As the crypto market faces uncertainty and continues in a consolidation phase, market expert Sam Daodu has issued a report examining the potential for XRP, Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) to emerge as frontrunners if a new altcoin season arises in 2026.
XRP, ETH, And SOL Price Forecasts
Daodu began his analysis by pointing out that Bitcoin’s (BTC) dominance is currently hovering around 59%, alongside an Altcoin Season Index reading of 55. These indicators suggest that 2026 could herald a substantial rotation towards altcoins, mirroring significant shifts experienced during cycles in 2016-2017 and 2020-2021.
The expert outlines several bullish scenarios for each. For XRP, he envisions a potential surge past the $6-$8 range if exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows maintain a monthly average exceeding $400 million and RippleNet continues to expand its influence in global banking.
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ETH, on the other hand, could see itself climbing toward $12,000-$18,000 if Layer 2 (L2) adoption unlocks broader usage and ETF inflows rebound.
Daodu highlights that active addresses are at cycle highs, indicating organic demand that may translate to higher prices once institutional sentiment shifts positively.
For SOL, the outlook is similarly optimistic. Solana might rocket to the range of $500-$800 if its transaction finality of 150 milliseconds and low fees attract a new wave of applications. Additionally, the rise in ETF filings could lead to significant capital inflows.
Potential Risks Ahead
In more stable scenarios, Daodu suggests that XRP might consolidate between $2.50-$3.50 if institutional adoption progresses steadily without dramatic catalysts.
He also speculates that Ethereum could trade within the range of $5,000-$9,000, benefiting from consistent demand driven by staking yields and decentralized finance (DeFi) growth.
Meanwhile, Solana might trend between $200-$350, assuming that developer growth and retail adoption continue at their current pace without major breakthroughs.
However, Daodu cautions that XRP could fall below $1.50 if demand for ETFs wanes or if regulatory uncertainties arise. Similarly, ETH could fall below $2,500 if scalability issues arise or if regulatory challenges become more pronounced. SOL could drop below $100 if outages persist or if it faces increased competition from other Layer 1 platforms.
What AI Models Anticipate
AI predictions provide additional insight into the expected performance of these altcoins. For XRP, forecasts vary significantly, with ChatGPT estimating a range of $0.80-$3.00, while Grok presents a more bullish outlook with a target of $1.50-$6.00.
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Ethereum’s AI predictions show a range of $3,000-$9,000 from ChatGPT, while Gemini anticipates a high of $7,000-$18,000 through increased tokenization.
Lastly, Solana’s predictions range from $120-$350 from ChatGPT to a more optimistic $300-$800 from Gemini, depending on the growth of consumer applications.
XRP was trading at $1.93 at the time of writing, down 2% in the previous 24 hours. ETH traded at roughly $2,952, while SOL traded at $128, both experiencing comparable declines during the same time period.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
