Wall Street Begins Buying Altcoins

Writing: The DeFi

Translation: White Talk Blockchain

Aside from price movements, some very interesting things are happening in the cryptocurrency space right now. This month, some of the world’s largest asset management firms have started purchasing DeFi tokens:

BlackRock: After supporting its BUIDL Tokenized Fund trading on the Uniswap interface, they bought an undisclosed amount of $UNI tokens.

Apollo Global Management: Announced plans to purchase up to 90 million MORPHO tokens (approximately $170 million) over the next 48 months.

Citadel Securities and Ark Invest: Invested in LayerZero’s $ZRO token.

This is the first major traditional finance (TradFi) institution to include DeFi tokens in its portfolio.

In addition, just a few weeks ago, Jupiter received a $35 million investment from ParaFi Capital, with trades executed at spot prices. This was unheard of a few years ago, as most VCs have historically bought tokens at large OTC discounts and sold immediately after unlock.

Now, institutions and VCs are willing to buy DeFi tokens at public market prices, which seems to be a very bullish long-term signal.

Why is this important?

Large institutional purchases of altcoins could exert significant buying pressure on specific tokens, similar to what happened with Bitcoin (BTC) over the past two years. Moreover, this legitimizes the entire industry and may encourage many retail investors, who have been skeptical of altcoins, to start investing.

Coupled with recent buyback mechanisms introduced by mainstream dApps, this could be the catalyst for a major breakout of altcoins in the next cycle.

I realize most people have completely lost trust in altcoins, often for good reason. Frankly, most tokens in this space will never hit new all-time highs (ATH) again.

However, I am confident that projects with strong fundamentals could see explosive growth in the next bull cycle, giving us a glimpse of what a true “alt season” looks like. Thanks to institutional interest, BTC has risen from $16,000 to $124,000 in this cycle. For altcoins, the buying pressure needed to trigger a surge is somewhat less.

What should we expect next, and what are my plans?

I believe what we’re seeing now is just the beginning. BlackRock (which just bought UNI) has historically set the tone for the industry. When it takes action, the rest of the financial sector usually follows.

I expect more institutions to announce purchases of altcoins in the coming months.

Even so, I think it’s still too early to buy heavily into altcoins. Because before BTC approaches cycle lows, even with institutional inflows, altcoins are unlikely to perform well. Historically, bottoms tend to occur about a year after cycle peaks, around October.

Given the current macro trend, if history repeats, I wouldn’t be surprised if this BTC cycle bottom occurs in late Q3 or early Q4 of 2026. Based on past cycles, March 2026 could be a good month for crypto performance, but even if there’s a rebound, I don’t expect it to last more than a few weeks.

Considering all these factors, my plan is to start increasing my risk exposure to altcoins and BTC significantly in Q3. Until then, I plan to dollar-cost average (DCA) only when BTC holds key support levels.

Which altcoins am I planning to buy?

There’s still plenty of time before Q3 to decide, but my current criteria are:

Low P/E ratio: calculated as Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) divided by annual revenue (below 15 is ideal).

High circulating supply and low emission rates.

Buyback plans or other mechanisms that drive value through stable tokens.

Teams that continue rapid development and delivery during bear markets.

True product-market fit (PMF): users use the product because it’s genuinely useful, not just for token rewards.

I’m not joking—there aren’t many projects that meet all these standards. But I believe these are the most likely to attract institutional interest. A few projects on my radar include: Fluid, Jupiter, AAVE, Pendle, Hyperliquid, Lighter, EtherFi, and Sky. I’ll wait until closer to Q3 to share specific purchase lists.

This cycle has proven how institutions validate BTC’s investment status. Now, they are testing the value of altcoins by investing real money.

As crypto shifts toward an institution-led era, I believe major institutional purchases of altcoins could be the main catalyst for the next bull run. The bear market may not be over yet, but I have no doubt that a new bull cycle will eventually arrive.

Make sure you have the right positioning.