While many cryptocurrencies have rallied substantially from their June lows, it’s too early to declare that crypto winter has ended.

Investors taking a long-term view of the sector may not want to liquidate their crypto portfolios, though. Instead, to retain as much value as possible during this crypto winter, they should consider upgrading the quality of their portfolio.

Given the hit in cryptoasset prices nearly across the board, many of the highest-quality tokens are trading at a discount. Accordingly, those looking for more defensive options (if there is such a thing in this sector) have quite the opportunity right now.

Here are three great options for building a solid crypto portfolio amid this rebound.

Binance Coin (BNB)

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Binance Coin (BNB-USD) is the utility token for the world’s most liquid and perhaps most popular cryptocurrency exchange. Also, it is the native token for the Binance Smart Chain, one of the fastest-growing smart contract platforms.

Binance recently announced an exclusive multi-year partnership with soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo. Other notable partnerships include its deal with TikTok star Khaby Lame. These moves have already impacted Binance’s popularity and stand to benefit token holders as BNB becomes more mainstream. Binance plans to launch NFT collections with these celebrities in a bid to bolster its market share.

Over time, I think BNB is a token that could capture significant market share as more focus shifts to cryptocurrency exchanges. With the Binance exchange being the dominant global player, investors taking a long-term approach to this sector may benefit from holding BNB.

Ethereum (ETH)

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The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum (ETH-USD), has undoubtedly been one of the big winners of the recent thawing of crypto winter. Much of that has to do with this network’s upcoming merge, which is scheduled for some time next month.

Investors bullish on the future iteration of Ethereum have been buying up tokens and staking ETH in anticipation of this event. The merge will transform the Ethereum blockchain into a more energy-efficient proof-of-stake network. Additionally, many expect the tokenomics of this network to improve, as well as the cost and throughput metrics.

For those who use the Ethereum blockchain, this upgrade is a big deal. For long-term investors looking to benefit from what could be the biggest upgrade the crypto world has ever seen, Ethereum may be a great buy heading into the merge.

Solana (SOL)

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Solana (SOL-USD) is a rapidly growing smart contract platform that’s designed to become one of the most preferred smart contract platforms alongside Ethereum.

Almost anything that can be done on Ethereum can be carried out on Solana. Indeed, Solana’s ecosystem growth has been impressive, with many users and developers shifting their focus to this network. Users can find NFTs, DeFi applications, meme coins and metaverse play-t0-earn games on Solana. Given the amount of growth Solana has seen, this token’s long-term chart reflects just how powerful network effects are in this space.

I should note that a series of network outages have concerned some investors in Solana. They are a big part of the reason this token is down more than 80% from its peak last year. However, for long-term investors looking to buy quality tokens at a discount, this is certainly an interesting option to consider.

On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald had positions in Ethereum and Solana. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.