- Van de Poppe is watching ARB, UNI, AAVE, ETHFI, NEAR, ZEC, SOL, and SUI closely, as these altcoins show interesting market movements.
- He credits the Robinhood Chain launch for pulling fresh liquidity into Ethereum.
- Arbitrum and Uniswap have been the two biggest winners from that shift, he said.
- He says NEAR and Zcash are benefiting most from a growing privacy narrative now.
Altcoins are starting to shake off weeks of sluggish price action, and one closely watched analyst thinks it is more than a short blip. In an exclusive interview with Coinpedia, Michaël van de Poppe, CIO and founder of MN Fund, MN Capital, and New Era Finance, walked through the altcoins he is watching most closely right now. He said improving market narratives are pulling fresh liquidity back into important sectors of the market.
Top Altcoin Picks This Week
Van de Poppe is watching ARB, UNI, AAVE, ETHFI, NEAR, ZEC, SOL, and SUI closely. Each token, he said, is riding a different catalyst, from DeFi adoption to privacy demand to renewed strength in Layer-1 infrastructure.
Robinhood Chain is lifting Ethereum
Poppe pointed to one launch in particular as the spark behind the recent rally. He credits the Robinhood Chain launch for pulling fresh liquidity into Ethereum. “The first narrative is surrounding the launch of the Robinhood Chain,” he said. “This attracted liquidity and trading volume towards the Ether ecosystem.”
Arbitrum and Uniswap have been the two biggest winners from that shift, he said. “I don’t think that this will stall in the coming period,” he added. “Technically, they are looking great for more upside due to higher timeframe bullish divergences.”
DeFi and privacy tokens hold their ground
Regulatory progress is also playing a role, according to Van de Poppe. He pointed to the CLARITY Act as a factor bringing renewed attention to decentralized finance. “Ethereum is doing well on itself, and also other DeFi protocols like AAVE and Ether.fi have been seeing spikes of interest,” he said.
He says NEAR and Zcash are benefiting most from a growing privacy narrative now. “The privacy narrative is an important one,” he said, explaining why trading activity around both tokens has continued to climb.
Layer-1s show early signs of life
Van de Poppe said infrastructure tokens are quietly strengthening too.
“Infrastructure layers are performing better and better, and that signals that the markets are on the edge of turning around,” he said.
He described Solana as “waking up,” while Sui is also showing early signs of recovery. “I expect other Layer-1s to be starting an uptrend,” he added.
What’s Next?
The altcoin season index has climbed to 58, signalling a shift in momentum away from Bitcoin and toward alternative assets. Bitcoin dominance has slipped from 58.12% to 56.3%, a move that historically precedes broader capital rotation into altcoins.
ETF flows are reflecting that shift in real time. While Bitcoin funds are seeing outflows, money is moving into Ethereum, XRP and Solana ETF products, showing institutional interest is diversifying rather than retreating from crypto altogether.
The backdrop is not uniformly positive, however. Around 40% of altcoins are currently trading near their all-time lows, a figure that highlights just how uneven this market cycle has been. Most tokens have not recovered anywhere close to their previous peaks, even as a handful of larger assets begin to show renewed strength.
Michael Van De Poppe 
Michael Van De Poppe
at MN Fund Michaël van de Poppe, a 32-year-old economist, crypto expert, and entrepreneur from the Netherlands, got into crypto 8 years ago in February 2017 when he was introduced to Bitcoin and altcoins by one of his friends. Fascinated by blockchain technology and its potential to transform the financial system, he decided to purchase his first altcoin. Since the beginning of 2018, Michaël has been working in the Web3 sector full-time and started his first crypto education company that grew to 18 people. In 2023, Michaël took his company to the next level by starting up MN Fund, MN Capital, and MVP Marketing & Social Media. MN Fund is an investment fund authorized by the Dutch Financial Authorities that deals with volatility trading and OTCs. MN Capital is a Venture Capital firm that invests in and provides consultation to Web3 projects that aim to facilitate the implementation of blockchain technology. MVP Marketing & Social Media is the company that manages Michaël's social media channels, which are utilized to generate support and outreach for Web3 projects through effective branding and community management; this company also runs the New Era Finance Podcast where Michaël discusses crypto, finances, and the economy of the future. Quick Facts of Michaël van de Poppe: Fields Details Full Name Michaël van de Poppe Nationality Dutch Education Bachelor's Degree in Economics, University of Amsterdam Profession Economist, Crypto Analyst, Entrepreneur, Investor Known For Founder of MN Trading and MN Capital, Crypto Market Analysis Net Worth Approximately $1.45 million (2026 estimate) Crypto Stance Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain adoption, Web3 innovation, education, and long-term investing. Timeline of Events / Career Highlights: 2018 - Established Eight Global (now MN Trading), a crypto education and consultation platform, and started working in the field of Web3 on a full-time basis.2019 - Published more educational material and established an expanding online community of cryptocurrency traders.2020 - Turned into one of the best crypto analysts on social media through technical analysis and market commentary.2021 - Expanded MN Trading and earned global fame as a crypto educator and speaker.2022 - Expanded consulting and educational services for blockchain companies and investors.2023 - Rebranded his educational ecosystem to MN Trading while launching MN Fund, MN Capital, and MVP Marketing & Social Media.2024 - Continued investment in early-stage blockchain companies while presenting the New Era Finance Podcast and being a speaker at global crypto conferences.2025 - Venture capital operations expanded through MN Capital and continued to contribute to the spread of blockchain via education and investments. EntrepreneurChief Executive OfficerTraderMarket Analyst Robinhood Robinhood Robinhood is a global financial services platform that brings stock trading, crypto trading, options, ETFs, futures, prediction markets, retirement investing, wealth management, and private-market access in one platform. Founded in 2013 by Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, Robinhood Markets, Inc. is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, and is publicly traded on Nasdaq under the ticker HOOD. Robinhood first gained attention by making commission-free stock trading more accessible. Since then, it has grown into a broader financial super app covering equities, cryptocurrency, retirement accounts, margin, Robinhood Gold, prediction markets, and professional trading tools. Its current focus also extends to tokenization, Robinhood Chain, agentic trading, private markets, and global crypto expansion through Bitstamp. 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Account Controls: Optional two-factor authentication provides the ability to generate codes on a phone while logging in on a different device. Crypto Safeguards: Crypto withdrawals are blocked by default, which avoids draining assets. Robinhood Products Product Description Robinhood Stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, futures, and investing Robinhood Crypto Cryptocurrency trading and transfers Robinhood Wallet Self-custody crypto wallet Robinhood Gold Premium investing and financial membership Robinhood Legend Advanced trading platform Robinhood Retirement Traditional and Roth IRA investing Robinhood Strategies Managed investment portfolios Prediction Markets Event contracts across sports, politics, economics, and more Robinhood Stock Tokens Tokenized exposure to selected stocks and ETFs Robinhood Chain Blockchain infrastructure for tokenized assets and DeFi Bitstamp Global crypto trading platform acquired by Robinhood report@robinhood.com Centralised ExchangeDecentralised Exchange 
