Yeliz Akmaca 
Since early November, gold has gained 9%, the S&P 500 only 1%, while Bitcoin dropped 20%, trading around $88,000. Despite lagging behind other major assets, crypto may have a chance to recover and catch up in 2026.
Big Investors Are Returning
Santiment analysts note that large wallets have remained mostly inactive, while small wallets accumulated aggressively in the second half of 2025. Historically, a bullish reversal often begins when big investors buy while retail sells. Long-term Bitcoin holders have also stopped offloading, after reducing their holdings from 14.8 million coins in July to 14.3 million in December.
“The second half of 2025 was dominated by aggressive accumulation from small wallets, while large wallets remained mostly flat, rising to October’s all-time high before facing selling pressure.”
📊 The correlation between Bitcoin & crypto compared to other major sectors is still lagging behind. Since November began, price performances are:
🥇 Gold: +9%
🏦 S&P 500: +1%
🪙 Bitcoin: -20%🤞 Heading to 2026, there will remain an opportunity for crypto to play "catch up". pic.twitter.com/FW8JaQboTV
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) December 30, 2025
Shift Back Into Crypto
Former BitForex CEO Garrett Jin suggests investors are starting to move capital from other sectors back into crypto. On-chain analytics from Nansen show active Bitcoin addresses up 5.51% in the last 24 hours, while transaction volume fell nearly 30%. Jin commented, “Capital is the same; always sell high and buy low.”
Market Cycle and Outlook
Investor CyrilXBT said the market is in a “classic late-cycle positioning.” Once BTC breaks structure, gold is expected to cool, Bitcoin will lead, ETH will follow, and altcoins will finally awaken. The analyst added, “This phase is designed to test conviction,” urging patience.
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