Bitcoin’s price performance over the past three months or so has been quite painful, as the asset ended 2025 in the red despite its massive surge on a couple of occasions throughout the year.
This was rather surprising to some, especially given the fact that most other financial assets had their best year to date. But is that a blessing in disguise?
2025 in Retrospect
2025 was a controversial year in the crypto land. Investors entered it with high hopes as they were expecting the then-president-elect Donald J. Trump to make good on his many pro-crypto promises. It was also a post-halving year, which was (until that point) always a catalyst for gains. The combination of the two should have made it historic, right?
And it did, at least up until a point. It started with a few consecutive all-time highs, then a massive correction in April and May due to Trump’s tariffs, but then yet another rally. As Q4 approached, everyone was convinced the previous records would be broken again. After all, October is known as ‘Uptober’ for a reason.
And the first week didn’t disappoint. Almost on cue, BTC skyrocketed to a fresh all-time high at just over $126,000 as the community celebrated and outlined the next massive targets ahead. However, that’s when it all went horribly wrong. Instead of aiming at $150,000, $200,000, or even higher, BTC crashed by double digits in just a day when $19 billion worth of liquidations hit over-leveraged investors.
The landscape has just not been the same ever since. Even though BTC remained within the six-digit territory for over a month after that calamity, it felt as if it were on borrowed time and, inevitably, plunged below those levels to end the year at under $88,000. This meant a 6% yearly decline. Moreover, it was the first post-halving year to end in the red.
Most Room for Growth in 2026?
While all of that was unravelling, other financial assets soared. This is particularly true for precious metals as the two largest marked consecutive all-time highs, ending the year with a 65% surge (gold) and 150% increase (silver). The S&P finished with an 18% jump. Even if we examine their performance only since the aforementioned BTC ATH, the cryptocurrency pales in comparison.
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Data from Santiment shows that gold has gained 11% in those three months, while the S&P 500 is up by 3%. In contrast, BTC has tumbled by 26% as it now stagnates at $90,000. However, the analytics company believes this actually means that BTC and crypto as a whole could have the most significant upside for a 2026 rebound.
📊 Since Bitcoin’s $126K all-time high back on October 6th, cryptocurrencies have trailed equities and gold significantly. The past 3-month returns are:
🥇 Gold: +11%
🏦 S&P 500: +3%
🪙 Bitcoin $BTC: -26%🧐 The crypto upside is there for a 2026 rebound. https://t.co/MwzVCs85Al pic.twitter.com/LYyxlMm63d
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 9, 2026
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