AAVE is DeFi’s lending king, but the best banking trade this year looks like it will be crypto presale Digitap ($TAP). Recently integrating Solana and already with thousands of users spending on its Visa card, this undervalued banking play has already raised over $4.5 million.
Stablecoins are the leading narrative this year. They are becoming the settlement layer of modern finance, and the Trump admin openly talks about a path to $3 trillion in stablecoins by the end of the decade. The most interesting banking altcoins to buy are products that turn stablecoins into everyday banking and spendable money. Digitap is playing that game.
Time to compare AAVE and $TAP and see which is the best crypto to buy now for banking gains in 2026.
Aave is the blue-chip of crypto lending. When users want to borrow against collateral or earn yield on assets, Aave is where they go. Aave is the default crypto money market. Soon to ship V4, which will focus on modular design and roll out a fintech-esque savings app, Aave is certainly not sitting still.
But is Aave the best crypto to buy now in the banking race? With a $2.3 billion market cap, it looks bloated, and the ongoing governance dispute between Aave Labs and the DAO shows that Aave Labs is in control, not AAVE token holders.
Aave has clear long-term support at $120, but can Aave take a shot at its ATH of of $661 this year? Unlikely. 2026 has been defined by smaller and more nimble projects, such as Digitap. Investors are waking up to the fact that the legacy class of altcoins are all overvalued and looking elsewhere. While the Aave protocol is still excellent, the AAVE token itself leaves much to be desired.
Digitap ($TAP): Shipping the World’s First Omni-Bank
Digitap has built and shipped the world’s first omni-bank, and anyone can download the app today on iOS and Android. This global money app merges crypto rails with a familiar banking experience. By wrapping crypto and SDT settlement in a sleek neobank UX, Digitap is unlocking digital dollars for a new cohort of users.
Mobile-first, borderless, and always available. Digitap is delivering the type of finance that can meet modern demand. The Solana integration is the latest move for Digitap, and bringing Solana-native deposits to its app means Solana’s speed is now accessible within Digitap’s banking stack.
Bitcoin and Ethereum integrations are positioned next, and despite being a crypto presale, the team is shipping in real time. But why does $TAP outrank AAVE as a leading altcoin to buy for the banking trade? It all comes down to upside potential and surface area. Aave is a DeFi lending protocol, and Digitap is going after global banking.
Digitap already unlocks cross-border transactions for less than 1%. This goes after an obvious painpoint in legacy finance. The Visa card unlocks crypto spending. And its multi-rail design means payments can be executed on traditional banking rails via partners or on blockchains.
TradFi and DeFi are coming together for the first time, and Digitap is shipping while still in its presale phase. The current valuation offers plenty of latent upside for buyers, and the current price of $0.0454 allows them to potentially lock in 3X upside by the time $TAP launches at $0.14.
$TAP simply looks like a better value opportunity than legacy tokens whose upside is already well priced.
Why $TAP Outclasses AAVE as Altcoin to Buy for the 2026 Banking Trade
AAVE is the king of DeFi banking, but when it comes to being the best crypto to buy now for the banking trade, $TAP is clearly out ahead. Aave’s upside is limited by DeFi’s growth and especially ongoing debates around token value capture. Digitap’s upside is tied to a bigger prize: disrupting global finance.
$TAP’s tokenomics are also much stronger, with 50% of profits used to burn tokens and pay rewards to stakers. This aggressive token flywheel is a large driver of why $TAP ranks among the leading altcoins to buy in 2026.
If Digitap actually disrupts global finance—if it becomes the default mobile-first banking app for fiat, crypto, and stablecoins—the potential upside is much bigger than any DeFi project. $TAP is trying to scale into global finance, and its current crypto presale valuation could be one of the best value trades for banking exposure this year.
Discover how Digitap is unifying cash and crypto by checking out their project here:
Presale: https://presale.digitap.app
Website: https://digitap.app
Social: https://linktr.ee/digitap.app
