After a turbulent 2025, Ethereum is entering 2026 under pressure and uncertainty, with potential price paths ranging from a deep correction to a renewed rally toward five-figure levels, according to projections generated by ChatGPT.
Ethereum began 2025 at around $3,300 after a strong final quarter of 2024 but quickly lost momentum amid the first wave of Trump-related tariff threats. By early April, ETH had fallen roughly 60%, bottoming near $1,400.
The slump proved temporary. The asset rebounded over the following months and set a new all-time high just below $5,000 in late August. Expectations for another leg higher faded, however, and Ethereum ended the year below $3,000 after logging nine monthly red closes in 2025 — its worst such streak since the 2018 bear market.
Against this backdrop, ChatGPT was asked to outline potential scenarios for ETH’s performance in 2026.
Bear case: Return to $1,500–$2,000
In a bearish environment, the AI model warned that Ethereum could face another major drawdown, potentially dropping back to or below $2,000.
ChatGPT noted that ETH struggled in 2025 under “persistent selling pressure, weak on-chain activity growth, and rising competition from faster, cheaper Layer-1s.” If conditions deteriorate further or capital continues rotating away from Ethereum, the model suggested the asset could “revisit the $1,500–$2,000 range, erasing much of its post-merge gains.”
Such a move would represent roughly another 60% decline from cycle highs and would “severely test long-term holders,” according to the chatbot.
Bull case: Rally toward $7,000–$10,000
ChatGPT’s most optimistic scenario envisions Ethereum mounting a powerful recovery and reclaiming market leadership in “dramatic fashion,” with prices reaching the low five digits.
The model’s bullish view depends on Ethereum reasserting itself as a primary settlement layer for global finance, benefiting from a renewed surge in decentralized finance activity and an acceleration in institutional adoption.
In what it described as a full bull market driven by real utility rather than pure speculation, ChatGPT said ETH could climb to a range between $7,000 and $10,000.
An inflection point for Ethereum
Overall, the chatbot said Ethereum enters the new year in an “unfamiliar position: battered, doubted, and written off by many.” It suggested that whether ETH trends back toward $1,500 or accelerates toward $10,000, its next major move could “redefine the entire crypto market – and 2026 may be the year that decides its fate.”