As the AI sector captures investor interest, two giants battle for supremacy in Q1 2026: Chainlink (LINK) and Filecoin (FIL). Despite recent corrections, technical analysis suggests one asset holds a decisive edge. With intense development activity and a healthier price structure, which is the better choice for your portfolio?
Filecoin has recently caught the market’s attention with a notable performance, posting a rally of nearly 20% over the past week. This movement is supported by solid fundamentals: according to on-chain data, FIL dominates the sector in terms of development activity, even surpassing Chainlink. However, the chart analysis calls for caution.
Currently trading around $1.5, the token remains trapped in a decidedly bearish long-term trend throughout 2025. The POC at $1.56 is the first crucial resistance to break and transform into support.
After that, FIL will still have its work cut out with several order blocks on the daily timeframe. This type of massive selling pressure creates very difficult resistances to break without consistent and powerful volumes. FIL’s next test is therefore between $1.9 and $2. A break above this level would be a good bullish signal.
For its part, Chainlink presents a much more reassuring setup for risk-averse investors. Currently trading in a zone between $13.05 and $13.40, LINK benefits from a technically bullish weekly structure, inherited from its massive impulse between June and August.
Unlike Filecoin, which is struggling to reverse a downtrend, Chainlink maintains ascending lows and highs on higher timeframes. The comparative analysis is clear: although Filecoin shows signs of life, Chainlink offers the cleanest setup for this start of 2026. Volume indicators suggest, however, that selling pressure has not completely disappeared, requiring monitoring of current support levels to validate the continuation of the uptrend.
Currently in a significant liquidity zone, Chainlink has nonetheless convincingly broken its POC at $12. This is now a solid support to monitor. Chainlink should be able to climb toward $17 if BTC breaks $93,800.
The duel between these two AI cryptos results in a technical victory for Chainlink. If you’re looking for an entry with a higher probability of success, LINK’s structure is clearly more favorable. Filecoin remains a more speculative bet: its explosive potential is real, but conditional on the imperative break above $3.
In an altcoin market that remains fragile, the question arises: are you ready to bet on a risky trend reversal with FIL, or do you prefer to ride the relative strength of LINK?
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Charles Ledoux is a Bitcoin and blockchain technology specialist. A graduate of the Crypto Academy, he has been a Bitcoin miner for over a year. He has written numerous masterclasses to educate newcomers to the industry and has authored over 2,000 articles on cryptocurrency. Now, he aims to share his passion for crypto through his articles for InvestX.
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