XRP, ETH, SOL, LINK Look Cheap—The Catalysts That Could Drive The Next Leg Up

A new report from market expert Sam Daodu argues that several large-cap cryptocurrencies, including XRP, are still “undervalued” relative to the activity and infrastructure building underneath them. 

In Daodu’s view, the altcoin market hasn’t fully recovered from the drawdown that pushed crypto into bear territory—an environment where most major tokens have fallen much harder than Bitcoin (BTC) and have struggled to regain momentum.

The Ethereum Puzzle

The expert starts with Ethereum (ETH), pointing out an interesting disconnect; the price is down, yet the network’s usage remains strong. Ethereum is trading about 57% below its August 2025 all-time high of $4,946. But he stresses that on-chain fundamentals don’t line up with that level of weakness. 

Ethereum, he says, holds roughly $43 billion in total value locked (TVL) across its decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols—more than any other blockchain—while also maintaining the largest pool of DeFi capital, the widest stablecoin base, and some of the deepest trading infrastructure in the ecosystem. 

Daodu links part of that valuation gap to an upgrade schedule aimed at improving performance. He points to Glamsterdam, targeted for mid-2026, as a potential catalyst that could address the longstanding complaints that have kept ETH below current peaks despite record on-chain activity. 

CLARITY Act Momentum For XRP

XRP is another centerpiece of the report, and Daodu’s case is built on the idea that the ledger is seeing increased activity even as price consolidation continues. He says XRP has spent much of 2026 trading between $1.30 and $1.50, sitting around 62% below its July 2025 high of $3.65. 

While that looks like a stagnant range on charts, Daodu argues the XRP Ledger has been “busier than ever.” He points to daily transactions hitting 3 million in March, driven by new trading pools, stablecoins, and real-world assets (RWAs) moving onto the chain.

Then came a regulatory turning point. On May 14, the US Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act in a 15-9 vote. He describes the bill as one that would permanently classify XRP as a commodity under federal law, with the next step being consideration on the Senate floor. 

Daodu emphasizes that while the joint SEC-CFTC ruling already gave XRP commodity status at the agency level, an agency ruling can be reversed by a future administration—whereas legislation is harder to undo. 

That difference, he says, is part of why institutions continue accumulating XRP even as the token’s price has struggled. He adds that Standard Chartered expects the bill could bring an estimated $4 billion to $8 billion into spot XRP ETFs and push the token to at least $8.

Solana’s section follows a similar price vs. fundamentals theme. Daodu says SOL peaked at $295 in January 2025, then slid nearly 70% to $85. Even with that pressure on the chart, he argues the network’s trajectory remains constructive. 

He highlights the March 17, 2026 SEC-CFTC guidance that classified XRP and Ethereum as digital commodities, noting that the guidance also covered Solana and cleared the security label that had kept large funds cautious. 

On top of that regulatory backdrop, Daodu points to developer growth and usage metrics. Solana reportedly added more than 11,500 new developers in the first nine months of 2025, second only to Ethereum. 

Chainlink, Daodu suggests, may be undervalued precisely because it doesn’t always dominate mainstream retail conversations. He says LINK trades around $9.50, down 82% from its May 2021 all-time high of $52.99. 

But he argues that Chainlink’s role in the market is far bigger than its spot price reaction. Daodu points to Chainlink’s price feeds and its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), describing how these tools underpin the real-world asset (RWA) economy. 

He also points to scale and volume. Daodu says Chainlink secures over $75 billion in total value across crypto, and that CCIP alone moves around $18 billion in transfer volume every month. 

Analysts, he adds, project the oracle sector could grow tenfold by 2030, and that if the prediction holds, Chainlink would be positioned as the backbone of that expansion. 

Featured image created with OpenArt; chart from TradingView.com