Key Points
The cryptocurrency sector is already seeing the formation of trends that will shape the next bull market.
Better tokenomics systems for holders are becoming more common.
Asset tokenization will be a driver of better cybersecurity practices, but it isn't the biggest one.
- 10 stocks we like better than Ethereum ›
The last crypto bull market, which ended in October 2025, rewarded narratives and stories more than actual economic activity. Meme coins and networks making big promises and little in the way of new or useful features caught buyers' attention. Now, as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is grinding its way through its worst stretch since 2022, there are early signs of a recovery in the market thanks to a handful of projects.
The emerging contenders for leaders in the next bull market are different because they're operating more like businesses than cryptocurrencies of the past. Here's which coins to watch and what to expect if the market continues to perk up.
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Cash flow could become the name of the game
Traditionally, crypto majors other than Bitcoin, like Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), Solana, and XRP, have a complicated relationship between their token's value and the extent to which their blockchains are actually used for economically productive activity.
Those chains collect fees, but only a small portion reaches token holders directly; the rest flows to validators, stakers, or ecosystem funds. That's part of the reason holding Ethereum for the past five years left holders with losses of 8% despite enormous technical improvements, capital inflows, and network usage.
The coins that will win in the next crypto bull market will likely invert that dynamic, ensuring that holders get compensated for tying up their capital and attracting more investment as a result.
Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE) is the most prominent example. Its Assistance Fund is a mechanism that captures close to 99% of the trading fees on the chain's decentralized exchange into HYPE token purchases, which are burned and removed from circulation. It has bought back more than $2 billion worth of its token since launch, soaking up 4.7% of its maximum supply at about four to five times the burn rate of Ethereum.
Lighter (CRYPTO: LIT) is another decentralized exchange and one of Hyperliquid's competitors, and it runs the same playbook with its supply. All trading fee revenue funnels into LIT token repurchases, and per the June 30 tokenomics update, those coin purchased through those buybacks will be permanently burned; 6.3% of supply is already gone.
Another riff on this holder-friendly tokenomics concept is Bittensor (CRYPTO: TAO). It operates as an ecosystem of different subnets which offer artificial intelligence (AI) training and related services. Its recent upgrade gave every subnet its own unique token; leading subnets, like Chutes, recycle their platform revenue into buybacks of their subnet tokens, so that holders of the subnet's asset can capture value from demand for the subnet's computing services.
This puts pressure on majors like Ethereum and Solana. They may opt to give holders a stronger claim on the future of on-chain revenue if the new challengers are successful in attracting capital during the next cycle.
New challenges will occur amid some of the same old trends
Perhaps the biggest risk during the next bull market will be quantum computing, which could theoretically be used to steal coins once a powerful enough quantum computer is developed.
Bitcoin will need to convince investors that it's prepared to adapt to the risk of its encryption becoming compromised as a result of a quantum computer-equipped attacker. A new proposal called BIP-360, accepted in February 2026, laid out the first potential quantum-resistance plan. If new security measures aren't agreed upon and put into place promptly, it will become a major headwind for the coin's price.
Thus, pretty much every major chain will need to spend more on cryptographic hardening to be investable in the coming cycle. That will be especially important as more capital is onboarded to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), which will be the main draw pulling in institutions this time around.
Another new theme, financial privacy, will likely be a big one in the next bull market. Established privacy coins like Zcash and Monero have questionable track records, so they will likely need to fend off some competition from newcomers even if their prices rise.
Old themes will be in play even as new ones become more important. An unpredictable handful of meme coins will run again, as they always do. More serious segments that fell short of their 2021 valuations during the most recent bull market, notably decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) and social finance, are largely hollowed out and probably won't recover.
But no matter what happens, there's a lot to be optimistic about for the next crypto bull market whenever it may occur.
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Alex Carchidi has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Bittensor, Ethereum, Hyperliquid, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends Monero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
