ecosystem, and its TVL is as high as $52 billion—making it the most diverse in terms of use cases. As a platform token for a large exchange, BNB has consistently performed better than other platform tokens because the exchange itself is so big. SOL has been very popular in the past two years because its TPS can reach 65,000 transactions per second, far exceeding ETH’s 15–30 TPS, and its transaction fees are cheaper. And the MEME coin boom has made the SOL ecosystem extremely active.

If there’s any “best altcoin” worth watching, it depends on the current market hotspots. Coins like XRP and ADA—which mainly focus on payments and cross-chain use—may not have as rich ecosystem applications, but they’re well-liked in enterprise applications thanks to low fees and fast settlement. DOGE is supported by well-known backers, so its price fluctuations often track the level of hype.

My investment experience is this: beginners should start with long-term holding, because short-term trading requires a systematic trading strategy, the ability to manage positions, and psychological resilience—none of which can be built overnight. Long-term investing, on the other hand, has much lower requirements: you just need to understand basic operations and how to judge a coin’s market value.

In 2018, I bought 3 BTC at around $5,000. When it rose to $7,000, I sold—but then it continued climbing to $12,000, and I regretted it terribly. Later, the 312 event gave me a second chance to get in. This lesson shows that long-term holding is actually the easiest way to achieve high returns, because you won’t miss the trend, and you won’t be forced into buying high and selling low.

As for how to buy, you can first buy stablecoins in the fiat trading area of a mainstream exchange, then switch to the target coin in the spot trading area. BTC and ETH are somewhat special—some platforms support direct fiat purchases.

After you buy the coins, the hardest part is sticking with holding. Because when prices rise, you’ll want to lock in profits and sell; when prices fall, you’ll want to cut losses and stop out. My suggestion is to use both long-term and short-term strategies at the same time, keep the funds in different accounts, and even transfer your long-term assets to a cold wallet for physical separation. This can effectively control the “itch to act” impulse.

Final warning: never let yourself be fooled by low-priced coins. Those altcoins priced at only a few cents or a few tenths of a unit may seem like you could get rich just by a small rise, but in reality, most will either go to zero or be on the way there. Swapping mainstream coins for a bunch of “junk coins” usually ends with you falling short on both ends.

Overall, if you’re a conservative investor, focus on BTC and ETH. If you have some trading experience, you can allocate a portion to other mainstream coins like SOL, DOGE, and ADA. As for the best altcoins and MEME coins that are extremely volatile, the risks are too high—they require you to constantly watch the market and aren’t suitable for most people. The key is to clarify your investment goals, formulate the appropriate strategy, and then stick to it—don’t change your mind too often.