Blockchain Platforms: AI Market Discovery Index

Benchmark Summary

In September 2026, Solana Foundation leads the Blockchain Platforms benchmark with a valid recommendation coverage of 17.7%, up from 13.1% in July 2026. The gap to the nearest brand is 1.8 points, with BNB Chain at 15.9%. Ethereum Foundation recorded the largest coverage increase, rising from 4.7% in July 2026 to 15.0% in September 2026, a move beyond normal month-to-month variation. NEAR Foundation posted the largest coverage decline, falling from 2.8% in July 2026 to 1.8% in September 2026, though this remained within normal month-to-month variation.

Solana Foundation held the lead across the full series: 13.1% in July 2026, 8.9% in August 2026, and 17.7% in September 2026. Ethereum Foundation's September gain followed a dip from 4.7% in July 2026 to 3.0% in August 2026 before rising to 15.0%. The benchmark began with 800 prompt-surface observations in each month and produced 113 qualified observations in September 2026.

Current Benchmark at a Glance

Qualified surface breadth counts the canonical AI/search surface families with at least one qualified observation: ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and AI Mode. All six families were present in July and September 2026. In August 2026, the intermediate month, five of seven brands recorded coverage below both July and September levels.

For the strategic interpretation of this benchmark, read CiteWorks Studio's analysis of How AI Search Is Recommending Blockchain Platforms

Research Scope and Qualification

The public benchmark is narrower than the raw collection universe by design. Brand-level percentages use the qualified observations as the public denominator, not the raw collection.

Brand-level percentages use the qualified observations as the public denominator, not the raw collection. See the AI Market Discovery Methodology for the full qualification process.

Current Brand Standings

How to Read the Standings

• Presence rate: share of qualified observations where the brand is mentioned at all.
• Valid recommendation coverage: share of qualified observations where the brand appears in a valid recommendation shortlist.
• Top-three rate: share of qualified observations where the brand appears in the top three recommendation slots.
• Rank-one rate: share of qualified observations where the brand is the first recommendation.
• Net sentiment: positive minus negative mention tone, scaled by total mentions.

For formulas and denominator rules, see AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions.

Recommendation Coverage Movement

Six of seven brands increased coverage from July to September 2026, led by Ethereum Foundation. In the intermediate month, Ethereum Foundation's coverage was 3.0% in August 2026 before reaching 15.0% in September 2026. NEAR Foundation declined in each of the two months since July 2026: 2.8% in July 2026, 2.0% in August 2026, and 1.8% in September 2026.

Largest Increase: Ethereum Foundation

Ethereum Foundation's valid recommendation coverage rose from 4.7% in July 2026 to 15.0% in September 2026, a move beyond normal month-to-month variation. Its presence rate also rose from 41.1% in July 2026 to 62.0% in September 2026. Ethereum Foundation's top-three rate reached 12.4% in September 2026, up from 4.7% in July 2026, and its rank-one rate reached 7.1%, up from 3.7% in July 2026.

Category Leader: Solana Foundation

Solana Foundation holds the lead in valid recommendation coverage at 17.7% in September 2026, up from 13.1% in July 2026 and from 8.9% in August 2026. Its top-three rate was 12.4% while its rank-one rate fell to 0.0%, revealing a first-choice weakness despite the coverage lead. Its top-three rate was 12.4% in September 2026, up from 10.3% in July 2026, while its rank-one rate fell to 0.0% from 0.9% in July 2026.

TRON DAO: Current Position and Competitive Gap

TRON DAO recorded a presence rate of 24.8% and a valid recommendation coverage of 9.7% in September 2026, up from 4.7% in July 2026, a gain of 5.0 points. Its top-three rate stood at 0.0% and its rank-one rate stood at 0.0% for the period, against a net sentiment reading of 0.43.

Solana Foundation records 17.7% on valid recommendation coverage, while TRON DAO stands at 9.7% — a gap of 8.0 points. The more important issue is that TRON DAO's rising coverage is not converting into any top-three or first-choice placement. TRON DAO also posted a 0.0% top-three rate in September 2026, compared with 12.4% for Solana Foundation and 12.4% for Ethereum Foundation, and a 0.0% rank-one rate against Ethereum Foundation's 7.1%. TRON DAO has not secured a single top-three or first-choice placement in the qualified observation set this period, even as its overall coverage has grown. Leaving this pattern unexamined risks treating a coverage increase as progress while the placement gap that determines commercial visibility remains unresolved.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Why is TRON DAO's rising valid recommendation coverage not converting into any top-three or rank-one placements, while Solana Foundation and Ethereum Foundation secure both at meaningful rates?

Recommendation Placement Snapshot

Coverage alone does not show how prominently a brand is recommended. Among the leading brands, placement patterns diverge.

Close coverage can still hide different first-position rates. Solana Foundation and Ethereum Foundation matched at 12.4% top-three rates in September 2026, but Ethereum Foundation posted a 7.1% rank-one rate while Solana Foundation recorded 0.0%.

Buyer-Intent Distribution

All qualified observations in September 2026 fell into the Brand Recommendation class.

The current public series measures Brand Recommendation discovery only. It does not yet contain qualified observations in the Pricing & Value or Multi-Brand Comparison classes.

Historical Measurement Record

This is an evergreen benchmark URL. New measurements are added to the same report.

Evidence and Source Layer

The benchmark is built from prompt-level observations that retain the query, AI/search surface, answer, brand outcome, recommendation placement, sentiment, and, where exposed, citations or attributable evidence sources. Source presence is evidence about the information environment. It is not automatically proof that the source caused the recommendation.

Scope Boundaries

This public benchmark does not measure:

• Market share or sales attribution
• Every possible AI response to a given query
• Organic-search ranking positions
• Social media mention volume
• Private or sponsored channels and campaigns
• Causality from a metric movement alone

About This Benchmark

The LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery Index tracks how AI and search surfaces name, describe, and recommend brands within a vertical category. It is a neutral industry benchmark built from prompt-level observations across six canonical AI/search surface families. This report is updated monthly with new measurements added to the same evergreen index.

• AI Market Discovery Methodology
• AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions
• AI Market Discovery Research Standards
• Modeled AI Authority Value

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