AI Model Ranks Bitcoin, XRP, And ETH For 2026: Expected Returns And Price Targets

Despite the crypto market’s renewed weakness on Thursday, a new AI-driven market model produced by Sam Daodu for 24/7 Wall St. projects higher year-end prices for Bitcoin (BTC), XRP, and Ethereum (ETH).

AI Model Sees Bitcoin Rising 42% In 2026

Daodu’s analysis, which used ChatGPT as the modeling engine, places Bitcoin at the top of the trio, forecasting a roughly 42% gain from current levels and a year-end target near $105,000.

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The AI model identified institutional demand and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as the primary catalysts for its Bitcoin prediction. The model also identified BTC’s tightened supply as a potential catalyst. 

The latest Halving reduced daily issuance from 900 BTC to 450 BTC, cutting the annual inflation rate to 0.83%. This week, combined with ETF buying and large holders, institutional purchases outpaced miner issuance, creating a demand-supply imbalance that the model cited as a main reason for ranking Bitcoin first.

XRP To Hit $2 By Year-End

XRP ranked second in the AI’s predictions, with an expected return of approximately 32% and a year-end price near $2.00.

ChatGPT noted the regulatory clarity provided by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which classified the altcoin as a commodity. This classification is expected to reduce a major barrier to institutional participation.

The AI model also interpreted XRP’s most recent price breakout above the key $1.5 level as bullish, noting that sustained gains can move holders toward break-even positions and reduce selling pressure.

However, the model highlighted a critical limitation: regulatory clarity has not yet translated into meaningful institutional demand for XRP, as ETF flows experienced $28 million in net outflows last week. In short, substantial institutional buying will be required for XRP to reach its predicted price point by the end of the year.

ChatGPT Forecasts Modest ETH Rally

Ethereum ranked third, with a comparatively modest forecast of about 20% upside to roughly $2,800 by year-end. ChatGPT argued that, despite Ethereum’s developer ecosystem and extensive infrastructure, the token faces the weakest near-term demand picture among the three major assets. 

A key reason is migration of activity to layer-2 (L2) networks—Base, Arbitrum (ARB), and Optimism (OP) now handle a large share of user transactions because of lower fees. 

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That shift has reportedly compressed fee revenue on Ethereum’s base layer; weekly fees recently averaged about $2.3 million compared with peak weekly fees near $30 million.

With fees now close to zero, burning has effectively stalled, and ETH’s supply is growing slightly rather than contracting. ChatGPT concluded that, until fee revenue rebounds or institutional flows reverse, Ethereum’s price will have to prove itself on other fundamentals.

The daily chart shows BTC price retracing back to $70,000 on Thursday. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView.com

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $70,600, marking a 1% loss within the last 24 hours. XRP has seen a similar decline of 0.9%, but it is still holding onto gains of 6% recorded over the past week while trading at around $1.45 per token. 

Surprisingly, Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin during this period as well, with gains of 4.2%. However, over the past 24 hours, the market’s leading altcoin has retraced 2.3%, reaching approximately $2,148, according to CoinGecko data. 

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com