Crypto bear markets tend to clarify which coins have actual value and which were largely (or entirely) vapor. But even strong assets suffer; Bitcoin(CRYPTO: BTC) is currently worth about half what it was at its October 2025 peak, and many of the convictions I held coming into 2026 haven’t survived.
There are only two cryptocurrencies I’m comfortable buying in the current environment. One is built not to change, and the other is built to route real cash flow back to holders. Let’s take a look at both, and I’ll explain my thinking.
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Regardless of whatever price action it may experience, Bitcoin’s strength is that only 21 million BTC will ever exist, and the next halving in 2028 will cut its new issuance from mining yet again, constricting its supply and forcing new buyers to compete with each other via higher prices. This is the same story as always. Despite how many times people have predicted that the asset is really finally dead this time, so far it has always made a brisk comeback (eventually).
That isn’t to say holders need to enjoy the coin’s short-term price movements when they occur. And as a result of new classes of holders buying and holding the coin, its volatility and distribution are today meaningfully different from the past, which could ultimately be a drag on its future returns. Strategyformerly known as MicroStrategy, now holds 845,256 BTC, around 4% of the asset’s total possible supply. Still, most digital asset treasury (DAT) companies that copied the Strategy playbook have paused purchases or begun trimming their positions.
Nonetheless, a fixed supply being drawn from by any persistent buyer pool is enough to bias long-term prices to the upside. For someone with patience, the coin’s supply policies will eventually deliver returns. That’s why I’ll continue to accumulate it.
Hyperliquid is a token for investors who like to get capital returned
Hyperliquid(CRYPTO: HYPE) is a decentralized trading platform that offers perpetual futures — derivatives that mimic spot exposure but never expire — and it handled around $237.2 billion in perp volume over the past 30 days.
The platform’s value capture mechanism is the main reason I hold it through Hyperliquid Strategies(NASDAQ: PURR), a digital asset treasury company that accumulates Hyperliquid’s token, Hype.
Hyperliquid itself routes 99% of the trading fees it collects into buying back Hype on the open market. Then, the purchased tokens are burned, thereby creating a supply sink that has consumed more than $2 billion in value since the mechanism’s launch in January 2025, and $176.2 million in Q1 of 2026 alone.
The other reason I’m comfortable with getting more exposure to Hyperliquid is that it’s expanding into new markets, and it’s bringing the same decentralized approach there, too. For instance, it now hosts prediction markets similar to Polymarket or Kalshi, as well as trading in tokenized versions of stocks, commodities, and international currencies. So, its fee revenue has a shot at increasing over the long run, and with that, so will its token buybacks.
Nonetheless, there are some issues on my radar. In particular, a large majority of the token’s possible supply has yet to circulate, with monthly unlocks running through 2027, so the pace of token buybacks must outpace the rate of dilution from those unlocks for the investment to be successful. That hasn’t been a problem so far.
The other factor I’m watching closely is that Hyperliquid’s competition is strong, and moving fast to contest its market share. Regulators approved Kalshi’s first U.S.-regulated Bitcoin perpetual future on May 29. Robinhood Markets is widely expected to follow, and it won’t be the last player to arrive on the scene either. So if trading volume migrates to those regulated futures trading venues, Hyperliquid’s lead — a 56% market share of decentralized perpetual futures contract volumes, up from 24% at the start of the year — might be harder to hold.
In closing, these two coins are the only cryptocurrencies I want to be buying right now, but that could change. If Hyperliquid’s buyback policy is weakened, I’ll strongly consider selling it. For Bitcoin, there’s not much that would force me to sell it, and it’d take some serious turbulence to stop me from wanting to accumulate it over time.
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Alex Carchidi has positions in Bitcoin and Hyperliquid Strategies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Hyperliquid. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
