When Crypto Crashes in 2026: The Best Coins to Buy at the Bottom

I believe 2026 is going to be a bear market. That’s why I’m already preparing my shopping list of cryptocurrencies to accumulate when prices hit rock bottom—and you should be doing the same.

Bear markets create some of the best buying opportunities in crypto history, but only if you know which coins to target. I’m going to share my top picks for accumulation during the next major downturn, with one important caveat: these selections are based purely on price action and potential returns, not fundamentals.

Important Disclaimer: These are coins I’m personally interested in and don’t reflect the views of any publication or platform. I’m a trader first and foremost. I don’t focus on fundamentals, founders, metrics, use cases, throughput, or technical specifications. My analysis is based entirely on charts and potential return on investment.

These aren’t obscure projects you’ve never heard of. These are established cryptocurrencies that have made headlines and demonstrated significant price movements in the past. However, I’m expecting brutal drawdowns ahead—we’re talking 75% haircuts on Bitcoin, which means many altcoins could fall 90-97% from their all-time highs.

The Foundation: Bitcoin First

You’re not going to believe my first pick. It’s Bitcoin.

Before you roll your eyes, hear me out. While everything else was getting absolutely crushed during previous downturns, Bitcoin maintained a huge uptrend. It kept recovering and pushing higher while altcoins bled out.

Please don’t fade Bitcoin just because you’re chasing 10x gains.

I know newer investors think, “Why would I want grandpa BTC? Bitcoin only moved up 600%—that’s weak sauce, not even a 10x.” Yes, I understand. That’s because it’s Bitcoin. This is the cryptocurrency that started everything. This is the one that actually matters long-term. This is the one that keeps making new all-time highs instead of new lows every market cycle.

Bitcoin is the safest foundation for any crypto portfolio, especially heading into uncertain times. This is a freebie pick—consider it crypto investing 101.

Bitcoin vs altcoin performance in bear markets

Caspa: The High-Risk, High-Reward Play

Not many people remember Caspa anymore, but I do. I remember feeling incredibly jealous watching people who bought it at just $0.003 because this thing had a disgusting rally—5,000% from its listing high. That’s a 3,000% increase that left many observers stunned.

Has it been looking good lately? Absolutely not. Things have been bearish since September or October 2024. I don’t know about token unlocks, team changes, or development updates. Again, I’m purely focused on the chart.

Here’s what makes Caspa interesting: Bitcoin making a 75% drawdown from the bear market top (around October 6th) creates a blueprint for altcoin movements. Caspa has already experienced an 82% maximum pain level decline. I honestly think this coin and many others will go significantly lower.

That’s actually good news for patient investors. We want charts like this to drop way lower so we can buy them cheap. Buying Caspa in the $0.002 range would be a dream scenario.

Managing Expectations on Caspa

Let me be crystal clear: I’m not expecting the next recovery rally to replicate previous performance. There are absolutely no guarantees. Caspa could be a completely failed project in disguise, masking fundamental problems while heading toward zero. We simply don’t know.

However, based on previous price action and historical demand, even if Caspa rallied to just half its previous peak, that represents a 3,000% return. That’s incredible. Putting one dollar into this trade could potentially yield $31 in returns.

The danger? No guarantees whatsoever. We’ve seen countless coins do absolutely nothing in subsequent cycles. Take Chainlink (LINK) as an example—it absolutely flopped this cycle in my opinion. LINK had an incredible 29,000% rally in 2018, climbing from $0.17 to $50. It then fell to $5 and rallied only 500% in the next cycle. Massive letdown.

There are no guarantees of repeat performance, but I’m searching for asymmetric trades—opportunities where potential upside dramatically outweighs downside risk.

MYX Finance: The Explosive Chart

Next up is MYX Finance. Again, I know nothing about the founders or technology, and frankly, I don’t care. I’m only interested in price action.

You can call me foolish, but everyone who bought MYX’s rally—especially during the week of August 4th—made 1,444% in just one week. The coin eventually climbed even higher for a total gain of 12,000%. You might not care about the technology or team either, but a 20,000% return within 42 days is a pretty convincing argument.

Using the same assumption of a massive market-wide drawdown, MYX is already down 86% from its all-time high. It’s going lower. There’s also a fair value gap on this chart around the $0.17 level.

A good target for MYX accumulation would be approximately $0.17. If we get that move down and then experience even half the previous rally distance—up to around $1.78—that’s still a 1,000% return. That’s not chump change.

The strategy here is simple: find the most insane charts with proven explosive potential, buy as close to the bottom as possible, and position for a potential second major move. That’s the name of the game.

Ondo: The Practical RWA Play

Some of you are probably laughing at my first two picks, thinking they’re ridiculous gambles. Now you might be pleased that I’m finally picking a “practical” coin with Ondo.

Cool your jets. Once again, I don’t care about the technology, founders, roadmap, release schedule, marketing, partnerships, or social media presence. I’m purely analyzing price action.

The only reason Ondo appears on my list is because I personally find it an interesting play. I like the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization narrative. There might be better RWA coins out there, and I’m sure people will mention them in the comments, but Ondo caught my attention based on its chart structure and all-time low levels.

The Bear Market Accumulation Strategy

Preparing for a bear market requires discipline and patience. The coins I’ve outlined represent high-risk, high-reward opportunities based entirely on technical analysis and historical price performance.

The key principles of this strategy:

Expect Brutal Drawdowns: Bitcoin could fall 75% from peak, while altcoins may decline 90-97%. This creates generational buying opportunities for those with capital and patience.

Focus on Asymmetric Risk/Reward: Look for coins where potential upside dramatically exceeds downside risk, even if fundamentals remain unclear.

Don’t Expect Perfect Repeats: Previous performance doesn’t guarantee future results. Many coins fail to replicate their previous cycle gains.

Price Action Over Fundamentals: While controversial, chart analysis can identify coins with demonstrated explosive potential, regardless of underlying technology.

Conclusion

The approaching 2026 bear market will separate emotional traders from disciplined investors. While most panic sell at the bottom, prepared investors will be accumulating quality assets at generational discounts.

Bitcoin remains the foundational holding for any serious crypto portfolio. Beyond that, high-risk plays like Caspa and MYX Finance offer asymmetric return potential for those willing to stomach extreme volatility. Meanwhile, practical plays like Ondo provide exposure to emerging narratives like real-world asset tokenization.

Remember, this strategy requires patience, discipline, and risk management. Never invest more than you can afford to lose, and always conduct your own research before making investment decisions. The best time to prepare for a bear market is before it arrives.