Best Crypto To Buy Now: Whales Are Buying Bitcoin At Fastest Pace Since 2012, $250,000 In 2026?

Crypto prices continue to frustrate investors with range-bound movement and consolidatory price action. 

However, whales are following the age-old adage: Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.

Glassnode data shows that whales, particularly wallets with 100 to 1k BTC, are buying Bitcoin at the fastest pace since 2012. They have reportedly purchased $23.5 billion worth of BTC in just a few weeks. 

The aggressive whale buying triggered a 100x rally back in 2012, with the largest cryptocurrency soaring from $10 to $1000 in nearly 2 years. 

It is, therefore, no surprise that many top analysts strongly argue that the crypto bull cycle isn’t over. $150,000 has emerged as a consensus target among the bulls, but many are predicting much higher prices next year. 

A popular and anonymous crypto analyst, referred to as the 4chan OG, who has accurately predicted several crypto cycle tops, now claims that the Bitcoin price will hit an all-time high of $250,000 in 2026. 

He has included Ethereum, Solana and the meme coin $BULLISH in his list of the best crypto to buy now. 

Best Crypto To Buy Now: Which Tokens Will Dominate 2026?

It is always a smart idea to align with whales and seasoned traders, rather than blindly following the price action. While retailers are panic-selling, the biggest whales are buying Bitcoin at the fastest pace since 2012. 

This article lists the 6 best crypto to buy now that will even outperform BTC next year. 

Ethereum (ETH)

The 4Chan OG is even more bullish on Ethereum than Bitcoin. 

He projects that the BTC price will hit $250,000 in 2026, which would be a 3x upside move from the current price. 

On the contrary, his 2026 Ethereum price prediction is $20,000, which would be a nearly 7x rally from its current $3,000 value. 

All indicators are pointing towards the start of an explosive ETH rally. Analyst Ali Martinez shows that Ethereum active addresses have doubled to 800,000 in a week, while whales have purchased $660 million worth of ETH in the past 7 days. 

The institutional demand for Ethereum is also surging, even beyond the treasury firms like SharpLink Gaming and BitMine. Real Vision’s James Easton highlights that the second-largest crypto could replicate its move from earlier this year when the ETH price soared from $1500 to $4900. 

Simply put, Ethereum has a stronger case for being the best crypto to buy than Bitcoin. 

Ethena (ENA)

Ethena (ENA), viewed by smart money investors as a beta bet on Ethereum, has emerged as one of the most attractive digital assets on the market. 

Notably, BitMEX co-founder and thought leader Arthur Hayes has sold Ethereum to invest in ETH beta bets, allocating one of the largest sums in Ethena. 

ENA’s relative strength is apparent. The token is among the top performers on Friday, right when Bitcoin is attempting a key breakout. This shows strong latent demand. It is up by nearly 5% over the past 24 hours. 

Captain Faibik highlights that ENA is on the cusp of a breakout from a falling wedge, which could trigger a 70% rally in the short term. 

World Liberty Financial (WLFI)

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is another prominent crypto asset that is showing top latent demand. 

The WLFI price is up by 6% on Friday, trading at $0.14 at press time. It is also up by nearly 9% over the past week. 

US President Donald Trump continues to be the nominal head of the project, while Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. continue to play key roles in operating the project. It is, therefore, no surprise that many analysts are calling WLFI one of the best crypto to buy for the rest of the Trump presidency. 

Crypto trader Zaibi Trades highlights that WLFI has broken out of a multi-month triangle and could surge to $0.20 as early as January. A new all-time high remains likely next year. 

Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL)

Virtuals Protocol, one of the top AI and AI agent coins on the market, is back to being an attractive buy. 

The fundamentals have always been there. Analyst Dami Defi highlights that Virtuals Protocol is generating the most revenue among any AI crypto on the market, nearly $75 million in 2025. 

Moreover, with over 1 million token holders, VIRTUAL is the top bet on the AI agent economy in the Web3 ecosystem. 

Now, the price appears poised to catch up to the fundamentals. Zayk Charts highlights that VIRTUAL is breaking out of a falling wedge in the 6-hour timeframe, which could trigger a 50% to 70% rally. 

Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER)

Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER) is quickly positioning itself as the best beta bet on Bitcoin, just as Ethena is a leveraged bet on ETH. 

It is the new BTC layer-2 coin on the market, which is off to a blazing start in its ICO. HYPER has already nearly $30 million, thanks to several whales who have purchased over $500k into it. 

The new Layer-2 scaling solution is powered by next-gen zero-knowledge architecture as well as the powerful Solana Virtual Machine. Experts believe that with its programmability, performance and exponential scalability, Bitcoin Hyper could be the new hotbed of DeFi boom within the Bitcoin ecosystem. 

It is no surprise that many analysts are publicly backing HYPER as a potential 100x investment, especially since it is a low-cap coin and several top projects reach multibillion-dollar market caps.

With its nearly 40% staking rewards, audited smart contracts and unique utility, Bitcoin Hyper checks all the boxes for being one of the best cryptocurrencies to buy now. 

Pepenode (PEPENODE)

Pepenode (PEPENODE), a low-cap meme coin, round out our list of most attractive crypto investments. 

Though inspired by the ever-popular Pepe the Frog meme coin, Pepenode isn’t a copycat token. It is the next step in Pepe’s evolution: a high-utility meme coin that offers alternative revenue streams to buyers beyond open-market speculation. 

Pepenode has launched a mine-to-earn concept that turns holding into an active strategy rather than passive speculation. 

Users can deploy virtual mining nodes that generate rewards over time, creating an incentive to stay engaged instead of selling at the first pump. This structure helps align long-term participation with ecosystem growth, something most meme coins lack entirely.

Investors can also earn bonus payouts in the form of popular meme coins like Pepe and Fartcoin, while early presale stakers are earning nearly 500% in annualized yields.

However, time is running out for sidelined investors, with the meme coin ending its presale in less than 15 days. 

Want more ideas across the market? We’ve covered several picks for the best crypto to buy in our detailed list.