The cryptocurrency market is expected to continue its downward trend into 2026, despite other major assets such as gold and the S&P 500 index experiencing slight recoveries. According to market intelligence platform Santiment, Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trailing behind gold and the S&P 500, which have both made gains since the start of November. Gold is up 9%, the S&P 500 is up 1%, and Bitcoin is down 20%, trading for around $88,000 as of Wednesday.
However, Santiment analysts believe that there is still an opportunity for crypto to play catch-up in the new year. “The correlation between Bitcoin & crypto compared to other major sectors is still lagging behind,” they said, adding that “Heading to 2026, there will remain an opportunity for crypto to play catch-up.”
Whales Waiting on the Sidelines
Large holders scooping up crypto again could be the first sign of a shift back, as whales slowed accumulation in the second half of 2025, according to Santiment. “The second half of 2025 was dominated by aggressive accumulation by the small wallets, while large wallets essentially stayed flat, rising up to the Oct ATH, then selling.” Generally, large holders and whales are considered market movers, and their trades can influence market behavior, liquidity, and investor psychology.
Historically, the best recipe for a bear pattern to flip to a bullish one is when large wallets accumulate, and retail dumps, Santiment analysts added. Long-term Bitcoin holders have also stopped selling, pumping the brakes on offloading crypto for the first time six months after trimming their positions from 14.8 million coins in mid-July to 14.3 million in December.
Shift Back into Crypto Could Already Be Underway
Garrett Jin, former CEO of the now-defunct crypto exchange BitForex, speculated that traders have already started to shift out of other sectors and back into crypto. Data from the on-chain analytics platform Nansen shows that the number of active Bitcoin addresses has risen 5.51% in the last 24 hours, while transactions are down nearly 30%.
“The short squeeze in metals is over as expected. Capital is beginning to flow into crypto,” Jin said on Tuesday, adding in response to a user’s question about whether traders investing in precious metals also buy crypto, “Capital is the same. Always sell high and buy low.” Investor and market analyst CyrilXBT said the market is in a “classic late-cycle positioning before a shift.” “When liquidity turns and BTC breaks structure: Gold cools, BTC leads, ETH follows, Alts finally wake up. The market always moves before the narrative does. Stay patient. This phase is designed to test conviction.”
For more information, visit the original source link: https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-lagging-gold-stocks-2026-catch-up-rally?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss_tag_bitcoin&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound
