A breakout of a weeks-long downward pattern in cryptocurrency prices during U.S. trading hours in early 2026 proved short-lived. U.S. stocks open, Bitcoin heads for $95,000 It fell back to just above $92,000 territory just after noon on the East Coast and is now down 1.3% in the past 24 hours.
XRP, which led Monday’s crypto rally, fell more than 2% in the past two hours. Solana The stock got an early boost as Morgan Stanley launched the spot SOL ETF, but also fell back.
Read more: Bitcoin on track to hit $94,000 as cryptocurrency prices manage U.S. early gains for second straight session
The decline came as U.S. stocks edged higher – with the Nasdaq up 0.4% and the S&P 500 up 0.3%. Metals moved faster, with gold up 1%, back above $4,500 an ounce, and silver soaring 5%, back above $80 an ounce. Copper prices rose 1.1%, surpassing $6 an ounce for the first time.
ETF inflows get off to a strong start in 2026
On Monday, a Bitcoin ETF saw its largest single-day inflow in nearly three months (about $697 million), signaling new institutional allocations and the end of year-end tax loss harvesting. ether Cryptocurrency trading firm Wintermute said the flow bias is more bullish, with large trades targeting mid- to long-term upside via call option spreads, signaling directional belief in the second half of 2026.
Jake Ostrovskis, head of over-the-counter trading at Wintermute, said options markets continue to reflect cautious optimism. He said traders are bracing for gains in BTC and ETH but are keeping an eye on structural dynamics. Ostrovskis added that Bitcoin skewness remains negative, driven by systematic coverage and hedging by entities that treat Bitcoin as a treasury asset.
That makes risk reversals — buying calls while selling puts — a cost-effective way to express an upside view, Ostroveskis said.
Matt Mena, cryptocurrency research strategist at 21shares, said that looking forward, Bitcoin’s price action shows that it is increasingly viewed as a geopolitical hedge, less tied to inflation or central banks, but more closely tied to statecraft and long-term strategic positioning.
Mena pointed out that Bitcoin fell by 6% in 2025 and had recovered a large part of it in the first week of 2026. He reminded that Bitcoin has never experienced consecutive losing years.
In fact, cryptocurrency has been one of the worst-performing asset classes for years, but it tends to rebound sharply, as it did after market downturns in 2014, 2018, and 2022. If this pattern continues, 2026 could prove to be a strong year for digital assets.
