Altcoin Daily host Austin Arnold used a video from Jan. 1 titled “Top 6 Crypto Altcoins To Invest In For 2026” to lay out what he posits as three “firsts” for crypto in 2026 and a corresponding list of six altcoins he says he will “buy and hold” in that infrastructure, smart-Icontract, infrastructure. games that focus on tokenization.
Arnold opened with the claim that crypto is at the center of “two mega trends”: digital assets and the display of financial assets and argued that the combination of major policy, US law, and the position of the SEC could drive “billions of dollars” of new entry.
3 Bullisch Crypto Catalysts
First, Arnold pointed to what he described as a shift in the financial regime, including the resumption of “local management procurement,” and framed it as broadly supportive of risky assets. “We’re starting to see a lot of momentum,” he said, adding that markets are now seeing “reduced light” as “the Fed starts to buy its bonds,” while suggesting that demand for government debt may decrease along with lower rates.
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Second, he said crypto-specific regulation could serve as a green light for institutional capital. He highlighted the market structure focused on the Clarity Act, saying that its passage would be “the first shot for ETH and SOL to reach billions of dollars in value,” and noted the US Senate’s landmark discussion of Jan. 15 with hopes of moving in late January or February.
Third, Arnold highlighted what he called the tokenization push led by SEC chairman Paul Atkins, describing the “Crypto Project” as an effort to “bring all traditional money to the blockchain.”
He paired that theme with the distribution angle surrounding spot crypto ETFs, relying on a quote he cited about how unusual early ETF growth was: “These were the single most traded products in the world and no one was allowed to make a call to sell or advertise them,” he said.
Top 6 Crypto Altcoins to Invest in 2026
Arnold’s first choice is Ethereum. He places it as the main beneficiary of stablecoin growth and adds that stablecoins are “mainly on the Ethereum blockchain,” and he combined this thesis with the Genius Act, expressing the view that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expects the sector to grow “10x in the next few years.”
Arnold also said that Ethereum’s stablecoin share has risen to 53% from the high 40s “just a few months” earlier, and argued that the link to ETH value accrual is at a cost: “30% of all payments in Ethereum are actually stablecoin income,” he said. So since this is 10x’es the amount of money being paid, the amount of Ethereum being burned should be 10x to match.”
Arnold’s second choice was Blame each otherwhich it has identified as the usage leader in relation to its market value compared to Ethereum. He pointed out that Solana is “already one of, if not the most used chain in crypto,” and said that by 2025 “it will be 2 to 3 times more used than the entire industry combined.” He also cited real-world property milestones, saying Solana “RWA owners…passed 125,000 owners.”
Cardano next, Arnold said he had a weakness for 2025 but could benefit from founder Charles Hoskinson’s midnight push. Arnold played a long clip in which Hoskinson argued that privacy could be an issue that changes user behavior:
“They can go to Cardano at midnight and get privacy. They’re doing something new and different,” Hoskinson said. “Between the two my vision will come up with mixed applications… private prediction markets, private DEXs, private stablecoins… maybe…
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Arnold then switched to AI infrastructure with Bittensor (TAO), calling it an “AI default” and noting that it has a recent “halving” and fixed supply model that he compares to Bitcoin. He also pointed to ETF momentum ahead of 2026, saying Greyscale filed an S-1 for the TAO product and Bitwise followed by filing the Bittensor ETF.
With token exposure, Arnold highlighted Ondo Finance (ONDO) ahead of what he described as the Ondo Summit on February 3, where “world leaders, investors, policy makers” will meet again, and close his list with Propy, a project focused on the area that he said is a “US license” to close the title and escrow and is “backed by Coinbase,” positioning it as a bet to bring “buying and selling home.”
Arnold closed his list with Propyclearly flagging it as the more speculative end of the spectrum and pairing it with a warning that low-cap exposure could mean “these altcoins are going to zero.”
The host of Altcoin Daily described it as “real estate in essence.” He emphasized the position of operation and control as part of the platform, saying that Propy is “a US-licensed topic with escrow closure,” and highlighted its backers: “They are also supported by Coinbase.”
The thesis of the investment, as Arnold presented, is the specific concept of tokens used in homes: to bring parts of the buying and selling process to the rails that can be solved and recorded on the chain, with Propy positioned as a project that is already working within the compliance perimeter of the US that he expects to be very important in 2026.
At the time of publication, the total crypto market stood at $2.98 trillion.
The featured image was created with DALL.E, a chart from TradingView.com
