Record Highs To Pullbacks: After A Wild 2025, Here's What Could Shape Crypto Markets In 2026

Cryptocurrency markets showed wide price swings in 2025. Bitcoin, the most traded cryptocurrency, moved through sharp rises and declines during the year.

Bitcoin started 2025 at about $93,400, supported by investor appetite for digital assets.

The digital asset also gained attention after the United States announced plans for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve—a proposal to hold bitcoin as a state asset to signal its strategic role.

The momentum eased in the first quarter amid wider global market uncertainty. Bitcoin fell to a year-to-date low of $77,052.89 on April 8, according to data from Bloomberg.

Prices recovered later in the year. Bitcoin rose to a record high of $125,260.81 on Oct. 6, Bloomberg data showed.

A correction followed the October peak. Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since the rally by the end of November.

Bitcoin is down more than 6% year-to-date and about 23% over the past three months, according to MarketWatch data.

Analysts at Silicon Valley Bank see stronger prospects for US dollar-pegged stablecoins—digital tokens designed to maintain a one-to-one value with the US dollar—in 2026. They expect wider use of digital assets across payments, market infrastructure and global commerce.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said stablecoins could act as digital dollar rails—systems that allow dollar-based transactions to move on blockchain networks. Silicon Valley Bank said clearer regulations and enterprise use in payments, cross-border settlements and treasury functions could position stablecoins as “the internet’s dollar.”

BlackRock also said stablecoins are beginning to serve as a bridge between traditional finance and digital liquidity—a role that enables faster and cheaper dollar transfers with fewer intermediaries.

Views on Bitcoin are mixed. A team at Cantor said a “crypto winter” — a prolonged period of weak prices and activity—could emerge for the asset.

The firm said it remains positive on Bitcoin over the long term but expects slow trading and pressure on prices in the near term, particularly in the early months of 2026.

Barron’s reported that the Cantor team also expects continued institutional participation in digital assets and clearer regulation.