With the possibility of a 2026 bull run once US regulators pull their fingers out and deliver legislation, the pre-Christmas period might just be the best time to buy crypto.
Bitcoin has been moving below $90,000 since Sunday. Over the past 24 hours, BTC slipped about 0.6% and is currently changing hands near $86,860.
One important shift to note is Bitcoin’s steadily declining market dominance since summer. Historically, this type of trend often signals that the next bullish wave may favor altcoins. Against that backdrop, XRP, Sky, and MemeCore are some of the most compelling cryptocurrencies to watch right now.
XRP ($XRP): Transforming Global Payments
With near-instant settlement and ultra-low transaction costs, Ripple’s XRP ($XRP) continues to play a leading role in global cross-border payments. Ripple engineered the XRP Ledger (XRPL) engineered to replace outdated systems like SWIFT, which have high fees and slow processing times.
XRP’s use case has gained recognition at the highest levels. Institutions such as the United Nations Capital Development Fund and the White House have highlighted it in official reports. At the same time, Ripple’s expanding network of fintech partnerships has helped XRP secure its place as the third-largest non-stablecoin cryptocurrency, boasting a market capitalization of roughly $116 billion.
Following the resolution of Ripple’s nearly five-year legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, XRP rallied sharply, reaching its first all-time high (ATH) in seven years of $3.65. Since then, the token has pulled back by around 47.5% and now trades close to $1.91.
The introduction of five spot XRP ETFs in the United States has unlocked notable institutional demand. However, this inflow has not yet translated into major price movement, likely because the market already priced it in.
Looking ahead, further ETF approvals combined with the potential passage of comprehensive crypto legislation could act as powerful catalysts. Under favorable conditions, XRP recapturing ATH by New Year or early 2026 is not out of the question.
Sky ($SKY): Building the Next Generation of DeFi Infrastructure
Sky ($SKY) is the new name for MakerDAOI, a scalable, user-friendly blockchain infrastructure focusing on stablecoin management and yield generation.
The $SKY token plays a central role in the ecosystem, functioning as a governance token that allows holders to participate in network upgrade decisions.
Recently, the Protocol spent $2 million to buy back 34.1 million SKY. These huge buybacks are part of a program that helps the token to retain and generate value by increasing its scarcity. Additionally, a recent revenue report claims the ecosystem generated $435 million in revenue this year, of which $168 million is profit.
We can see the effect of the byback on Sky’s recent price chart. While virtually all leading cryptocurrencies are down in the last seven days, SKY is up 8% and currently trades around $0.05967.
By focusing on tokenomics as closely as ecosystem, Sky is positioning itself as a quiet but important player in the evolving blockchain infrastructure landscape.
MemeCore ($M): Powering the Meme Economy on the Blockchain
MemeCore ($M) is a layer one meme chain, meaning that it’s a whole new blockchain just for meme coins. Rather than being just another digital gambling token, MemeCore hosts infrastructure that allows creators, communities, and brands to tokenize and monetize memes directly on the blockchain.
MemeCore positions itself as a hub where humor, creativity, and decentralized finance intersect. The $M token is used for transactions, ecosystem incentives, and governance, aligning user participation with network growth.
The blockchain utilizes a “Proof of Meme” (PoM) consensus model that rewards creators, validators and users of a meme coin.
MemeCore has been quietly rallying recently. Its price chart shows that $M rose a little over 15% in the last seven days and 25.5% in the last fortnight to trade at $1.67 as of this writing.
Going into Christmas, MemeCore’s neutral relative strength index (RSI) score of 48 hints that the token has headroom and legroom to swing either way. A bull case could quadruple it up to $7, while a bear case could see a collapse down to previous support, around $0.40.
Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER): A Meme-Inspired Bitcoin Layer-2
Another project gaining momentum as 2026 approaches is Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER), a Bitcoin layer-2 solution that looks like a meme coin. While its presentation is playful, the underlying technology is designed to bring meaningful improvements to Bitcoin, including faster transactions, low fees, and advanced smart contract functionality.
Bitcoin Hyper is built on the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) and features a Canonical Bridge, allowing seamless Bitcoin transfers across multiple blockchain networks.
Investor interest has been strong, with the presale raising close to $30 million so far. Popular crypto commentator Borch Crypto has even suggested that HYPER could achieve returns of up to 100x once it lists on major exchanges.
Adding to its credibility, a recent audit by Coinsult reported no smart contract vulnerabilities. The HYPER token serves several purposes within the ecosystem, including transaction fees, governance voting, and staking. Early participants in the presale can currently earn staking rewards of up to 39% APY.
With Bitcoin due to go $HYPER in 2026, Bitcoin Hyper offers both seasoned BTC holders and newcomers a chance to gain early exposure to a project that will expand Bitcoin’s horizons.
Visit the official presale website or follow Bitcoin Hyper on X and Telegram for more information.
Visit the Official Website HereThe post Best Crypto To Buy Now 17 December – XRP, Sky, MemeCore appeared first on Cryptonews.
