Check Out the Best Altcoins to Buy as Whales Return and Buy Up Ethereum

Quick Facts:

• Ethereum whales are rotating into spot $ETH after heavy liquidations, signaling renewed confidence and setting the stage for a broader altcoin rotation.
• Bitcoin Hyper aims to bring SVM-powered, low-latency execution to Bitcoin, enabling DeFi, NFTs, and gaming while anchoring settlement to Bitcoin’s security.
• PEPENODE’s mine-to-earn design turns meme coin speculation into a gamified virtual mining race, with node tiers competing for emissions and rewards.
• Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade with PeerDAS boosts scalability and strengthens its role as the settlement and liquidity backbone for future altcoin cycles.

Ethereum’s ($ETH) latest drawdown flushed out excessive leverage, with cascading liquidations forcing weak hands to sell into thinning bids.

As the dust settles, on-chain data now shows large wallets quietly stepping back in, accumulating spot $ETH rather than chasing high-octane derivatives. That includes one whale who bought around $13M worth of $ETH in the past 24 hours.

That shift matters. When whales rotate into spot after a washout, they signal conviction in the underlying asset’s medium-term trajectory, not just a quick bounce.

For you, it’s a chance to take advantage: blue chips stabilize, then capital starts hunting for higher beta plays that can outperform if the rebound broadens.

At the same time, Ethereum’s own fundamentals are strengthening, with the Fusaka upgrade and PeerDAS set to expand blockspace and support more rollup activity.

That backdrop is fueling a renewed hunt for infrastructure and narrative-driven altcoins: Bitcoin-layer scaling, mine-to-earn meme coins, and yield-bearing ecosystems.

Against this context, three projects stand out as candidates for the next leg higher: Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) as an aggressive Bitcoin Layer-2 bet, PEPENODE ($PEPENODE) as a gamified mine-to-earn meme coin, and Ethereum ($ETH) itself as the liquidity anchor for the entire move. Here’s how they line up.

1. Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) – First Bitcoin Layer-2 with SVM Speed

If whales are expressing fresh confidence in Ethereum’s programmability, the obvious asymmetric trade is the chain that finally gives Bitcoin similar capabilities.

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) plans to launch a super-fast Bitcoin Layer-2 with Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) integration, targeting execution speeds that can rival Solana’s performance.

When it launches, the platform will feature a modular design: the Bitcoin Layer-1 handles settlement and security, while a real-time SVM-powered Layer-2 executes transactions and smart contracts.

This architecture enables high-throughput execution and sub-second finality while anchoring state periodically to Bitcoin for trust minimization. That also means you can move wrapped $BTC with low fees, swap, and stake.

The market is clearly noticing. The Bitcoin Hyper presale has already raised over $28.8M, with tokens priced at $0.013365, making it one of the best altcoins to buy at the moment. To get yours, our Bitcoin Hyper buying guide has all the information you need.

Whales are also grabbing their share of $HYPER, with one recently purchasing over $500K worth of tokens. That kind of early whale interest often precedes deeper liquidity once listings arrive.

Buying early has its advantages, considering the token’s potential to hit a high of $0.20 by the end of 2026, according to our Bitcoin Hyper price prediction. That’s a 1,396.45% increase from its current price.

Don’t be left behind. Join the $HYPER presale today.

2. PEPENODE ($PEPENODE) – Gamified Mine-to-Earn Meme Coin Momentum

While infrastructure coins soak up serious capital, post-liquidation rebounds often see outsized returns in meme coins with a fresh twist.

PEPENODE ($PEPENODE) fits that bill as the world’s first mine-to-earn meme coin, blending old-school mining vibes with on-chain gamification instead of ASIC warehouses.

At its core, PEPENODE introduces a virtual mining system where you acquire node tiers rather than physical hardware.

Higher-tier nodes receive a larger slice of token emissions and in-protocol rewards, creating a familiar ‘hash rate arms race’ dynamic but in a fully digital, capital-efficient format. A gamified dashboard tracks your node performance, rewards, and progression.

That narrative is already resonating. The PEPENODE presale has raised more than $2.2M, with tokens currently priced at $0.0011778, giving it a meme-cap starting point with clear upside if the mine-to-earn concept catches on.

Staking is set at a whopping 576%, which is sure to encourage investors to lock their token in the staking pool and support the network.

The token’s medium-term prospects are fairly bright too. Our PEPENODE price prediction believes it has the potential to reach $0.0072 by end-2026. Based on its current price, that translates to a 511.309% increase.

In a market where attention is everything, PEPENODE offers something beyond another cartoon frog: an interactive mining game loop that can keep users engaged well past the initial hype.

If Ethereum’s rebound spills over to the best meme coins, mine-to-earn memes like PEPENODE could be among the biggest percentage movers.

Buy your $PEPENODE tokens today.

3. Ethereum ($ETH) – Blue-Chip Anchor with Fusaka and PeerDAS

None of this altcoin rotation happens without a credible base layer leading the charge, and Ethereum ($ETH) still owns that role.

It remains the dominant decentralized smart contract platform, powering billions in DeFi TVL, NFT markets, and a rapidly expanding Layer-2 ecosystem that settles back to Ethereum for security and finality.

The next catalyst is already scheduled. Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade is set to go live today, introducing PeerDAS and higher gas limits to meaningfully increase data availability and throughput.

By making it cheaper and more efficient for rollups to post data on-chain, Fusaka lays the groundwork for another wave of Layer-2 innovation and activity.

For you as a trader, that means two things. First, Ethereum itself remains the liquidity sink where whales park capital between risk cycles, a trend currently visible as large wallets quietly reload $ETH on spot markets post-liquidation.

Second, improved scalability attracts more apps and users, which in turn supports the valuations of the altcoins and Layer-2s built on top.

To stay aligned with whale flows and protocol upgrades, consider keeping Ethereum as your portfolio anchor and entry point into the broader smart contract economy, and follow high-potential upside projects like Bitcoin Hyper and PEPENODE.

Buy Ethereum at today’s price of ~$3.058K on Binance.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Always do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.

Authored by Bogdan Patru, Bitcoinist – https://bitcoinist.com/best-altcoins-to-buy-as-whales-snap-up-ethereum