Analyst | Crypto

Ethereum’s dominance in DeFi, stablecoins and staking is strengthening the long-term ETH accumulation thesis, despite it’s 28% price decline in 2026. Ether’s (ETH) long-term investment case is drawing fresh attention as Ethereum continues to lead in key areas of onchain activity and decentralized finance, despite the altcoin losing 28% of its value this year. The network still hosts roughly $43 billion in DeFi liquidity, more than $165 billion in stablecoins, and about 55% of tokenized assets tracked across public blockchains.  Data from Token Terminal also shows that the market capitalization of tokenized exchange-traded funds (ETFs) exceeds $400 million, with Ethereum accounting for 76.9% of the market share.  Referencing the data above, crypto analyst Tanaka said,  Read more

Bitcoin traders are closely watching the $74,000-$75,000 support zone as exchange inflows rise and market signals weaken following BTC's loss of momentum above $82,000. Bitcoin (BTC) lost its hold on the $80,000 level over the weekend, and data suggest that the cryptocurrency needs to trade above the $74,000-$75,000 range, as it has repeatedly served as key support over the last two years.  Crypto analyst Ardi said the next retest of the $74,000-$75,000 range could become the most important support test of the current bear market. The analyst pointed to the role that the price range played during the last two years. In 2024, Bitcoin struggled to break above the range during a seven-month-long consolidation. In Q1 2025, the same area held as support before BTC rallied toward its cycle highs at $126,000. Read more

Potential liquidity contractions in secondary markets and surging government bond yields could spell trouble for preferred perpetual stockholders. Investors are mispricing risk for perpetual preferred stocks, like Bitcoin treasury company Strategy’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC), according to Matt Dines, the chief investment officer of credit asset management company Build Markets. The corporate issuers of perpetual preferred stocks never have to repay holders their principal investment, and can just pay dividends indefinitely, without renegotiating the investment terms, Dines told the Truth for the Commoner (TFTC) media outlet. If holders want to cash out, they must sell the perpetuals on the secondary market to recover their principal, which leaves holders exposed to liquidity contraction and interest rate risks that exist forever because perpetuals lack a maturity date, he said. He added: Basic performance metrics for Strategy's STRC perpetual preferred stock. Source: Sayl...

Despite the short-term price recovery, Bitcoin remains in a bear market, according to CryptoQuant analyst Julio Moreno. Bitcoin profit-taking could accelerate as BTC prices climb to three-month highs and investors begin locking in gains, according to Julio Moreno, head of research at onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant. Holders realized 14,600 BTC in profits on Monday, or $1.1 billion, following Bitcoin's April rally, Moreno said, adding that this is the “highest” single day of profit-taking since Dec. 10, when BTC was trading above $90,000. Bitcoin holders' realized profits spike after the April rally. Source: CryptoQuant Read more

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that wallets the US targeted as part of Operation Economic Fury were linked to Tehran, but analysis of the wallets' characteristics suggests otherwise. Multiple wallet addresses recently sanctioned by the US Treasury ‌Department for their ties to Iran may not be linked to the Islamic Republic, but to other state actors instead, analysis published Sunday suggests. That analysis, by blockchain intelligence firm Nominis, said that while the recent seizing of wallets holding more than $340 million by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) was a significant crypto enforcement event, some of those wallets’ characteristics lack a similarity to previously seized wallets linked Tehran. “While the use of cryptocurrency by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is well established, this case presents structural and behavioral characteristics that diverge meaningfully from previously observed patterns,” said Nominis CEO Snir Levi. Read more

With attention spilling into multiple other technology sectors, crypto may struggle to capture a strong, price-driving narrative, a crypto analyst says. Bitcoin may not need a new story or catalyst to push back above the psychological $100,000 level, which it has not traded above in nearly five months, according to MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe. ‘“There doesn't need to be a narrative that pushes the price upwards,” van de Poppe said in an X post on Friday, after asking, “What narrative will bring Bitcoin to $100K?” “Price moves upwards, and the narrative will create itself,” van de Poppe said, adding: Read more

Bitcoin was “rejected” from the $80,000 price level, which is its next resistance zone on the way to reclaiming the $100,000 psychological price level. The price of Bitcoin (BTC) could bottom out at the $57,000 level in October 2026, despite rallying by more than 29% since the low of about $60,000 in February, according to Bitcoin investor and author Michael Terpin. Terpin told Cointelegraph that his forecast is based on the “historical average” drawdown of about one year from a market cycle top, which was reached in October 2025 when BTC surged to an all-time high above $126,000, to the cycle bottom. Bitcoin’s price needs to reclaim the $100,000 level for the bull market to resume, which will likely occur when the price falls below the 200-week moving average, a dynamic and critical support level, he said. Terpin added:  Read more

MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe doesn’t expect Bitcoin to drop below $75,000 in the near term, even as Polymarket traders price in a different outcome. Momentum from Bitcoin’s recent rally could spill into the altcoin market, which could see gains of as much as 60% if Bitcoin continues to rise, according to a crypto analyst. “I think this leg has enough room to continue to $86K, and altcoins to run 30-60% from here,” MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said on Thursday.  A move to $86,000, a level Bitcoin hasn’t seen since Jan. 28, would represent about a 10% increase from its current price of $77,890, according to CoinMarketCap data. Read more

Volatility and upside have been declining with each Bitcoin halving cycle, but the new dynamics may not be permanent, according to Galaxy's Alex Thorn. The current Bitcoin (BTC) market cycle is “dramatically” weaker than the three previous cycles, according to Alex Thorn, the head of firmwide research at investment firm Galaxy. Thorn compared price action since the April 2024 Bitcoin halving to cycles triggered in 2012, 2016 and 2020; the current cycle shows significantly dampened volatility and lower upside. The all-time high above $125,000 on Oct. 5, 2025 was only 97% above the 2024 halving price around $63,000. BTC’s price increased by about 9,294% during the 2012 halving cycle, reaching a high of about $1,163, and climbed by about 2,950% during the 2016 halving cycle, reaching a high of about $19,891. The 2020 halving saw a price increase of about 761%. Read more

Bitcoin trades below the profitability threshold for active holders, with early signs of BTC demand offering limited price support for now. Bitcoin (BTC) hit range highs above $76,000 on Wednesday, but Glassnode analysts say data suggest that calling for the start of a new bull market is premature.  New capital inflows have stayed weak, with Bitcoin’s growth rate remaining negative across all 105 trading days in 2026, highlighting a gap between stable price action and limited new demand. Glassnode analyst CryptoViz.art uses the true market mean (TMM) to estimate the average cost basis of active BTC investors. The metric divides investor capitalization by liveliness-adjusted circulating supply, filtering out inactive coins and the lost supply. Read more

Fallout from the Iran war will likely weigh on markets for much of 2026, dashing hopes of rate cuts until Q3 by the earliest, the Coin Bureau's Nic Puckrin said. Now almost a week old, the Bitcoin (BTC) recovery is “fragile” as the crypto market faces geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds from the ongoing war in the Middle East, according to Nic Puckrin, a crypto market analyst and founder of the Coin Bureau media outlet. “Even if the war ends now, its repercussions will likely be the story of 2026, and certainly the dominant narrative for Q2. I don’t expect to see a rate cut until late Q3 or Q4, if at all,” Puckrin told Cointelegraph. He said that he sees:  If Bitcoin closes the week above $71,000, it could signal continued upside for BTC, with resistance forming around the $74,000 level, he said. At last look, it was trading at about $71,276, according to TradingView data. Read more

Bitcoin and Ether are each less than 10% away from price levels that could signal a potential reversal in the crypto market, according to a macro analyst. Bitcoin and Ether aren’t far from levels that could signal a trend reversal this year, despite a growing consensus across the industry calling for a bear market, according to macro analyst Jordi Visser. “If we trade above $76,000 and at the same time we see Ethereum above $2,400, I believe that is the beginning of a move that will be sustainable this year because I don't think we're going to have a recession,” Visser said on the Anthony Pompliano podcast published on YouTube on Friday. A move to $76,000 would represent an increase of 6.1% from Bitcoin’s (BTC) price of $71,646 at the time of publication, according to CoinMarketCap data. Ether’s (ETH) move to $2,400 would represent an increase of around 8%. Read more

The longer Bitcoin's price stays flat, the bigger the move up could eventually be, according to a crypto analyst. Bitcoin’s prolonged consolidation below $70,000 may be paving the way for a more significant rally, according to a crypto analyst. “The longer it lasts, the heavier the breakout will be,” MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said in an X post on Friday. “Bitcoin remains stagnant in this area, which means that there's literally no direction,” van de Poppe said, adding that he is eyeing Bitcoin (BTC) breaking through $71,000, a level the asset hasn’t reached since March 26. Read more

Bitcoin ETFs offer more use cases for the average investor’s portfolio than a gold ETF does, according to ETF analyst James Seyffart. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could surpass gold ETFs in total assets under management (AUM) as investor demand expands beyond the traditional “digital gold” narrative, according to ETF analyst James Seyffart. “There are just more use cases of why somebody would put a Bitcoin ETF in a portfolio,” Seyffart said on the Coin Stories podcast published to YouTube on Friday. He pointed to Bitcoin’s (BTC) role as digital gold, a store of value, a portfolio diversifier, and a form of digital capital and property, adding that the market also views Bitcoin as a “growth risk asset.” Seyffart explained that Bitcoin has “all these different ways” of being viewed, while gold only has “one of those things.” Read more

The value of the Bitcoin treasury company's holdings peaked at over $711 million in October 2025, when BTC hit an all-time high of about $126,000. Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company Nakamoto (NAKA) selling its BTC at a loss could signal capitulation of more crypto treasury companies and the start of a “contagion” that could spark a wave of forced selling, according to market analyst Nic Puckrin. "Cracks are beginning to show in the digital asset treasury (DAT) market,” Puckrin said, adding that the war in the Middle East will likely place further pressure on Bitcoin’s price and treasury companies in a reinforcing cycle. He said: Nakamoto sold 284 BTC in March for $20 million, implying a price of about $70,000 per coin; the company also reduced its stake in the publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet, selling shares at a loss.  Read more

Bitcoin charts point to a possible rally to $80,000, but spot volumes need to increase in order for the rally to hold. Bitcoin (BTC) is testing the $71,500 pivot, a key level across multiple timeframes and analysts noted that price action is tilted toward a possible rally to $80,000. As traders remain split between futures-driven speculation and weak spot demand, Bitcoin has tested the $71,500 inflection point four times in the past seven days. A positive is that the price has held above the 50-period exponential moving average (EMA) on the four-hour chart, but the 50-day EMA on the daily chart continues to act as a level of resistance. Crypto trader Skew described the position as a “compression zone,” where the tightening price range and trading may lead to a strong directional move. Read more

21Shares' macro chief looks at why Bitcoin has held relatively steady since the start of Middle East hostilities, while gold has slipped below $4,500 and key support levels. The divergence between gold and Bitcoin (BTC) in 2026 can be explained by two distinct segments of buyers, according to Stephen Coltman, head of macro at crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) provider 21Shares. Gold’s rally over the last three years has been primarily fueled by central bank buying, while Bitcoin is more widely held by individuals than financial institutions, Coltman told Cointelegraph. He said: However, BTC has more utility for individuals who may use it as an alternative “lifeline” when local banking infrastructure fails during times of crisis, and accessing the traditional financial system is not possible.  Read more

The SEC's digital asset market taxonomy, which classifies most cryptocurrencies and tokens as non-securities, is a major step for US regulators. The recent guidance from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission establishing a taxonomy for digital assets put a “final nail” in the coffin of SEC policy under former Chairman Gary Gensler, according to Alex Thorn, the head of firmwide research at investment firm Galaxy. The SEC guidance, published on Tuesday, established a taxonomy for digital assets, dividing them into five categories, including digital commodities, digital collectibles like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital tools, stablecoins, and tokenized securities.  Under the old SEC policy framework, the regulations governing which cryptocurrencies met the legal criteria of “investment contracts” were legislative rules, as opposed to the new 2026 guidance that was filed as an interpretive rule, Thorn said. He explained the significance: Read m...

The disruption to the oil market and critical energy effects may have long-term economic effects that investors are not pricing in. Traders are miscalculating the severity and the duration of economic fallout from the Middle East conflict and are pricing in a “TACO” trade, which stands for “Trump always chickens out,” according to market analyst and founder of the Coin Bureau, Nic Puckrin. The term was coined by Wall Street and refers to US President Donald Trump backing down in geopolitical conflicts. However, Puckrin warned that “Trump is not in sole control of the situation,” and there are no easy or quick exits from the war. If oil continues to trade above $100 per barrel, economic growth will slow, and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation will rise by up to 1 percentage point, Puckrin said.  Read more

Banks seek to deploy capital in the most efficient way possible, but capital rules under the Basel III framework make crypto holdings costly. The Basel III rules, which govern bank capital requirements, are set to be updated in 2026, and if Bitcoin (BTC) receives a lower risk rating in the revised rules, it could potentially trigger a “huge” influx of liquidity into BTC, according to market analyst Nic Puckrin. Under the current Basel rules, BTC and similar digital assets are given a 1,250% risk weight, meaning banks must hold reserve assets at a 1:1 ratio to back any Bitcoin held on their balance sheets, Puckrin said. These restrictive capital requirements make it “almost impossible” for banks to hold BTC or offer BTC-related services, he added. He said: Read more