When markets panic, logic usually disappears first. Prices drop fast, sentiment turns ugly, and social feeds fill with fear. For short-term traders, that can be chaos. For long-term investors, it is often where the best opportunities quietly appear.
This does not mean buying anything that falls. It means focusing on assets that still make sense even when the mood is terrible. Projects with real liquidity, real use, and a clear reason to exist beyond the current cycle.
Here are three cryptocurrencies many long-term holders look at during panic phases.
What you'll learn 👉
Bitcoin (BTC) – The Base Layer of Crypto
Bitcoin is often the first place capital runs back to when things go wrong. With the BTC price trading around $87,688.67, it still has the deepest liquidity and the strongest order books in the entire crypto market.
That matters during panic because it is easier to enter and exit without massive slippage, even when markets are stressed.
Bitcoin is also the most widely accepted crypto asset. It’s used as collateral on lending platforms, traded everywhere, and held by institutions, funds, and governments around the world. When risk sentiment tightens, people tend to leave altcoins and go back to Bitcoin rather than stablecoins.
Bitcoin’s current situation: We’re seeing a balance between institutional support and short-term uncertainty. Banks are launching new Bitcoin services, and ETF filings are increasing.
On the other hand, we’re seeing a delay in U.S. crypto regulations and some whale selling, causing high volatility. This balance between opposing forces is what we call panic phases.
Read Also: This Analyst Makes a Shocking Silver Price Prediction
Ethereum (ETH) – A Bet on the On-Chain Economy
Ethereum is not just another coin. It is the backbone of most decentralized finance, stablecoins, NFTs, and layer-2 networks.
At $2,920.83, ETH represents exposure to the entire on-chain economy, not just one narrative. If activity on-chain keeps growing, Ethereum benefits directly from that usage.
Since the Merge, Ethereum also has a fee-burning mechanism that can reduce supply when network activity is high. That gives ETH a different dynamic than most assets during long recovery phases, especially if demand returns faster than supply grows.
Ethereum also remains an attractive option for institutional investors, particularly in terms of tokenization. While sentiment may change based on market conditions, ETH often becomes a core holding for investors looking to stay in crypto but not risk their capital on niche bets.
Monero (XMR) – A Different Kind of Hedge
Monero sits in a completely different category. With the XMR price trading around $466.55, it does not depend on DeFi, NFTs, or hype cycles. Its value comes from one thing: privacy. That makes it less tied to speculative trends and more tied to censorship resistance and financial autonomy.
At times, Monero has shown lower correlation with trend-driven sectors, which can make it useful when popular narratives unwind. For investors who care about privacy as a long-term theme, panic phases often offer rare chances to accumulate XMR at depressed prices.
However, there are also risks that are unique to Monero. The regulatory environment is becoming more challenging, with the EU planning to restrict anonymous accounts by 2027, with similar plans being considered in other areas, such as Dubai.
On the flip side, Monero is continuing with its upgrades. The recent Fluorine Fermi upgrade, as well as the upcoming FCMP++ upgrade, are all positives for the cryptocurrency.
Why These Three During Panic
When panic hits, most assets fall together. But not all assets recover the same way. Bitcoin tends to lead recoveries because it absorbs the first wave of returning capital.
Ethereum (ETH) benefits as activity slowly returns to the broader crypto economy. Monero offers exposure to a niche that is driven less by hype and more by ideology and utility.
For many long-term holders, a “panic basket” is often built around BTC and ETH as the core, with something more specialized like XMR added depending on personal conviction and risk tolerance.
This is not about timing the exact bottom. It is about building positions in assets that still make sense even if prices stay low for longer than expected.
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