Austin Arnold Unveils His Top 6 Crypto Altcoin Picks For 2026
Altcoin Daily host Austin Arnold used a Jan. 1 video titled “Top 6 Crypto Altcoins To Invest In For 2026” to put out what he framed as three “first-time” catalysts for crypto in 2026 and a corresponding record of six altcoins he says he’d “purchase and maintain” into that backdrop, spanning smart-contract platforms, AI infrastructure, and tokenization-focused performs.
Arnold opened with the declare that crypto sits on the middle of “two mega developments”: digital property and the tokenization of economic property and argued the mixture of macro coverage, US laws, and SEC posture might drive “trillions of {dollars}” of latest inflows.
The 3 Bullisch Crypto Catalysts
First, Arnold pointed to what he described as a monetary-policy regime shift, together with the resumption of “reserve administration purchases,” and framed it as supportive for danger property broadly. “We’re beginning to see vital stimulus,” he mentioned, including that markets have been already seeing “quantitative easing light” as “the Fed is beginning to purchase its personal bonds,” whereas suggesting demand for presidency debt might fall alongside decrease charges.
Second, he argued crypto-specific regulation might operate like a inexperienced mild for institutional capital. He singled out the market construction centered Clarity Act, saying its passage can be “like a starter gun for ETH and SOL to run into trillions of {dollars} of worth,” and famous dialogue of a US Senate markup date of Jan. 15 with hopes of motion by late January or February.
Third, Arnold highlighted what he referred to as a tokenization push led by SEC chair Paul Atkins, describing “Project Crypto” as an effort to “convey all of conventional finance on the blockchain.”
He paired that theme with a distribution angle round spot crypto ETFs, leaning on a quote he cited about how uncommon the early ETF development was: “These have been the only best-selling product on this planet and nobody was allowed to make a cellphone name to promote it or promote it,” he mentioned.
Top 6 Crypto Altcoins To Invest In For 2026
Arnold’s first decide is Ethereum. He frames it as the first beneficiary of stablecoin development and added that stablecoins are “totally on the Ethereum blockchain,” and tied the thesis to regulation by way of the Genius Act, citing a view that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expects the sector to develop “10x within the subsequent few years.”
Arnold additionally mentioned Ethereum’s stablecoin share rose to 53% from the high-40s “only a few months” earlier, and argued the hyperlink to ETH worth accrual runs by way of charges: “30% of all charges on Ethereum are literally stablecoin income,” he mentioned. “So as that is 10x’es the quantity of charges, the quantity of Ethereum being burned needs to be 10x to match.”
Arnold’s second decide was Solana, which he portrayed as a utilization chief relative to its market worth versus Ethereum. He argued Solana is “already one in all or if not essentially the most used chain in crypto,” and claimed that by way of 2025 it was “extra used than the complete remainder of the business mixed occasions 2 to a few.” He additionally cited a real-world asset milestone, saying Solana “RWA holders…have surpassed 125,000 holders.”
Cardano is subsequent, which Arnold mentioned had a weak 2025 however may gain advantage from founder Charles Hoskinson’s push round Midnight. Arnold performed an extended excerpt wherein Hoskinson argued privateness could possibly be the wedge that modifications consumer habits:
“They can undergo Midnight to Cardano and so they get privateness. They do one thing new and completely different,” Hoskinson mentioned. “Midnight my view might be by way of hybrid functions… personal prediction markets, personal DEXes, personal steady cash… possibly… these Bitcoin individuals are going to wish to commerce on a personal DEX as a substitute of a public DEX.”
Arnold then shifted to AI infrastructure with Bittensor (TAO), calling it “decentralized AI” plumbing and noting it had a latest “halving” and a hard and fast provide mannequin he in comparison with Bitcoin’s. He additionally pointed to early-2026 ETF momentum, saying Grayscale filed an S-1 for a TAO product and Bitwise adopted with a Bittensor ETF submitting.
For tokenization publicity, Arnold highlighted Ondo Finance (ONDO) forward of what he described as an Ondo Summit on Feb. 3, the place “world leaders, buyers, coverage makers” would reconvene, and closed his record with Propy, a real-estate-focused challenge he mentioned is “US licensed” for title and escrow closing and “backed by Coinbase,” positioning it as a guess on bringing residence shopping for and promoting “on-chain.”
Arnold closed his record with Propy, explicitly flagging it as essentially the most speculative finish of the spectrum and pairing it with a warning that lower-cap publicity can imply “these altcoins go to zero.”
The Altcoin Daily host described it as “basically actual property on-chain.” He emphasised operational and regulatory positioning as a part of the pitch, saying Propy is “US licensed title and escrow closing,” and in addition highlighted its backers: “They’re backed once more by Coinbase.”
The funding thesis, as Arnold offered it, is easy tokenization logic utilized to housing: bringing components of the shopping for and promoting course of onto rails that may be settled and recorded on-chain, with Propy positioned as a challenge already working inside the US compliance perimeter he expects to matter extra in 2026.
At press time, the overall crypto market cap stood at $2.98 trillion.