Bitcoin has pulled back sharply, falling to levels seen before Donald Trump’s reelection and bringing fresh fear into the crypto market. In a recent YouTube update, Altcoin Daily analyst Austin explained why the drop happened and shared a few altcoins he believes could perform well over the long term despite the crash.
He made it clear that most altcoins may not survive in the long run. However, projects with real use cases and growing adoption could still reward patient investors.
According to 10x Research, Bitcoin’s sharp rally after Trump’s late-2024 victory created a weak price structure. The price jumped from $70,000 to $90,000 in less than two weeks. Because the rise was so fast, there was not much strong buying support in between those levels.
When selling pressure began, Bitcoin dropped quickly through those thin areas. Around $75,000, large traders who deal in options had to sell even more as the price fell, which pushed Bitcoin down faster toward the $60,000 range before it found some stability.
At the same time, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee suggested that gold may have attracted a large share of investor money, which could explain why Bitcoin struggled. Austin noted that in the past, Bitcoin has often outperformed gold as a store of value, and he believes that trend could return.
Austin highlighted Cardano as a key project to watch. The network is preparing to launch USDCx at the end of February. Founder Charles Hoskinson confirmed that users will have full wallet support and direct conversion access through major exchanges.
He described this as an important step for Cardano. The network has fallen behind Ethereum, Tron, Solana, and BNB Chain in stablecoin usage. With clearer stablecoin rules developing globally, better liquidity on Cardano could help bring new capital into its ecosystem.
Speaking about comments from Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert at Bitcoin Investor Week, Austin mentioned Zcash and Bittensor as potential high-upside bets.
Zcash fits into the privacy-focused theme, which could gain attention as governments increase financial monitoring. However, Austin personally prefers Bittensor because it combines crypto with artificial intelligence. The project runs a system where developers compete to build useful AI tools, and stronger projects are rewarded. He sees this link between crypto and AI as a major long-term opportunity.
Solana was also highlighted as a strong infrastructure project. Developer activity on the network has grown sharply since 2020, with thousands of new developers joining last year. Payment activity is increasing, and some major prediction markets are reportedly planning token launches on Solana.
Although Austin does not expect Solana to deliver extreme returns because of its already large size, he believes it still has solid growth potential compared to traditional financial infrastructure.
XRP focuses on fast international payments and liquidity services. Supported by Ripple’s enterprise efforts, it remains one of the most widely discussed utility tokens. While it is unlikely to disappear, very large returns would depend on broader global adoption.
Chainlink continues to be viewed as an important infrastructure project in the crypto space. Austin also still holds Polkadot but with more modest expectations.
Propy stands out as a higher-risk opportunity. The project has raised over $100 million, completed a $14 million commercial real estate deal using USDT, and is expanding escrow services across several U.S. states. Austin believes Propy could modernize real estate transactions by turning them into software-based processes.
He concluded by reminding viewers that Bitcoin and Ethereum remain his core holdings, while these altcoins represent higher-risk investments that could deliver strong returns if their long-term visions succeed.
Sharp price swings typically increase liquidation risk for leveraged traders and amplify emotional decision-making. Retail investors may face higher short-term risk, especially if they are overexposed to smaller altcoins with lower liquidity.
Clearer regulations can make it easier for institutions to participate, potentially increasing capital inflows into compliant ecosystems. Networks that support regulated stablecoins may benefit from improved credibility and broader adoption.
As governments expand financial oversight and AI investment accelerates globally, investors often look for themes aligned with those trends. Tokens tied to privacy or AI infrastructure may attract speculative interest during narrative shifts.
Altcoin performance typically depends on liquidity conditions, developer activity, and real-world usage growth. If capital rotates into higher-risk assets during a recovery phase, select altcoins may outperform, but broad market strength is usually required first.
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