The Beluga Intern's Predictions for 2026

Introduction

I’ve been trading crypto since I was 12 (2017), starting with Ethereum and CryptoKitties. I bought a CryptoKitty for $100 and flipped it for $500 two days later, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

I trade everything from memecoins to privacy tokens. I believe crypto is the greatest industry in the world and will continue to disrupt finance as we know it.

Here are my 10 predictions for crypto in 2026.

Predictions

1. Bitcoin (currently $86k) will hit $180,000 going into midterms and then correct hard, touching sub $100,000 before trading sideways in the $110,000 range.
2. ETH (currently $2.9k) will hit $6K when institutional investors pile in following a Bitcoin rally.
3. Privacy will continue to be a top narrative and Monero (currently $410) will hit $1,000.
4. NFTs will run back when ETH crosses $4,500 again.
5. Spencer (CEO of Moonbirds) will make Moonbirds a top 3 character IP NFT project, and their upcoming $BIRB token will reach $1B FDV.
6. Pudgy Penguins (currently 4.5 ETH) will go back above 10 ETH on the back of big announcements from Luca Netz (CEO of Pudgy Penguins).
7. Chainlink (currently $12.8) will increase their buybacks and push the coin to $50.
8. A Web2 game studio will make a Web3-enabled game that goes viral, securing 10's of millions of players.
9. Kraken will have a successful IPO and be the crypto stock to own.
10. Polymarket will stay on top of the prediction market wave.