CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju believes altcoins are not dead, but the market that once rewarded nearly any token launch has fundamentally changed.
In a widely shared thread on X, the on-chain analyst argued that the days of making money solely from hype-driven crypto narratives are coming to an end. Instead, he believes the surviving altcoins will be those backed by real businesses, sustainable revenue, and long-term alignment with broader financial and technological trends.
The comments come as the cryptocurrency market continues to evolve following years of speculative cycles dominated by themes ranging from decentralized finance and NFTs to memecoins and artificial intelligence tokens. While many investors remain skeptical of altcoins after repeated boom-and-bust cycles, Ki argues that dismissing the entire sector may overlook projects with genuine utility and growing economic activity.
“I agree that 99.9% of altcoins should be rejected,” he wrote, while adding that rejecting most projects is not the same as rejecting all of them.
Three Categories of Altcoins He Believes Can Survive
According to Ki, the altcoins with the strongest long-term prospects fall into three broad categories.
The first group consists of what he describes as global internet companies that have built tokenized ecosystems around their products and services. He pointed to Binance’s BNB and Telegram-linked TON as examples of projects tied to businesses with significant user bases, revenue generation, and long-term operational commitments.
Ki suggested that as crypto investment products continue expanding and traditional financial capital gains exposure to digital assets, some investors may increasingly view ecosystem tokens as a way to participate in the growth of underlying platforms.
The second category includes decentralized finance protocols that generate measurable revenue.
Projects such as Hyperliquid and other established DeFi platforms, he argued, have demonstrated that blockchain-based financial services can produce sustainable economic activity. In his view, revenue generation, credible founders, and governance structures that consider token-holder interests are becoming increasingly important factors when evaluating crypto projects.
This reflects a broader shift in the market, where investors have begun paying closer attention to metrics such as protocol revenue, user activity, and cash flow rather than relying solely on community enthusiasm or speculative narratives.
Stablecoins, RWAs, and AI Could Shape the Next Phase
Ki’s third category focuses on projects aligned with larger financial and technological trends.
He noted that while altcoin market capitalization has struggled to significantly surpass the highs reached during the 2021 bull market, several blockchain sectors have continued attracting institutional interest. Among them are stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, tokenized equities, and other forms of blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
These areas have increasingly become focal points for banks, asset managers, payment companies, and financial technology firms exploring blockchain applications beyond speculative trading.
Ki also highlighted artificial intelligence as a potential future growth driver. As AI agents become more active participants in digital commerce and online services, he believes blockchain infrastructure could play an important role in enabling machine-to-machine payments, identity systems, and automated economic activity.
While acknowledging that most crypto projects are unlikely to succeed, Ki argued that the industry may be entering a phase similar to the aftermath of the dot-com bubble. Just as many internet startups failed before sustainable technology companies emerged, he believes the next generation of successful crypto businesses may be built on real products and revenue rather than market narratives alone.
His conclusion was straightforward: investors should remain selective rather than dismissing the entire altcoin market outright.
