My degenerate crypto friends, how are you doing this fine morning? I’m doing good myself. Finally a sunny day here in Madrid after all the rain. The crypto market pumped over the past few days, but yesterday and today we’ve had a little retracement. Bitcoin is down around 2.5%. Nothing dramatic — just a normal pullback. I’ve been buying pretty much every dip. Fortunately, I still have a bit of dry powder. But now I’m thinking about adding something new. I’ve been stacking the coins I trust most, but I want a little more diversification.

Looking for Better Rankings (Without Relying on AI)

I was checking out a site called Kaiko  because I wanted rankings that go beyond just market cap. I didn’t want to manually check TVL, number of wallets, developers, revenue, and so on through AI prompts. I use AI for metrics sometimes, but I don’t fully trust it to be up to date or perfectly accurate. This site doesn’t show the exact metrics I usually look at. Instead, it has broader categories like market presence, availability, maturity, and custody. Still, it gives a different perspective. Here’s what stood out:
  • Bitcoin ranked AAA.
  • Ethereum, Solana, and Ripple ranked AA.
  • Chainlink and Uniswap ranked A.
  • Cardano, Hedera, Sui, Avalanche, Polkadot, Near, Bittensor ranked B.
  • Polygon ranked A.
Personally, I’d argue Ethereum and Solana deserve AAA. They actually power ecosystems. Bitcoin is mostly hoarded. That said, its dominance and brand justify its position. Ripple (XRP) is tricky. Use case questions remain, but the community is massive. Dogecoin having an A rating makes sense purely from adoption. Chainlink and Uniswap earning A is well deserved. Polygon having an A confirms what I’ve been saying: Polygon is doing a lot behind the scenes — tokenization, stablecoin usage, serious development — yet the market cap still feels undervalued relative to activity.

ETF Outflows: $170 Million Bleed

Crypto funds saw $170 million in outflows recently. Breakdown:
  • Bitcoin: -$133M
  • Ethereum: -$85M
  • XRP: +$33M
  • Solana: +$31M
While BTC and ETH saw red, Solana and XRP were net positive. That rotation into select altcoins is interesting.

Traders Rotating to Select Altcoins

Some recent movers:
  • Zcash +24%
  • Pepe +21–22%
  • Bittensor +20%
  • Aster +19%
Every time the market shows even a slight bullish move, meme coins explode. That gambling mentality never dies. Of course, when the market drops again, they crash harder. Great for trading — risky for holding.

Solana’s RWA Ecosystem Hits New High

According to Coin Bureau, Solana’s real-world asset ecosystem reached a new all-time high, surpassing $1.66 billion in total tokenized revenue. I’ve been saying this: Solana is kicking. At current prices, the risk-reward looks extremely attractive. Not financial advice — but the adoption metrics are real.
  • Strong RWA growth
  • Stablecoin expansion
  • Heavy transaction throughput
Solana keeps delivering.

Polygon (POL) Is Quietly Rocking

Many people don’t realize POL is deflationary due to its burn mechanism. It has L1-style tokenomics and is on track to generate over $70 million per year in fees. Polygon has always been building. The price collapsed, yes — but the fundamentals didn’t disappear. It’s one of those plays that feels undervalued relative to usage.

Pudgy Penguins (PENGU): Meme or Business?

PENGU’s market cap sits around $452 million while reportedly generating revenue through:
  • Physical merchandise
  • NFT royalties
  • IP licensing
  • Partnerships
  • Token ecosystem revenue
I was considering it as a meme-style play, but the question is sustainability. If it’s actually generating revenue, that changes the equation. It tends to bounce hard whenever the market gets a couple of green days.

Top Picks Discussion

Between Stellar, Chainlink, Avalanche, and Hedera: My ranking would be:
  1. Chainlink
  2. Avalanche
  3. Hedera (still researching)
Stellar has some RWA and adoption momentum, but I’m not convinced it justifies its current valuation.

Michael Saylor’s Conviction

Michael Saylor announced that Strategy will reveal its 99th Bitcoin purchase and that it will be larger than the previous one. This is conviction. Even if he’s wrong, the consistency and belief are what define successful long-term players.

The Psychological Bear Market

Some say this is the most psychologically testing market in years. Not because of price — but because of boredom. No news seems to move markets. No passion. No rebellion. Crypto is now part of the system. There’s even a theory that once institutions adopted crypto, retail lost interest. Maybe. But extreme bearish sentiment often signals opportunity. Everyone wanted ETH at $4,500. Now nobody wants it below $2,000. That says a lot.

Fortunes Are Made When Nobody Wants In

People underestimate how much money can be made in crypto. In 2021, some went from $100 to six figures. Others from a few thousand to multi-millions. It’s possible — but you must buy when others hesitate. To be early means holding when nobody wants to. I’ve personally done maybe 3x–4x overall since 2021. I’ve had small positions do 20x, but not my whole portfolio. If I can get a 10x in the next proper altcoin run, that would be incredible. I’m not chasing 20x fantasies. I just want strong returns that justify the time and risk.

Are We Only 30% Into the Bear?

Some claim we’re only 30% through this bear market and that 90% of people have already lost everything. I think once Bitcoin sets its true bottom — if it hasn’t already — that’s the end of the bear. Maybe sideways chop for a while, then up again. Altcoin holders have suffered enough. It doesn’t go down forever.

The Fake “Million Bitcoin” Story

There’s a viral clip of someone in 2009 supposedly buying 1 million Bitcoin for $1,000. Almost certainly fake or AI-generated. Still fun to imagine.

Final Thoughts

This market feels frustrating to many. But when people are exhausted, bored, and bearish — that’s often when the opportunity is largest. Buy when it’s uncomfortable. Have conviction. Have a wonderful day. Enjoy your life. Be happy. I’ll see you next time.