Recently Bitcoin took a clean dip, touching the $75K levels, and most altcoins followed the move. Some even retested their near-bottom zones. Just last month, ETH was hanging around $1,400, and now it’s comfortably crossed back into the $2,500+ range. And if you look around, a lot of altcoins are still sitting in good buying zones — not financial advice, but that’s just where the charts are.
Now let’s be clear — this isn’t one of those posts promising you “10x coins” or calling the next pump. That’s not what I’m doing here, Why? Unlike the traditional financial market, the cryptocurrency market is characterized by high volatility and, accordingly, high risks.
This guide is about building a spot portfolio — not leverage trading, not shorting, no magic indicators. I’m simply sharing how I personally built a portfolio, what mistakes I made, how I adjusted things over time, and what actually helped me stay sane in the middle of market noise. If you’re just starting to put together your own crypto portfolio or even rebuilding one after a rough cycle, this might give you a decent head start.
Experienced investors know that the best way to reduce risk is to diversify. Beginners, in most cases, have no idea how to create a cryptocurrency portfolio, what assets to include in it, and how to manage it.
This simplicity plays a cruel joke on many novice crypto traders. They spend a few minutes getting ready and some more time replenishing their wallet. As soon as the balance on it becomes non-zero, happy new crypto enthusiasts immediately rush to buy bitcoins or the most promising altcoins from their point of view. At the same time, all talk about volatility and market risks is immediately forgotten. Such newcomers to investments will remember them only after losses turn the balance back to zero. This is the wrong approach.
In fact, the approach to working in the cryptocurrency market should not differ from actions in any other market – stock, foreign exchange, commodity, and raw materials. Above all, this means making the most of risk mitigation tools and techniques.
The most effective of them is diversification. This term refers to the distribution of funds among several assets. Their number and choice depend on the investment goals, the strategy used, the size of the deposit, and other factors.
Again, none of this is trading advice. It’s just my experience, what I learned, and what I would do if I had to build it all again today.
I would say speical thanks to Rates – all about finances team for reviewing and helping me structure this post based on their financial knowledge.
Clearing Wallet Confusion
You’ll often hear people say “Cold wallet this, cold wallet that,” and if you’re new to crypto, the whole wallet thing can honestly be overwhelming. So let’s break it down — realistically, not with definitions you’ve already read 10 times on the internet.
Cold Wallets — What They Are and When to Use Them
A cold wallet is basically an offline crypto wallet — not connected to the internet — which makes it the safest option against hacks, phishing, and exchange failures. It’s typically a hardware device like a Ledger or Trezor that you plug into your computer only when you need to make a move.
This type of wallet makes the most sense when you’ve bought a coin and are planning to hold it for years. Like, literally forget about it. Say you bought BTC in 2018, believing it’s digital gold and you’re not touching it until it hits $1 million — cold storage is where that belongs. Offline, untouched, no distractions.
But here’s my personal take — I don’t recommend cold wallets for altcoins. For me, Bitcoin is the only real “digital gold.” Everything else — whether it’s ETH, SOL, or any other — is still part of an evolving game. There’s only one BTC, and no matter how strong ETH sounds, let’s be real — look at the charts. ETH has touched $1,500 levels multiple times since 2022. It did in 2022, again in 2023, and even in 2025. Anyone who bought around $2,500–$3,300 over the last few years is still waiting, maybe at break-even or worse.
So for me, altcoins go into wallets where I can move, swap, or exit if needed. That way, if there’s an opportunity to convert into stablecoins or reposition, I’m not stuck unplugging a device or playing memory games. That’s just my setup — you can keep anything in a cold wallet, of course. Just sharing how I think about it.
Browser or App Wallets — Flexible but Comes with a Catch
Now let’s talk browser or app wallets — like MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Rabby, or Phantom.
These are online wallets, connected to the internet, with the benefit of speed and flexibility. You can easily connect to DeFi apps, stake, swap, and move tokens without delays. They’re reasonably secure if you follow the rules (don’t click scam links, use a strong seed phrase, etc.).
But here’s the catch — you’re still depending on the provider’s infrastructure. If the app or company disappears tomorrow, or if your wallet gets blacklisted, or their servers break down — your access could be gone. That’s the trade-off. With cold wallets, you control the private key. With these, you’re trusting someone else’s system to work 24/7.
So I do use app wallets for active portfolios, quick swaps, and tokens I might need to use or sell within weeks/months — but I don’t park my main holdings in them forever.
Crypto Exchanges — Keep It for Trading, Not Storage
Exchanges like Binance, Bybit, Bitget, OKX, and others — they’ve come a long way. UI is great, features are powerful, and spot trading is smoother than ever.
But here’s my view: Exchanges are for trading, not for long-term holding. Yes, you can keep funds there if you’re actively moving in and out of trades. No issue if you’re working with smaller amounts and trust the platform.
But let’s say you’ve got $1M worth of ETH. Would I leave that on an exchange? Absolutely not. Not just because of hacks or freezing risk, but because your coins aren’t really in your hands. If something breaks, freezes, or gets suspended — your access could be delayed or denied. Exchanges are centralised services. You’re using them on borrowed time.
And that’s not the only reason. I’ve personally seen exchanges randomly block transactions and say, “Please complete KYC first.” And until you do, your withdrawals are frozen. I don’t trust that. That’s not decentralisation. That’s a bank with branding.
Also, I know what happens behind the scenes — most of these platforms leverage your deposited funds to run their own systems, liquidity pools, and internal financial mechanics. It’s not all visible, but it’s there. And yes, maybe they’re liquid most of the time, but in market crashes, liquidity dries up, and panic begins. You don’t want to be the guy watching your screen and realising withdrawals are disabled when you need your funds most.
So I keep trading funds on exchanges — what I’m okay losing or flipping short-term. But the core of the portfolio? That stays out of exchanges.
No Basic Advice Like “Split $1,000 Across BTC, ETH, SOL, LINK, DOT” — That’s Not a Portfolio
You’ve probably seen those posts that say: “If you have $200, buy $50 of BTC, $50 of ETH, $30 of LINK, and $20 of DOT or SOL…” Yeah, I don’t follow that logic. That’s not a strategy — that’s a shopping list.
If you’re doing this properly, you’re not just scattering coins and hoping for the best. Because unless you catch a bull cycle right on time, you’ll just sit there holding a bunch of assets that bleed slowly or do nothing for years.
And guess what? Markets are not friendly. You never know — one tweet, one bad CPI report, one trade war headline, and your altcoins drop 50% in a week. I’ve seen it. Alts are not stablecoins, and they move fast — up or down. So I don’t like random allocation strategies.
Types of Crypto Assets
There are many classifications of cryptocurrencies. They are distinguished:
- By functional purpose. For example, Bitcoin is a means of payment, while Ether is more of a utility token that allows you to access the product of a crypto project or the services it provides.
- According to algorithms for ensuring the operability of the network, for example, PoW (Proof-of-Work) or PoS (Proof-of-Stake).
- By capitalization (top crypto assets and shitcoins), prevalence on trading platforms, centralized and decentralized, risk level, and so on.
A crypto investor should first evaluate the risk level for each coin when building a portfolio. Here we need to distinguish:
- Stablecoins. These cryptocurrencies are backed by assets outside the project ecosystem and therefore maintain a stable price relative to the underlying asset. For example, Tether USDT is pegged to the value of the dollar in a 1:1 ratio (1 USDT = 1 dollar with some deviation in one direction or another), and PAX Gold (PAXG) to the cost of a troy ounce of gold.
- Blue chips. Crypto investors borrowed this term from the stock market and use it to designate leaders in capitalization, who also demonstrate maximum stability over a long time interval. For example, the absolute blue chips are Bitcoin and Ethereum (BTC and ETH). These cryptocurrencies are distinguished by an almost zero probability of a decrease in value to zero (project collapse) and low volatility compared to most altcoins. Interestingly, at the end of 2023, the number of Bitcoin holders exceeds 106 million.
- Medium-risk assets. This includes cryptocurrencies that have already received recognition from the community, are traded stably on well-known platforms, and represent a certain value (for example, as a basic blockchain for applications). For example, these are BNB, Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), Tron (TRX), Polkadot (DOT), and others.
- High-risk assets. This group includes new, hype, and meme cryptocurrencies that can show rapid growth, but also sharp declines.
I divide a portfolio based on function and role. Because if your coins don’t have a clear role, you’re just guessing.
1. Digital Gold — BTC (50%)
For me, Bitcoin is the anchor. The only digital gold in the market.
No meme, no alt, no fancy L1 comes close. You can talk about ETH all you want — it’s not BTC. Bitcoin is what institutions hold, what countries are experimenting with, what miners are betting everything on.
So if I had $1M to build a spot portfolio, I’d go 50% into BTC. Not in one shot. I’d scale in gradually — especially if the market is moving sideways or showing uncertainty. Buy in dips, average in over weeks or even months, but make sure BTC holds its place. It’s your long-term, no-stress allocation.
2. Utility Layer — ETH, and Select Others (30%)
Now, utility tokens are the layer where you look for growth, real use cases, and adoption stories.
Yes, ETH is here — it’s still the biggest utility token. But I don’t romanticize it. ETH at $2,500 means that to double your money, it needs to hit its old ATH of around $5,000 — not impossible, but not easy either. That’s a big move in a tough macro environment.
This is why I also look beyond ETH. Other chains or platforms with smaller caps but working ecosystems — things like NEAR, TRB, maybe even Layer 2 tokens or oracles — can give 3x to 5x potential if they break out.
That doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed. It means their structure allows for upside if the market moves. But again, don’t dump it all in one — keep this utility segment spread across strong fundamentals, low supply, and real usage potential.
According to an expert from MoonPay, a cryptocurrency exchange facilitating the buying and selling of digital assets, many people consider Bitcoin (BTC) to be “digital gold” due to its scarcity and role as a store of value. Ethereum (ETH), on the other hand, is often likened to silver—valuable and useful, yet potentially susceptible to being surpassed. This perspective suggests that while Bitcoin and Ethereum hold significant market positions, Therefore, like if you buy XRP, SOL, or BNB, or even lesser-known altcoins that haven’t fully realized their potential, could be like other useful metals. These “other big caps” can be viewed as alternative rare metals, each with its own unique properties and potential for appreciation.
3. Meme/Risk/Speculative — Only If You Can Emotionally Afford to Lose It (20%)
Here’s the wildcard zone. The part everyone talks about on X and Reddit but few handle responsibly.
If you want to hold memecoins or low-cap speculative tokens, that’s fine — only do it if you’re okay with losing that money overnight. Literally overnight.
Memecoins aren’t something you hold for 10 years. They’re timing-sensitive plays — you enter right, and you exit quickly. There is no “I’ll just wait and see” with memes. Wait too long and you’re the exit liquidity.
If you’re joining a meme trend or picking a new launch, don’t just FOMO into a token because it listed on Binance or Coinbase. That’s the late entry. First ask:
- Who’s holding the supply?
- What percent was airdropped?
- Who’s selling, and when is the unlock?
- Is it 95% owned by insiders and about to dump?
And remember: no problem waiting. You don’t need to be in on day one. Let the hype cool down, let it form a chart, let real buyers show up — then think about entry.
Also, this is the only section where you must have an exit plan before entry. If you wait until the price is pumping to decide when to leave, you’ll miss your shot.
Final Thoughts
Forming a cryptocurrency portfolio is not a difficult task, but it is extremely important for those who consider the crypto market as a platform for investment. It is in many ways reminiscent of an investment portfolio on the stock market; it is formed and managed using the same methods. We recommend using the Rates service to track currency exchange rates in Ukrainian financial institutions, which will allow you to significantly improve your work with currency and cryptocurrency, including when investing. The service is available around the clock wherever you are – in Toronto, New York, or Hong Kong.
