Cryptocurrency Market Will Bleed Through 2026 Despite Other Major Assets Gaining; However, there will be a chance for cryptocurrencies to catch up in the new year, according to market intelligence platform Santiment.
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Since the beginning of November, gold is up 9%, the S&P 500 is up 1% and Bitcoin is down 20%, trading at around $88,000 as of Wednesday.
“The correlation between Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies compared to other major sectors is still lagging,” Santiment analysts said, adding that “looking ahead to 2026, there will still be an opportunity for cryptocurrencies to catch up.”
Whales waiting on the sidelines
According to Santiment, the recovery of large cryptocurrency holders could be the first sign of a pullback, as whales slowed accumulation in the second half of 2025.
“The second half of 2025 was dominated by aggressive accumulation by small wallets, while large wallets essentially held steady, rising to the October ATH and then selling off.”
In general, large holders and whales are considered market drivers and their operations can influence market behavior, liquidity, and investor psychology.
“Historically, the best recipe for a bearish pattern to turn into a bullish one is when large portfolios are built up and retail trade unravels,” the Santiment analysts added.
Long-term Bitcoin holders also stopped selling, slowing the dumping of the cryptocurrency for the first time six months after trimming their positions from 14.8 million coins in mid-July to 14.3 million in December.
The return to cryptocurrencies could already be underway
Garrett Jin, former CEO of now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange BitForex, speculated that traders have already begun to exit other sectors and return to cryptocurrencies.
Data from on-chain analytics platform Nansen shows that the number of active Bitcoin addresses has increased by 5.51% in the last 24 hours, while transactions are down almost 30%.
“The metal shortage has ended as expected. Capital is starting to flow into cryptocurrencies,” Jin said on Tuesday, adding in response to a user’s question about whether traders who invest in precious metals also buy cryptocurrencies: “Capital is the same. Always sell high and buy low.”
Related: Bitcoin’s $90,000 Rejection: Is BTC’s Digital Gold Narrative Losing Out to Bonds?
At the same time, X account investor and market analyst CyrilXBT said the market is in a “classic last cycle positioning before a turnaround.”
“When liquidity shifts and BTC breaks the structure: Gold cools, BTC leads, ETH follows, Alts finally wake up. The market always moves before the narrative. Be patient. This phase is designed to test conviction.”
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