Brazil’s largest investment bank, BTG Pactual’s crypto platform Mynt, has flagged five cryptocurrencies it believes are well-positioned for gains in October: bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), solana (SOL), avalanche (AVAX), and sky (SKY).
The picks, outlined in a report authored by Matheus Parizotto and João Galhardo, reflect a broader optimism in the crypto market as U.S. interest rates ease and anticipation builds for new crypto ETFs.
Bitcoin remains the dominant institutional pick, with more than $3.5 billion flowing into spot ETFs in September and corporate treasuries adding 43,000 BTC, over $5 billion at current prices.
Mynt’s report describes it as a long-term anchor. “For those seeking a long-term pillar in their portfolio, BTC offers liquidity, network security, and a track record of adoption that extends beyond retail investors,” it reads.
Ether, it says, continues to lead in on-chain finance. BTG Pactual’s team pointed out the network concentrates the majority of stablecoin volume and real-world asset tokenization projects.
Over the last six months, U.S. spot ETFs added $11.3 billion in ETH, while corporate treasuries picked up 816,000 ETH in September alone. To the analysts, these flows show institutional appetite remains elevated.
Beyond the top two
Solana’s case hinges on speed and cost. The network, BTG Pactual pointed out, processed over $100 billion in decentralized exchange (DEX) volume for the third straight month, while its total value locked surpassed $30 billion for the first time in a sign of deepening DeFi liquidity.
The analysts added that institutional demand has been increasing with the potential arrival of new spot SOL ETFs, which could lead to greater flows and visibility.
“For those seeking exposure to high-performance infrastructure with growing adoption in real-world cases, Solana combines scale, competitive cost, and an accelerating network effect,” the report reads.
For AVAX, BTG Pactual highlighted its sharp growth in on-chain activity, noting that daily transactions increased by 46% and stablecoin transfers rose by 421% over the last quarter.
The network’s subnet architecture allows enterprises to spin up custom blockchains, boosting real-world use cases, it said.
Sky Protocol, the rebranded MakerDAO, rounds out the list. Its stablecoin, USDS, has a circulating supply of nearly $8 billion, and its Sky Savings Rate offers a variable return that’s currently at 4.75%.
Coupled with a token buyback program that’s already deployed $77 million, the report is positioning SKY as a revenue-generating DeFi token with long-term potential.