Best Crypto to Buy Now: Solana and Ethereum Soar as Analysts Eye Christmas Bull Run

The mood in crypto has flipped almost overnight. After another sell-off on Sunday into Monday, the market is snapping back hard. Bitcoin just pushed past $92,000 – up over 6% in a single day – and it’s pulling almost everything up with it.

Even the Crypto Fear and Greed Index is finally out of “Extreme Fear” territory, which tells us that pessimism is giving way to tentative hope. And now, the talk about a Christmas bull run heading into 2026 is getting louder.

Alongside Bitcoin, the altcoin sector is also performing well, and two names are dominating the conversation today: Solana and Ethereum. Their rallies are proving there’s still a real appetite for risk.

But if you’re looking beyond SOL and ETH, where else should you be paying attention? We’ve done the research and found a few alternative names that could take off next. Here’s a look at what might be the best crypto to buy if we get a Christmas bull run.

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Why Solana and Ethereum Are Taking Off Right Now

But first, let’s look at SOL and ETH. SOL is currently at $141, up an impressive 10% in just 24 hours. Spot trading volume has rocketed 50% to nearly $7 billion in the past day, pushing SOL’s market cap back toward $80 billion.

This surge is because of several factors. First, there’s the broader crypto market recovery, which obviously benefits SOL. More specifically, though, Solana’s integration with prediction market platform Kalshi is a big deal – it brings betting on-chain, and leverages Solana’s speed in precisely the way the chain was built for.

Then you’ve got the Alpenglow upgrade scheduled later this month, which promises to slash block times and boost throughput. That’s creating a lot of pre-launch hype.

Ethereum is keeping pace with Solana, now at $3,070 after a 9% jump, with spot volume blowing past $30 billion in the past 24 hours. A key catalyst for this is institutional money: spot ETH ETFs saw $312 million in inflows last week, led by BlackRock.

Those inflows are starting to create upward pressure on ETH’s price. Plus, the Fusaka upgrade will be activated on mainnet today to increase Layer-2 data capacity – a key step in Ethereum’s scaling roadmap that’s already boosting sentiment.

3 Best Crypto to Buy as SOL and ETH Surge

With SOL and ETH setting a bullish tone, attention is naturally turning to other crypto assets that could follow suit. Here are three that are catching analysts’ attention right now.

1. Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER)

Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER) is trying to teach Bitcoin new tricks. It’s a Layer-2 network using technology similar to Solana’s to enable Bitcoin to offer fast, cheap transactions and full smart contract capabilities.

With Bitcoin Hyper, you can use wrapped BTC in DeFi apps without dealing with Bitcoin’s slower speed and higher cost. The native HYPER token powers everything on this network.

The project is still in its presale phase, and has raised almost $29 million from the community. It mirrors Bitcoin’s scarcity principle with a fixed supply of 21 billion HYPER, and the tokenomics are heavily weighted toward long-term development (20% for marketing, 30% for tech updates) rather than quick exits.

What makes Bitcoin Hyper so appealing right now is that it sits in the middle of two hot narratives: demand for Bitcoin Layer-2s and interest in the Solana ecosystem. Plus, HYPER’s price is fixed at just $0.013365 during the current presale stage – and there’s an option to immediately begin staking at a 40% APY.

Of course, Bitcoin Hyper is yet to be proven in live operation. But the same could be said about Ethereum and Solana before they launched – every chain started as a speculative bet. That’s why some traders believe HYPER is one of the best cryptos to buy now.

2. Sui (SUI)

Sui (SUI) is having a great week. Over the past 24 hours, its price exploded 24%, jumping to $1.70. And this surge wasn’t random – it’s a reversal after a tough month, brought about by a few specific catalysts.

For one, Coinbase enabled SUI trading for New York residents on Monday, unlocking a massive compliance-sensitive market. Also, the launch of the USDsui stablecoin in mid-November has boosted on-chain liquidity dramatically.

Finally, the $86 million SUI token unlock earlier this week got absorbed without tanking price, with most of the new tokens immediately staked. That proves investor conviction. So, with the broader altcoin market beginning to heat up, Sui might be primed to keep rising.

3. Maxi Doge (MAXI)

Maxi Doge (MAXI) is a meme coin that doesn’t pretend to be anything other than that. Built on Ethereum, its identity revolves around the “degen” trading culture of high risk and maximum reward, symbolized by its ripped Doge mascot.

On the utility side, MAXI keeps it simple by targeting traders who treat crypto like an extreme sport, and enjoy competing for the top spot on ROI leaderboards. Maxi Doge’s presale is still ongoing, with MAXI priced at $0.000271 and staking APYs up to 72% – and it’s raised over $4.2 million so far.

MAXI’s tokenomics are designed to sustain momentum, with 40% of the 150 billion MAXI supply allocated to marketing. This setup is going down well with traders because it suggests the team is in this for the long haul, not just a quick pump-and-dump.

And looking ahead, Maxi Doge’s team has revealed plans for weekly trading competitions (with crypto prizes) and integration with futures platforms. Given the massive demand for meme coins with real use cases, MAXI might be the best crypto to buy for risk-seeking traders.