solana

Crypto 2026 prediction, which altcoins can survive until the uptrend? This is a rare time I’ve seen the Fear and Greed Index drop to an extreme low, even stopping at 5. I know this phase is extremely difficult for traders and holders. Bitcoin and Ethereum have dropped around 30–40% from their recent highs, while altcoins have almost been knocked down completely. Many projects are down 70–80%, even more.
And this means the total assets of most people in the market have fallen sharply. Personally, I’m not too surprised by this phase. Before entering the market, I went through major shocks, from Luna, FTX to issues related to Binance.
When the rules become clearer, projects with vague operating models and tokenomics will struggle. It is no longer about choosing coins that “sound good,” but choosing projects that can survive this difficult phase so that when the real uptrend returns, they are already in the best position.
And because of that, in this video I will not speak romantically, not list a series of altcoins just for quantity, but focus only on large-cap projects, relatively stable, that have existed long enough, have clear ecosystems and are attracting institutional capital.
But before going into each specific project, you need to remember one very important principle.
Altcoins always carry higher risk than Bitcoin, and keeping Bitcoin as a core asset in the portfolio is still necessary to protect the account against unpredictable market volatility. When the market still lacks liquidity, and there is no clear confirmation for a long-term bullish trend, the most reasonable strategy is still patience, proper capital allocation, and only investing in projects that you truly understand.
And now, I will move to the first project in the list of altcoins that have the potential to survive and benefit when the 2026 uptrend truly forms.
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🟣 1. Ethereum
If I had to choose only one altcoin that has the ability to survive, maintain its position and clearly benefit when the 2026 uptrend truly happens, then Ethereum is almost impossible to ignore. Not because Ethereum has no risk, but because in the current context, ETH is one of the rare altcoins that carries core technology and aligns with institutional capital logic. This is the factor dominating the entire market.
First, we need to face reality. Ethereum has also gone through an extremely difficult phase. ETH once dropped deeply from its peak, underperformed Bitcoin in many periods, and was constantly compared with newer blockchains that are faster, cheaper and seemingly more optimized. But it is precisely in this phase that the difference between Ethereum and the rest of altcoins becomes clear.
Ethereum does not compete by absolute speed or the cheapest fees, but by its foundational role. With the second-largest market cap in the entire market, ETH still holds the throne of altcoins and more importantly, remains where most of the real crypto value is concentrated.
Currently, around 60–70% of stablecoins, DeFi and tokenized assets are still operating directly or indirectly on Ethereum and its Layer 2s.
Technologically, Ethereum has completed the transition to Proof of Stake, making the network more energy-efficient and more aligned with regulatory and ESG standards, something large investment funds care deeply about. At the same time, the EIP-1559 fee-burning mechanism has made ETH deflationary during many periods, creating a characteristic that very few altcoins have: an asset with high utility and relative scarcity over time.
Those experiences made me understand that sharp drawdowns like the current one are not unusual in crypto, but a mandatory part of the cycle. Even the big drop last October partly trained my emotional resilience, to look at the market more calmly instead of being dragged by short-term fear. And it is exactly in phases like this that the real question appears: which altcoins can truly survive and move forward to the 2026 uptrend.
If you are ready, let’s start.
Before going into which altcoins can survive and even explode in the 2026 uptrend, there is something we must face directly. The current altcoin situation is not comfortable at all, it may even be one of the hardest phases of the entire cycle. Altcoins have dropped deeply and persistently, many losing 70–80%, some projects almost have no meaningful liquidity left.
And this is not because the market is unusually bad, but because the current cycle is completely different from previous cycles. The biggest difference is that institutional capital is strongly dominating the market, while overall liquidity remains limited.
When liquidity is not abundant, the market prioritizes safer and more credible assets. It is not hard to see that the order of priority is always Bitcoin first, then Ethereum, then top-chain altcoins, while most small and mid-cap altcoins are almost left behind.
Therefore, in the current context, altcoins not rising even when Bitcoin has a rebound or moves sideways is completely normal, not a sign that the market is dead. Another point to notice is that long-term investor behavior is clearly changing. Even those who used to hold altcoins for very long periods are prioritizing risk management, reducing altcoin allocation, increasing Bitcoin allocation, or holding cash for clearer opportunities.
This reflects a cautious market sentiment, no longer blindly believing that holding long enough guarantees victory. And when short-term confidence weakens, projects that do not create real value find it very difficult to survive. In addition, the upcoming crypto regulatory framework will act as a very strong filter.
For many years, Ethereum’s core strategy has been scaling through Layer 2 with a rollup-centric vision proposed by Vitalik since 2020. Layer 2 was considered almost mandatory to solve high gas fees and poor user experience, while helping Ethereum maintain security and decentralization at Layer 1. This was a long-term strategic choice, accepting slower speed to build ecosystem depth.
However, in recent statements, Vitalik Buterin frankly admitted that the rollup-centric vision built in 2020 is no longer fully aligned with the current context. The reason is clear: Ethereum Layer 1 is scaling much better than initially expected.
Transaction fees have remained low for a long time, the gas limit is planned to expand further in 2026, and Layer 1 data processing capacity continues to improve. This makes Layer 2’s role of only reducing fees no longer an absolute competitive advantage. Vitalik does not say Layer 2 is wrong, but emphasizes that Layer 2 must evolve.
Decentralized Layer 2 projects that are too slow, do not reach or do not want to reach standards like stage 2, lack interoperability, or do not create their own value beyond copying EVM and marketing cheap fees are very likely to be outcompeted as Layer 1 becomes stronger.
Under this new perspective, Layer 2 only truly has a place if it brings differentiated value: specialized VMs for AI, privacy, social, ultra-high performance, low latency, or use cases that Layer 1 does not optimize.
At the same time, Vitalik also publicly opposes creating more Layer 1 clones or copy-paste EVM chains, considering this a model that has been overused and is no longer seen as real innovation. This shift in mindset is creating a transitional phase for Ethereum.
While technology and long-term direction are becoming clearer, ETH price performance in the short term has been less positive. The market no longer sees ETH as a fast-growth narrative asset but temporarily questions its profit speed compared to other Layer 1s.
However, at a deeper level, this consolidation reflects Ethereum’s restructuring process, removing easy growth and raising standards for the entire ecosystem.
In the strategy of preparing for the 2026 uptrend, Ethereum is not a choice for quick trades, but the backbone of the altcoin portfolio, where large capital can anchor before rotating into higher-risk projects.
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🟡 2. BNB
The second name in today’s list is BNB, a coin holding a top market cap position and having a very special role in the crypto market.
BNB is not just a normal altcoin, but is closely tied to the Binance ecosystem, which concentrates one of the largest user bases, liquidity pools and trading activities in the entire market.
BNB was launched in 2017 with a simple initial purpose: reducing trading fees on Binance. But over time, as Binance expanded from an exchange to a full ecosystem, BNB evolved from a single utility token into a core asset powering the entire system.
From initially running on Ethereum, BNB was moved to its own blockchain and became the center of BNB Chain. The difference of BNB lies in its practicality. While many altcoins operate based on technology narratives or speculative expectations, demand for BNB comes from real usage: paying fees with many incentives and being used for products and programs of the exchange.
On BNB Chain, it serves as gas fees for transactions and smart contract deployment. This practicality makes it the fuel of the entire system, not just a speculative token.
Moving into 2026, the most notable factor of BNB lies in tokenomics and infrastructure, not hype. In Q1 2026, BNB Chain completed burning more than 1.37 million BNB, equivalent to about 1.27 billion USD, continuing the roadmap of reducing supply to 100 million BNB.
The autoburn mechanism linked to ecosystem activity makes BNB increasingly deflationary, especially while usage demand remains stable.
Alongside that, BNB Chain is being strongly upgraded technically. Upgrades like Fermi, increasing gas limits and performance optimization allow the network to handle more transactions without significantly increasing costs. This reflects a reality: BNB Chain is not chasing narratives, but focusing on maintaining its role as cheap,fast, stable infrastructure for mainstream users.
In terms of ecosystem, BNB Chain remains one of the blockchains with the highest on-chain activity in the market. DEX volume remains large, PancakeSwap continues to be one of the top decentralized products in liquidity and users. This shows BNB Chain still maintains its position in mainstream DeFi despite strong competition from Ethereum Layer 2 and Solana.
However, BNB is not without risks. The biggest factor remains regulation and competition. BNB is closely tied to Binance, so any regulatory changes, policy restrictions or limitations on Binance operations in major markets can directly impact BNB’s sentiment and valuation.
Overall, BNB is not a coin for short-term narrative plays, but an altcoin representing cash flow and system operation.
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🔵 3. Solana
The final name in today’s list is Solana. Over the past two years, Solana has proven that it can become the most used blockchain when the market is euphoric.
But the 2026 question is the opposite: when there is no FOMO, what does Solana live on?
Unlike Ethereum, where high gas fees reflect real demand, Solana has a paradox: very high transaction numbers but relatively thin value retention on the network. Memecoin booms bring volume but do not create sustainable cash flow for the ecosystem.
That is why Solana is quietly changing its role. It no longer tries to become an Ethereum killer. Instead, it positions itself as a high-speed transaction infrastructure for institutions, where blockchain is used as infrastructure, not a speculative product.
With the ability to process over 60,000 TPS and transaction fees of around $0.001, combined with Proof of History and Proof of Stake, Solana addresses scalability without sacrificing too much security or decentralization. This is why the number of projects building on it continues to increase.
However, when serving institutions and payments, requirements for stability, security and uptime become much stricter. Solana can no longer afford network outages like in the DeFi and memecoin era.
In other words, Solana is now playing a more difficult game than Ethereum: less narrative, less speculative community, but higher operational pressure.
If successful, it will not be noisy, but very difficult to replace. If it fails, Solana will return to its original nature: a very fast blockchain but lacking a clear reason to exist.
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🔥 Bonus – FOGO
Additionally, I am paying attention to the project FOGO and its potential. I believe FOGO has some advantages compared to other layers, including strong community engagement, active ecosystem events that maintain visibility, and early-stage positioning that leaves room for asymmetric growth. While many larger Layer 1s are already saturated, FOGO still has expansion potential if it continues executing well and attracting real liquidity.
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