Crypto enters 2026 on uneven footing after an October crash wiped out more than $19 billion in liquidations, sending bitcoin from an all-time high of $126,080 to nearly $80,000 – one of the biggest drawdowns since 2022.
However, bitcoin is on the verge of recovery, closing 2025 around the $90,000 mark. And while some major media outlets expect a conservative market after the sell-off, analysts and industry experts predict a trading range of $130,000 to $200,000 for BTC by the end of 2026.
For this to happen, liquidity would need to increase and rate pressures to ease.
“There has historically been a strong relationship between increasing money supply and the price of bitcoin,” says Ryan Rasmussen, head of research for global crypto manager Bitwise. “We think this will continue next year and that, globally, central banks are more likely to cut rates than raise them.”
What to expect from Bitcoin in 2026
Bitcoin started 2025 around $93,000, twice as high as its 2024 opening price of $42,280. Still, many major price predictions assume Bitcoin will surpass its previous high in 2026 – despite some readjustments.
Standard Chartered, a major banking and financial services group, forecasts a price of $150,000 by the end of 2026, down from a previous call of $200,000. Crypto asset managers Bitwise and Bernstein remain bullish, both forecasting $200,000. Meanwhile, the latest estimates from JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citibank stand at $170,000 and $133,000, respectively.
Behind these figures lies the belief that Bitcoin is losing its reputation as a marginal asset and is becoming more and more mainstream.
“The biggest asset management companies in the world are trading it, selling it, and building products around it,” says Alexander Blume, founder of SEC-registered crypto lender Two Prime. He says this represents a significant change in who buys bitcoin and for what purpose.
Institutional investors are playing an important role in this shift, with companies like Vanguard and Merrill Lynch recently opening wider access to Bitcoin products. But even though Bitcoin ETFs were approved in early 2024, their impact is still being felt.
“This idea that this was a switch that was flipped once the (bitcoin) ETFs were approved and institutional capital immediately started flowing in is simply false,” says Rasmussen. “I think they are huge ships: they are turning slowly, but they are now heading in the right direction.”
For consumers, the most tangible crypto developments in 2026 may have less to do with the price of bitcoin and more to do with how blockchain technology is used.
The next wave of crypto is gaining momentum
Beyond bitcoin, analysts expect continued growth in crypto-related infrastructure next year as use cases expand.
Stablecoins, for example, are considered a distinct, more utilitarian segment of the industry. These are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable value by pegging their price to a reserve asset like fiat currency (think: US dollars, euros and British pounds), oil or real estate.
Blume calls stablecoins a “revolutionary product,” arguing that they are a better way to move money for individuals and businesses than traditional methods, like bank or wire transfers. This can be attributed to their speed, as transactions can be settled in minutes or even seconds on public blockchains. Stablecoins also offer lower transaction costs and accessibility because they only require a digital wallet to move around and are active on blockchains that operate 24/7.
Tokenization, which involves placing traditional assets such as funds, bonds or real estate on blockchains, is also gaining ground by 2026.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins has repeatedly asserted that tokenization is the key to modernizing U.S. markets. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink also defended the concept, calling it “the next generation for the markets” during 2025 earnings calls.
The model is already in use with JPMorgan’s OnChain Net Yield Fund, which issues tokenized shares of a traditional money market fund on Ethereum.
Meanwhile, AI is starting to intersect with crypto in more practical ways. Luke Youngblood of decentralized finance platform Moonwell says he sees the industry moving beyond buzzwords, with AI agents now automating tasks such as yield optimization and payments, changing the way consumers will interact with financial products in the coming year.
What’s (still) holding crypto back
Despite the optimism of experts, 2026 is still likely to be a year fraught with pitfalls for cryptography.
Regulatory uncertainty remains a major concern. The passage of the GENIUS Act, which establishes the rules for issuing, reserving and monitoring stablecoins, was an important first step toward solidifying the role of the U.S. dollar in the digital economy and ensuring that consumers are protected against illicit crypto schemes.
Yet broader legislation on market structure has stalled. Youngblood warns that unclear rules continue to deter risk-averse institutions, even as crypto companies become accustomed to operating in gray areas.
“Although crypto lobbies have attempted to pass legislation on market structure, they have not been successful,” he says, in part due to external political factors such as the government shutdown.
But although institutions continue to participate at higher levels than before, investor sentiment is mixed due to the most recent shock to the market – a stark reminder that volatility remains a defining characteristic of crypto. This is true even as the waning impact of Bitcoin’s four-year halving cycle decreases the frequency of market ups and downs.
So what does all this mean for you? Rasmussen sees the recent decline as an opportunity for long-term investors “who have been sitting on the sidelines” and are willing to tolerate the discomfort. With bitcoin price below $100,000, they can gain exposure to the market before prices become prohibitive again.
He also says he thinks the media overestimates the volatility of crypto compared to stocks and similarly high-risk investment vehicles.
“If you look at the volatility of Bitcoin compared to Nvidia, which is the darling stock that everyone loves and everyone has in their portfolio,” he says, Bitcoin has been less volatile “by a decent amount.”
Regardless of how crypto performs in 2026, one thing is certain: it isn’t going away anytime soon. Smart investors should pay attention.
“This is a multi-trillion dollar asset class that was built over 15 years of hard work and real technology,” Rasmussen says, “and I think it’s going to play a significant role in how our lives work every day.”
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