Crypto Wallets: AI Market Discovery Index

Benchmark Summary

Ledger led the Crypto Wallets benchmark in August 2026 with valid recommendation coverage of 32.1 percent, ahead of Trezor at 28.9 percent and Trust Wallet at 26.9 percent.

Measured against the May 2026 baseline, Trust Wallet recorded the largest gain in valid recommendation coverage among tracked brands, rising 9.6 points to 26.9 percent from 17.3 percent. MetaMask gained 8.3 points to 23.0 percent, Coinbase Wallet and Trezor each gained 7.6 points, and Ledger gained 6.1 points to reach the category lead. In total, seven of the ten tracked brands — BlueWallet, Coinbase Wallet, Electrum, Ledger, MetaMask, Trezor, and Trust Wallet — posted gains beyond normal month-to-month variation over the baseline-to-current period. Best Wallet, Exodus, and Zengo held stable over the same span, and no tracked brand recorded a significant baseline-to-current decline.

The intervening July 2026 measurement recorded markedly higher valid recommendation coverage for nearly every brand, including Ledger at 68.6 percent, Trezor at 65.9 percent, and Trust Wallet at 59.7 percent, before the August 2026 measurement returned closer to the May-to-August trend line. The benchmark data does not establish why the July measurement peaked; the benchmark cannot distinguish platform behavior from measurement effects. The August 2026 measurement produced 688 qualified observations, compared with 1,425 in May 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. The benchmark maintained breadth across all six families in both May 2026 and August 2026.

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

Research Scope and Qualification

The public benchmark is narrower than the raw collection universe by design.

Funnel detail for individual qualification stages is only confirmed for the current period; the May 2026 baseline is reported at the qualified-observation level used throughout this report. Brand-level percentages use the qualified observations for each respective month as the public denominator, not the raw collection. See the AI Market Discovery Methodology for full details.

Current Brand Standings

This table is the primary current-month benchmark view, sorted by valid recommendation coverage.

How to Read the Standings

Presence rate is the share of qualified observations where the brand appears. Valid recommendation coverage is the share of qualified observations where the brand receives a valid recommendation. Top-three rate is the share of qualified observations where the brand appears in the top three recommended positions. Rank-one rate is the share where the brand is the first recommendation. Net sentiment is the positive-minus-negative share of brand mentions.

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

Recommendation Coverage Movement

Best Wallet, Exodus, and Zengo remained within normal month-to-month variation over the baseline period and are classified as stable rather than as risers, even though Exodus and Zengo show a small positive difference in the table above.

The July 2026 measurement recorded higher valid recommendation coverage for nearly every tracked brand than either the May 2026 baseline or the August 2026 result: Ledger fell from 68.6 percent in July 2026 to 32.1 percent in August 2026, Trezor fell from 65.9 percent to 28.9 percent, Trust Wallet fell from 59.7 percent to 26.9 percent, Exodus fell from 45.0 percent to 20.8 percent, and MetaMask fell from 51.3 percent to 23.0 percent. This pattern does not establish why July differed from the surrounding months; it is presented here as historical context, and the baseline-to-current comparison above remains the basis for this report's headline findings.

Largest Increase: Trust Wallet

Trust Wallet's valid recommendation coverage rose 9.6 points from 17.3 percent in May 2026 to 26.9 percent in August 2026, the largest increase among tracked brands. Presence rate rose from 21.6 percent to 34.7 percent over the same span. The brand's top-three rate rose from 8.2 percent in May 2026 to 9.7 percent in August 2026, while rank-one rate rose from 1.8 percent to 1.9 percent. Trust Wallet recorded a July peak of 59.7 percent before the August level.

MetaMask posted the second-largest baseline-to-current gain. Its valid recommendation coverage rose from 14.7 percent in May 2026 to 23.0 percent in August 2026, an increase of 8.3 points, and its presence rate rose from 20.8 percent to 31.4 percent over the same period. The brand's top-three rate rose from 8.1 percent in May 2026 to 11.6 percent in August 2026, while rank-one rate rose from 2.2 percent to 4.8 percent. MetaMask recorded a July peak of 51.3 percent before the August level.

Category Leader: Ledger

Ledger held the highest valid recommendation coverage in the category in August 2026 at 32.1 percent, up 6.1 points from 26.0 percent in May 2026 and ahead of the next brand, Trezor, at 28.9 percent. Ledger's presence rate was 42.0 percent in August 2026. The brand's valid recommendation coverage peaked at 68.6 percent in July 2026 before settling at 32.1 percent in August 2026. Ledger's top-three rate (15.1 percent) and rank-one rate (9.0 percent) both fell below their May 2026 levels even as overall coverage rose, highlighting a decline in first-position strength.

Recommendation Placement Snapshot

Coverage alone does not show how prominently a brand is recommended. Among the leading brands, Ledger held the strongest first-position rate in August 2026 at 9.0 percent, ahead of MetaMask at 4.8 percent and Trezor at 4.4 percent.

Trezor and MetaMask had nearly identical top-three rates in August 2026, but MetaMask recorded a higher rank-one rate, showing that similar coverage can still hide different first-position rates.

Buyer-Intent Distribution

In August 2026, all qualified observations fell into the Brand Recommendation class.

The May 2026 benchmark also placed all qualified observations in the Brand Recommendation class. The current public series measures this class of discovery and 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, attributable sales, every possible AI response, organic-search ranking, social mention volume, or private and sponsored channels. Movement in a single metric does not by itself establish causality.

About This Benchmark

The LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery Index tracks how AI and search surfaces surface and recommend brands across a vertical. The index is built from standardized prompt observations across six canonical AI/search surface families.

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

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