Based on the latest news (January 2026), on-chain data (strong whale accumulation in some altcoins, increasing volume, expected ETF inflows), and hot trends such as AI, RWA, DeFi, gaming revival, here are the 5 most promising altcoins for 2026 (excluding BTC/ETH): Solana ($SOL)
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High-performance chain, new whale long positions, Firedancer upgrade pushes TPS to millions, leading DeFi/meme. Forecast $200–$500 easily achievable. XRP ($XRP)
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Large whale order size when dipping below $2.4, increasing institutional adoption (spot ETF), strong cross-border payment. Target $5–$13. Chainlink ($LINK
)
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Oracle leading RWA/DeFi, whales accumulating 16M+ LINK since November, CCIP cross-chain boom. Essential for real-world tokenization. Axie Infinity ($AXS
)
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Gaming revival, tokenomics overhaul (bAXS bonded, stopping SLP emissions), +18% volume pump recently, strong on-chain activity. Ondo Finance ($ONDO
)
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Leader in RWA tokenization (real estate/credit), high TVL, narrative RWA expected to triple in 2026. Whale & institutional influx. On-chain shows clear whale accumulation, ETF altcoins about to explode – accumulate early to catch the pump!
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