Besides BTC and ETH, what are the top crypto investment picks for the next 3–5 years according to these industry leaders?
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
Besides BTC and ETH, what are the top crypto investment picks for the next 3–5 years according to these industry leaders?
Review the views and choices of well-known figures in the industry to see if any of their preferred investments resonate with you.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights"If you had to buy liquid/non-speculative crypto investments within a 3–5 year time frame, and were not allowed to purchase BTC, ETH, HYPE, SOL, or hold stablecoins, what would you buy? And why?"
On June 22, prominent crypto KOL @Cobie posed the above question on X.
Crypto influencers, traders, and VC investors flocked to the replies with their own "wealth-generating" picks.
We’ve compiled views and selections from several well-known figures in the industry—see if any align with your ideal long-term holdings.
Jesse.base.eth, Head of Base: Coinbase ($COIN)
Bullish on $COIN because: (1) It has an incredibly diversified and robust product suite, a large-scale user base, and a market-leading brand; (2) It's one of the most execution-capable and visionary on-chain teams in this space—if not the best.
Crypto KOL Ansem: Worldcoin ($WLD)
A hedge against OpenAI/Altman winning the AI race and surveillance states. In a post-AGI world, we’ll need a verifiable way to distinguish humans from AIs. If OpenAI ever leverages its massive personal data trove for anything, it’s likely to intersect with decentralized identity—precisely where WLD fits in.
qw, Founder of AllianceDAO: Tokens with strong revenue
Over a 3–5 year horizon, the only correct answer is tokens with strong (future) revenue trading at reasonable multiples.
Everything else will go to zero. The premium for non-Bitcoin currencies is over.
Crypto trader Auri: Starknet ($STRK)
If you value decentralization and privacy, pay attention to Starknet.
Current state:
- As an Ethereum L2, competes with Solana in TPS (transactions per second)
- Offers top-tier user experience via unique AA (account abstraction) features and on-chain performance
- Relatively low valuation (fully diluted valuation of $1B vs. $3B for Arbitrum/Optimism)
Three potential paths to success:
- Becoming a general-purpose layer
- Bitcoin L2 (if settlement on Bitcoin becomes viable and efficient)—this alone could multiply Starknet’s valuation several times over
- If other paths fail, serving as backend infrastructure for apps on other chains
Mert, Founder of Helius Labs: Jito ($JTO), Zcash ($ZEC)
JTO — If you believe SOL will still be around in 3–5 years (and it will), this is a no-brainer.
ZEC — I believe privacy coins will make a comeback. Plus, the network is undergoing a technical redesign under a new lab entity, which looks impressive from a tech standpoint.
Alex Svanevik, Founder of Nansen: Build an L1 portfolio
Construct a diversified Layer 1 (L1) blockchain asset portfolio for long-term returns. Already holding BTC, ETH, HYPE, SOL; adding BNB, SUI, APT, TRX, AVAX—totaling nine assets covering major and high-potential public chains—and staking all to earn ~4.5% annual yield.
Crypto KOL Fishy Catfish: Chainlink ($LINK)
Chainlink has maintained top-tier dominance in market share and security for six years now—even stronger than in 2021.
Tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) and stablecoins are the two largest utility markets, and Chainlink offers a full-stack platform for data, connectivity, and computation in both.
Chainlink is years ahead of competitors in serving TradFi needs:
A. Upcoming Automated Compliance Engine (ACE): proof of identity, onboarding, accredited investor verification, sanctions checks
B. Upcoming CCID: cross-chain identity system
C. Chainlink already has a full privacy suite (CCIP private transactions, Blockchain Privacy Manager, DECO—patented zkTLS)
Additionally, it leads far ahead in traditional finance adoption (SWIFT, DTCC, JPMorgan, ANZ, UBS, etc.).
Blockchains are capturing less value, while Chainlink and applications capture more. For example, MEV from oracle-triggered liquidations used to go entirely to blockchain validators—but now it’s shared between Chainlink and Aave.
Crypto KOL Murad: $SPX
Why: SPX, as the first "Movement Coin," aims to disrupt the entire stock market. Its impact on GME could mirror—or even surpass—BTC’s impact on gold. It boasts arguably the most passionate community on Crypto Twitter and remains in early stages. It’s the only "meme" coin with a genuine mission: a cultural counterattack by Gen Z against the systemic challenges inherited from millennials. It merges finance with the spiritual realm and targets a larger total addressable market than any prior crypto asset. As millions lose jobs and purpose, many will seek tokenized digital sanctuaries—and SPX represents one of the strongest forces rising to meet that need.
Awawat, Trader at APG Capital: $BNB, $LEO, $AAVE, $MKR, $XMR
Given this time horizon, only a few options make sense:
PAXG/XAUT (gold tokens)—reasons obvious
BNB/LEO—limited upside but also limited downside
AAVE/MKR—likely to persist
XMR (Monero)
Many replies are just shilling personal portfolios, but objectively speaking, most of these tokens will go to zero over this timeframe.
Crypto KOL W3Q: $HOOD, $TSLA
Over a 5-year view, I wouldn’t hold pure crypto assets beyond Bitcoin.
$HOOD (Robinhood)—the shovel and pickaxe (infrastructure) in retail finance.
They’re moving into every profitable vertical—from betting to mortgage lending to expanding crypto offerings—with better UX and distribution than most companies.
$TSLA (Tesla)—leader in AI robotics, spanning both software and hardware. Musk may re-engage with crypto during the next hype cycle.
If self-custody weren’t a constraint, I’d choose
2x leveraged Bitcoin ETF,
deploying part of the portfolio during market lows or extreme sell-offs.
Vance Spencer, Partner at Framework Ventures: $SKY
$SKY—but note, it’s currently not listed on any CEX.
Arthur, Founder of DeFiance Capital: $AAVE, $ENA, $PENDLE, $JUP
These are their investment picks—so what do you see as the best long-term bet over the next 3–5 years?
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
深潮TechFlow
