Market analyst Sam Daodu argues that several large-cap tokens look cheap relative to the real activity and infrastructure being built beneath them. He says the altcoin sector still hasn’t fully recovered from the selloff that pushed crypto back toward bear-market dynamics, leaving many major tokens lagging Bitcoin and struggling to regain upside momentum.
Ethereum: price lagging usage
Daodu highlights a disconnect for Ethereum. ETH remains far below its August 2025 peak—trading roughly 57% under the $4,946 all-time high—yet on-chain metrics tell a different story. Ethereum supports the largest DeFi ecosystem by total value locked, with around $43 billion across protocols, deep trading liquidity, the widest stablecoin base, and heavy institutional and developer activity.
Part of the gap between fundamentals and price, he says, may resolve with protocol upgrades aimed at performance and cost improvements. Daodu points to the Glamsterdam upgrade, targeted for mid-2026, as a possible catalyst that could address long-standing frictions and help align ETHs market value with its on-chain usage.
XRP: more activity and a legislative turn
XRP is another focal point. Although the token has largely consolidated in 2026—trading near $1.30 to $1.50 and about 62% below its July 2025 $3.65 high—Daodu notes the XRP Ledger has been busier than it appears. Daily transactions spiked to about 3 million in March as new trading pools, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets moved onto the chain.
A notable regulatory development may shift the outlook. On May 14, the Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act by a 15-9 vote. The bill would codify XRP as a commodity under federal law, moving beyond agency-level guidance. Daodu stresses the difference matters: an agency interpretation can be changed by future administrations, whereas legislation is harder to reverse. That legal clarity, he says, helps explain ongoing institutional accumulation. Some estimates cited in the report suggest the bill could funnel an additional $4 billion to $8 billion into spot XRP ETFs and push price targets materially higher.
Solana: developer growth despite price pressure
Solana also shows a classic price-versus-fundamentals case. After peaking near $295 in January 2025, SOL fell roughly 70% to about $85. Despite that decline, usage and developer momentum remain constructive. Daodu points to regulatory guidance from March 17, 2026, in which SEC and CFTC comments classified certain major tokens as digital commodities, easing the security-related uncertainty that had made large funds cautious. Solana reportedly added over 11,500 developers in the first nine months of 2025—second only to Ethereum—supporting a narrative of ongoing ecosystem expansion.
Chainlink: infrastructure value underappreciated
Chainlink may be one of the most underpriced infrastructure plays, according to Daodu, precisely because it is less prominent in retail narratives. LINK trades near $9.50, down roughly 82% from its May 2021 peak of $52.99, but Chainlink’s oracle services and cross-chain protocol play a critical role in enabling tokenized real-world assets and secure price feeds. Daodu cites scale metrics: Chainlink secures more than $75 billion in value across crypto, and its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) reportedly moves about $18 billion in monthly transfer volume. Analysts the report references project substantial growth in the oracle sector through 2030, positioning Chainlink as a backbone if those forecasts materialize.
Bottom line
Daodu’s report frames ETH, XRP, SOL and LINK as cases where on-chain usage, developer activity and regulatory developments could precede price appreciation. His thesis is that improving protocol upgrades, clearer legal frameworks and continued ecosystem growth may serve as catalysts for the next leg up, even if prices have yet to reflect those fundamentals.