The cryptocurrency sector has faced a significant downturn over the past few months, with many top assets like Bitcoin (BTC) falling far below their record highs in 2025. While some investors are worried, others see this as a prime opportunity to buy in at lower prices before the next market upswing.

To forecast which cryptocurrencies might thrive when the market improves, we turned to some of the most popular AI chatbots for their insights.

AI Predictions for Rising Stars

Ethereum (ETH) is the top pick from ChatGPT, which characterized it as the core of decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and real-world assets (RWAs). The AI believes institutional investment will flow heavily into ETH.

“Ethereum will explode next cycle because it’s becoming the default layer for institutional capital, particularly with the evolution of ETFs and potential staking, which will turn ETH into a yield-generating asset.”

According to the chatbot, unlike many coins that thrive on hype, Ethereum possesses genuine demand factors.

Following ETH, ChatGPT recommends Solana (SOL), predicting it may soar in value during the next crypto surge. This is due to SOL being recognized as the preferred chain for retail transactions, combining quick speeds, low costs, and a great user experience that draws in substantial liquidity. It further states that SOL has become a focal point for meme coins and high-frequency trading, which can result in rapid price changes during high-interest periods.

In third place is Bittensor (TAO), which the AI describes as strategically positioned at the crossroads of AI and cryptocurrency, a growing narrative in global markets. This unique stance may allow TAO to achieve significant growth when market conditions start to recover.

Other Notable AI Opinions

Google’s Gemini provided similar feedback, selecting SOL as its leading choice, followed by TAO and Ondo Finance (ONDO).

“Ondo serves as the primary bridge for moving traditional assets like US Treasuries to the blockchain with regulatory compliance. As major institutions like BlackRock deepen their on-chain presence by 2026, Ondo stands to attract a significant amount of this capital.”

Additionally, Perplexity echoed ChatGPT’s sentiments, highlighting ETH and SOL as strong contenders and naming Chainlink (LINK) as a third solid pick.

“LINK could surge in price as it functions as the main oracle for cryptocurrency, increasing its demand with more DeFi and tokenization activity, combined with strong signs of adoption that establish it as essential infrastructure, not just a speculative trade.”