Da Yu: With the bull market returning, which coins should you trade, and which should you watch out for?
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Da Yu: With the bull market returning, which coins should you trade, and which should you watch out for?
Picking valuable coins and holding them long-term is the best strategy; trading in and out frequently makes it very easy to end up with nothing.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Dayu
Has the bull market returned? Can't say for sure. But knowing which coins to focus on when it does come back—this preparation is essential.
According to various statistics, the most profitable sector in the first half of the year was undoubtedly Memes, while the biggest losses came from VC-backed tokens—tokens like STRK, ZK, and others. The more famous the name, the harder the fall.
In crypto, real "value" often doesn’t matter much—it's widely accepted that so-called "value coins" usually lack actual value. Therefore, the key isn’t seeking intrinsic value, but rather analyzing token distribution, narratives, and positioning.
1. Meme Sector: Narrative & Recommendations
The essence of a narrative is simply how many people believe and promote the idea that “this coin can still go up.” In this regard, Memes do it best. Unfortunately, most top Memes already have large market caps. Coins like $PEPE, $WIF, and $BRETT are solid, but their promoters need extremely bold slogans—like aiming for $10 billion or even $100 billion valuations.
These coins have the largest base of believers and promoters, with fully circulating supply. It’s mostly a PvP game among holders. While they’re worth considering overall, due to their high market caps, smaller-cap new Memes might offer better opportunities.
Notably, I’m referring to inscriptions and runes. Personally, I lost a significant amount on runes, so I’ve observed severe fragmentation in this space. They lack the broad believer base that major Memes enjoy, and there's little mutual support between communities. For me, this makes them less attractive as a primary focus.
For new Memes, I’d suggest focusing on those listed on Binance with strong liquidity—such as $BOOMER and $NEIRO. The lowercase NEIRO currently has mixed narratives around its branding across different chains, and it's unclear whether Western investors are actively involved. If it follows the trajectory of inscriptions, momentum may fade quickly. Still, it’s worth monitoring closely.
2. Value Coin Sector: Narrative & Recommendations
This category can be divided into new and established (legacy) coins. As for new launches, nothing stands out at the moment. After thorough research, most suffer from aggressive token unlocks—so I'm temporarily ruling out all new releases. If you have specific recommendations, feel free to share in the comments.
Legacy coins refer to those with healthy circulation and potential for renewed growth—“old trees blooming anew.” Below are several candidates worth watching.
I’ll list them in reverse order of popularity—because lower attention often means greater information asymmetry and opportunity.
1. $FTM – The “Satoshi of DeFi”
FTM doesn’t attract much attention, but quietly, it has shown consistent strength.
Its token distribution is fully circulating, and it’s undergoing a complete upgrade to become fully EVM-compatible, with incentives focused entirely on developers. Several upcoming developments could fuel strong narratives:
*Satoshi of DeFi*
Many may not know who AC (Andre Cronje), the figure behind FTM, really is. Simply put, he pioneered the DeFi movement and is known as the “Satoshi of DeFi.” That alone should grab your attention.
This cycle lacks prominent hype figures like SBF. While AC’s comeback appears far more cautious this time (which is actually good), his presence alone brings massive visibility—few projects can match having such a legendary and controversial personality attached.
*Outperforming Parallel EVM Chains*
Parallel EVM is an emerging and increasingly hyped narrative. Recently, SEI (with a $330 million market cap) surged aggressively, acting as a pioneer in this space. Another highly anticipated project, Monad, could reach a billion-dollar valuation. Meanwhile, high-performance chains like SUI ($1.38 billion) and SOL ($6.6 billion) belong to the same category.
Based on testnet results, FTM may become the fastest EVM-compatible blockchain.
From this perspective, compared to unbuilt Monad, launched SEI, constantly pumped SUI, or the already $7 billion SOL, FTM—with its $200 million market cap—offers exceptional value. It’s naturally positioned to benefit from the success of larger-cap L1s: the higher SOL, SUI, and Monad climb, the more attention and energy will flow toward a faster, smaller-cap chain with a legendary founder promoting it. If new projects or Memes emerge on FTM, it could skyrocket.
*Relatively Lower Risk*
During the deepest bear market, without any new catalysts, FTM found support around $0.30. Now priced at $0.60, its downside is limited to roughly 50%. Compare this to tokens like STRK, ARB, or ZK, which reached billion-dollar valuations early and face constant sell pressure from ongoing token releases—the contrast is clear.
*Reminiscent of $10 SOL*
I see echoes of SOL’s turnaround here—back when SOL traded near $10, it was overlooked, much like FTM today. Yet the team kept building, and eventually, it exploded upward.
FTM’s mainnet is about to launch, community engagement (via official social media, offline events, developers, and airdrop farmers) is heating up, and the price has remained resilient since I started watching it at $0.45, gradually climbing.
2. Lending King AAVE
AAVE is a veteran protocol with fully circulating supply, operating in the lending space. Even during the worst of the bear market, it generated tens of millions in annual revenue.
Historically, AAVE tokens were primarily used for protocol incentives, creating constant selling pressure. Now, token emissions are nearly complete, and the next step is introducing fee-sharing dividends.
How many protocols in crypto have stood the test of time, consistently returned value to users, and continue improving? Very few.
DeFi remains one of the few proven long-term value propositions in crypto—which is also why I’m paying attention to FTM, given its association with the “Satoshi of DeFi.”
Beyond dividends, AAVE has other compelling points:
For example, Trump’s new DeFi initiative is built on AAVE as its foundational infrastructure. Future moves by giants like BlackRock will likely revolve around Ethereum and AAVE.
A major development on Base: cbBTC. Coinbase holds hundreds of billions in BTC that could soon be brought on-chain. Once on-chain, the most likely use case is staking BTC to borrow USDT for leveraged trading. This could increase AAVE’s TVL by 10x or more. If successful, its valuation could follow suit.
I initially wondered if everyone would just build their own lending protocol, but now see that as unlikely. Lending involves serious capital risk—it’s dirty, labor-intensive work earning small spreads. A single failure can be catastrophic. Thus, mature, battle-tested protocols like AAVE with proven teams remain the top choice.
Therefore, AAVE’s floor is clear: a fully circulating, dividend-paying, stable protocol—akin to a $200 million company generating millions in daily revenue, distributed directly to token holders. That baseline is already quite attractive.
3. ETH
You might think this one goes without saying—but it’s still worth stating. Despite ETH’s current issues and widespread mockery, it remains the most valuable and reliable cryptocurrency.
Who cares if Vitalik is dating? I hope he dates more—gains life experience, finds love. As for the current wave of FUD, I actually see it as a buying opportunity—not that it won’t drop further, but relatively speaking, it’s a good entry window.
Take perpetual futures exchanges hyped by MCs—I once thought, what if a contract platform on SOL goes down during a crash after someone opens a huge position? That would be painful. With ETH, you sleep easier.
ETH will remain the second most important asset in crypto—unless crypto itself disappears. Every FUD wave is actually a gift—an opportunity in disguise.
3. Others
Trading crypto is truly tough. Overall, holding quality assets long-term is likely the best strategy—short-term trading often ends in zero.
Also, despite a 50-basis-point rate cut, U.S. stocks surged violently. When multi-trillion-dollar markets keep rising sharply, it reminds us: never assume something is “too high” or “too low.” Human greed and irrationality are impossible to predict.
Hold strong, high-quality positions. With two years of rate cuts and monetary easing ahead, better times are coming. Those holding优质 assets today could reasonably expect 5x–10x returns over the next two years.
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