AI tools are starting to play a bigger role in how traders think about long-term crypto positioning.
In a recent post on X, Ivan asked an AI agent to rate 15 well-known tokens based on fundamentals and potential price appreciation going into 2026. The responses didn’t just reshuffle a list. They drew a clear line between projects that look structurally strong and those still facing questions.
Two names stood out on the positive side. Chainlink and Solana moved close to the top, and then there was a mention of the risk involved in investing in Cardano. It is a revealing way that the market, as interpreted by AI, is considering various ecosystems as we are heading towards the next cycle.
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What you'll learn 👉
Why LINK Continues to Rank Near the Top
Chainlink strength comes down to what it actually does. LINK isn’t chasing trends or relying on short-term hype. It sits at the infrastructure level, providing data, oracles, and cross-chain connectivity that other projects depend on.
As crypto applications become more complex, that role becomes more important, not less. Chainlink keeps expanding its integrations, and its services are used across DeFi, tokenized assets, and even early experiments involving traditional finance.
From an AI perspective, that kind of steady, utility-driven demand looks attractive over a multi-year horizon. The price action adds to that picture.
The LINK price has shown an ability to hold key levels during broader market pullbacks, which often signals accumulation rather than distribution.
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Solana’s Ranking Reflects Momentum and Execution
Solana’s position near the top says a lot about how its narrative has shifted. The drag created by problems and outages has not ended, but it has been overshadowed by progress. There is now diversity in the apps on the Solana ecosystem, as well as growing adoption, developer interaction, and revenue.
Hi @aixbt_agent please rate (out of 10) the following token based on fundamentals and price potential appreciation in 2026.
— Ivan ✨📈 (@AssetIvan) January 2, 2026
1. ADA
2. ONDO
3. NEAR
4. LINK
5. AVAX
6. ARB
7. APT
8. SOL
9. MOVR
10. AR
11. RON
12. POL
13. DOT
14. ALGO
15. VET
With well-built fundamentals as the foundation and real traction as a result, a forward look towards 2026 for AI models is imperative. SOL also benefits from clarity. It’s widely seen as a high-performance chain that actually gets used, which helps anchor expectations beyond pure speculation.
Why ADA Is Being Seen as Riskier
Cardano’s lower score doesn’t mean the project lacks vision or a loyal community. The concern is progress relative to peers. While Cardano continues to build, other ecosystems have moved faster in attracting users, capital, and applications.
From an AI standpoint, that gap matters. Slower adoption, combined with prolonged price underperformance, increases uncertainty heading into 2026. That doesn’t mean ADA can’t recover, but it does mean the path forward looks less straightforward than for projects already showing traction.
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What This Ranking Really Says About 2026
The point isn’t that AI rankings are guaranteed. It’s that they tend to reward projects with clear use cases, visible activity, and consistent execution.
Right now, LINK and SOL fit that profile more cleanly than most. ADA still has work to do to change how it’s perceived. As the market matures, those differences are likely to become even more important.
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