After a historic red streak, ChatGPT cuts wild ETH price predictions for 2026

Will ETH fall to $1,500 or skyrocket to $10,000 this year?

However, this turned out to be a good buy-the-dip opportunity as ETH turned the tables in the following months, posting a new all-time high of just under $5,000 in late August. While the community anticipated another run above that level, the trend changed again and ETH finished below $3,000 in 2025. Furthermore, it had nine monthly red closes in 2025, a first since the great bear market of 2018.

That’s why we decided to ask ChatGPT for its opinion on ETH’s annual performance in 2026.

The bear scenario

The popular AI solution warned that if the bears continue to control the market, the second-largest cryptocurrency could be on the verge of another massive drop to and below $2,000. It admitted that ETH struggled in 2025 under the weight of several factors, such as “continued selling pressure, weak on-chain business growth and increasing competition from faster, cheaper Layer-1s.”

If market conditions deteriorate or capital continues to turn away from Ethereum, the AI ​​platform predicted that the underlying asset “could return to the $1,500-$2,000 range, erasing much of the post-merger gains.”

Such a move would mark a further 60% decline from cycle highs, a scenario that would “severely test long-term holders,” it added.

The story of the bull market

ChatGPT’s most bullish scenario, on the other hand, predicts a huge price increase into the low five figures. This so-called ‘most aggressive forecast’ sees ETH regain market leadership in a ‘dramatic way’.

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If Ethereum reasserts itself as the settlement layer for global finance, benefits from renewed DeFi growth, and experiences an acceleration in institutional adoption, the benefits from the price movements could be “huge.”

In a full-blown bull market, especially one driven by real utility rather than speculation, ETH could skyrocket to somewhere between $7,000 and $10,000, ChatGPT explains.

Conclusion

The AI ​​chatbot indicated that ETH enters the new year in an “unknown position: battered, doubted and written off by many.” It added that whether the value falls towards $1,500 or explodes towards $10,000, the next step “could redefine the entire crypto market – and 2026 could be the year that decides its fate.”