Smart money traders are piling back into meme tokens, with Solana-based White Whale turning a $366 buy into roughly $1.5 million for one early participant. Alongside this mid-cap surge, larger names like Dogecoin and Pepe and presale projects such as Bitcoin Hyper and Maxi Doge are being highlighted as key meme coin opportunities in the current bull market.

Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao has reiterated his optimistic outlook on digital assets, stating on X that a crypto "super cycle" is expected to begin in 2026 and drive prices far beyond prior projections. He contrasts this view with the traditional four-year market cycle thesis and continues to spotlight Bitcoin, BNB and Aster as his preferred long-term holdings, while separate analysts and investors are also focusing on emerging tokens like Bitcoin Hyper and Floki.

Low-cap meme coins on Solana are delivering outsized returns, with one early TESTICLE buyer reportedly turning a $19 purchase into $46,000. Alongside this, investors are eyeing Official Trump, Fartcoin, MemeCore, Bitcoin Hyper and Maxi Doge as key meme plays, with several tokens posting notable weekly gains and attracting whale interest. These picks span high-utility and narrative-driven projects, from meme-focused Layer-1 and Bitcoin Layer-2 solutions to culture-driven doge variants.

Analysts expect a major crypto bull run at the start of 2026, as capital rotates from stocks and precious metals into digital assets. Against this backdrop, market commentators highlight Solana, Sui, Render and the new low-cap Bitcoin Hyper as notable opportunities, spanning large-cap, mid-cap and early-stage projects. These assets are being evaluated on institutional demand, on-chain activity, technical breakouts and fundraising milestones.

LiquidChain is building a Layer-3 execution and liquidity coordination layer to reduce fragmentation across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. According to LiquidChain's presale page, the $LIQUID offering has raised over $350,000, with the token used for fees, governance, and network access. Staking is designed to help secure the network and align long-term liquidity incentives.

On Thursday, crypto markets fell as Bitcoin briefly slipped below $90,000 and, according to the article, completed a CME gap between $90,500 and $91,600 while bouncing from $89,200 to $91,200. The piece says altcoins underperformed, with Zcash hit by reports of a core team exit, and flags another gap near $88,200 that could matter if the pullback extends.

In the early phase of the 2026 crypto bull run, several analysts argue that meme coins could again deliver some of the market's largest returns, with Dogecoin, Pepe and newer tokens like Bitcoin Hyper, Pepenode and Maxi Doge in focus. Dogecoin is being framed as a potential 10x opportunity with a possible move toward $1, while low-cap projects are being promoted as 100x candidates after raising millions of dollars in presales and offering staking or mine-to-earn rewards.

PEPENODE's presale is scheduled to conclude on Thursday, January 8, 2026, at a final token price of $0.0012161 after raising $2.6 million with 24 hours remaining. The project touts staking at 522% APY and plans exchange listings alongside a virtual mining launch, as the market shows Bitcoin near $92,000 and Ethereum around $3,200.

The article states Morgan Stanley filed for spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs on Tuesday as early U.S. trading saw broad crypto weakness. Bitcoin is up 7% in January but failed to clear $95,000 on Monday, while Ethereum faces resistance near $3,300. Analysts cited point to OBV breakouts and relative strength across BTC, ETH, BCH, HYPER and TAO.