The Best Crypto to Buy Before Q1 2026 Ends: Analysts Compare ETH, XRP, and MUTM at $0.04

With Q1 2026 just getting underway, investors are already positioning early for what could become the next major leg of the cycle. Ethereum (ETH) and XRP remain two of the most watched large caps for their liquidity and headline-driven momentum, but analysts are also paying close attention to Mutuum Finance (MUTM) for a different reason: it’s still in presale at $0.04, giving the market a discounted entry window before the next phase price step and wider trading attention.

Ethereum and XRP

Ethereum is trading around $3,100 today, keeping it firmly in the category of established blue chips that often lead when crypto prices today trend higher. 2026 expectations for ETH are commonly framed around continued network usage and institutional adoption narratives. Some forecasts have cited a 12-month target of $5,440 for Ethereum, while other market commentators have discussed a more bullish $7,000–$9,000 zone in early 2026 (with longer-term upside scenarios mentioned beyond that). The takeaway in analyst commentary is simple: ETH is often viewed as a core hold for a bull cycle, but its size usually makes extreme “early-stage” style multiples less common.

XRP is trading around $2.11 today, and it continues to attract attention because it can move sharply when sentiment and headlines align. For 2026, one of the most-cited institutional calls remains the view that XRP could reach $8 by end-2026, a target that’s frequently referenced in broader crypto predictions. That keeps XRP in the “strong upside possible” bucket, while still behaving like a widely held, heavily tracked asset where the market has already priced in a lot of the narrative.

Why $0.04 matters before Q1 ends

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is being discussed as a different type of opportunity because it hasn’t entered full public price discovery yet. It’s still in presale Phase 7 at $0.04, with a confirmed $0.06 launch price, which keeps the current entry level below the planned listing milestone.

Presale traction has also been notable: $19.65M raised and 18,750+ holders. The price has already progressed from $0.01 in Phase 1 to $0.04 in Phase 7, a 300% increase before open-market trading begins.

The Q1 timing angle comes from phase progression. If Mutuum Finance transitions into Phase 8 before the end of March, the next presale price step is expected to be about 20% higher than the current $0.04 level. That’s why analysts often frame “before Q1 ends” as a practical window: the price can move up simply due to presale phase mechanics, even before broader market trading begins.

What is Mutuum Finance and how it works

Mutuum Finance is a decentralized, non-custodial lending and borrowing protocol built for everyday DeFi behavior: earning yield, unlocking liquidity without selling, and keeping user funds under direct control through smart contracts. The platform is structured around two markets: P2C (peer-to-contract) pooled liquidity for straightforward lending/borrowing, and P2P (peer-to-peer) agreements where users can set flexible terms directly.

On the lending side, the value proposition is easy to understand. Supplying assets into pooled markets allows users to earn yield while staying positioned in crypto. A simple example: lending 25,000 USDT at an average 11% APY would generate about 2,750 USDT over a year, while keeping the position on-chain and redeemable.

Depositors receive mtTokens that represent their deposit position (for example, depositing USDT mints mtUSDT 1:1), and those mtTokens track the underlying value as interest accrues. Mutuum Finance also plans to support longer-term token demand through a buy-and-distribute model where a portion of protocol revenue buys MUTM on the open market and distributes it to mtToken stakers, linking platform activity to ongoing token demand as the protocol grows.

Borrowing is designed around flexibility rather than forcing holders to sell. Instead of exiting a position at an inconvenient time, users can post collateral such as ETH and borrow liquidity to deploy elsewhere. In bull markets, this kind of access to funds can matter because it keeps exposure intact while still opening room to act on new opportunities.

V1 progress and audits

Mutuum Finance is also actively building toward public delivery. The team has said V1 is being developed for the Sepolia testnet and is expected to go live soon, so users can try the core functionality in a live test environment. V1 is expected to support ETH and USDT for lending, borrowing, and collateral, and it’s planned to ship with the Liquidity Pool, mtToken, Debt Token, and Liquidator Bot as the foundational components.

On the credibility side, Mutuum Finance has highlighted two major security milestones: a prior CertiK audit for the token smart contract with a strong score, and a completed HalbornSecurity audit for the V1 lending and borrowing protocol. These names matter to investors because they’re recognized across DeFi and tend to increase confidence as a project approaches launch windows.

2026 potential for MUTM

The 2026 upside case for MUTM is usually framed around three practical forces: a discounted presale entry that can step up in the next phase, a launch price set at $0.06, and a roadmap approach that aims to bring utility online in alignment with the token’s market debut. Tokens that list with working utility often see stronger early attention because interest can come from traders following a new listing and users engaging with the platform at the same time.

Some analysts have even pointed to a jump shortly after launch toward $0.40. From $0.04 to $0.40, that’s a +900% move, and that type of multiple is exactly why MUTM is being discussed alongside the best crypto to buy now narratives going into Q2.

ETH and XRP remain strong large-cap candidates for 2026, backed by heavy liquidity and widely discussed upside scenarios. ETH sits near $3,103.66 with major institutions and commentators citing higher targets into 2026, while XRP trades around $2.11 with Standard Chartered’s $8 end-2026 target frequently referenced.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM), however, stands out for a different reason: it’s still in presale at $0.04, below the $0.06 launch price, with $19.65M raised and 18,750+ holders—and a realistic chance of a phase-driven price step-up before Q1 ends as Phase 8 approaches. With V1 progress moving toward Sepolia testnet and both CertiK and Halborn audit milestones already highlighted, MUTM is increasingly framed as a high-upside pick to secure before the market’s next visibility wave begins.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance