Just before the beginning of the festive period, I wrote about the so-called Christmas which has occurred 79% of the time since 1929, formerly with stock markets and latterly to include the crypto market in more recent years. What we are actually seeing at the moment could be seen as a “Post-Christmas Surge”, as we have seen crypto prices starting to rise again and especially since the beginning of January 2026. I noticed very quickly that TEZOs had come back to life and I am feeling a new sense of optimism in a Coin I had written off – you may remember my article about it – but it does seem that market sentiment has flipped from fear to cautious optimism. This in turn has been driven by renewed investor confidence, lower liquidations, which has led to an improvement in macro conditions, and a surge of interest in BitCoin and MemeCoins. BitCoin has returned to trading around $88–92K, Ethereum above $3,000, and most major AltCoins are in the green according to multiple market reports.
This shift in attitude and sentiment does seem to be a major influence and maybe it just is the Christmas thing, but it does seem to be gaining a momentum of its own and unlike last time when only BitCoin and Ethereum and a few others lit up, there are green lights appearing across the board and it does seem to be on a sustainable path for now at least.
This is evidenced by the fact that the crypto market cap is up 1% to $3.24T, with 87 of the top 100 coins rising which has had a significant effect on the Fear & Greed Index which has jumped as liquidations dropped 46%. The main consequence being a reduction in downward pressure. This has caught the eye of many investors who are slowly returning to risk assets after a volatile December.
While one bit of research I found has suggested that BitCoin is leading the recovery, I am not entirely convinced because it is not surging any more than anything else. What is sure is that BitCoin can act as a barmeter for the crypto eco-system, but not always as seen throughout 2024 when its surge had little or no effect on many AltCoins. Having said that what is clear is that BitCoin’s stability is underpinning what is happening and setting the tone for the rest of the market.
Inevitably, and maybe even regrettably as with no real world application a coin is ultimately doomed to the scrapheap, there has been a renewed interest in Shiba Inu, Pepe, and other MemeCoins which has boosted overall trading activity and sentiment. Having said that and despite my scepticism it clearly shows that the character of investment is moving into a speculative phase which could be an early indicator of an approaching bull run and just as equally an opportunity for a whale to open its big fat mouth in a pump and dump.
Hold on to its tail if you dare!
Maybe I am getting cynical in my old age or have done a few cycles now (I remember the first time everything seems to crash I was on the verge of open panic), but reading across the board it does seem that this month has ushered in a “calmer macro backdrop” which is helping risk assets like crypto recover.
Maybe there is hope for my BAND, ALGO, ATOM and TEZOs after all!
Forthcoming data releases this week, will provide a clear indicator of what will happen next as investors jockey for position, but whatever happens there is a definite sense that institutional confidence Is returning and this may well be down to the establishment of clearer policy frameworks heading into 2026. Remember MiCA as a regulatory exemplar? Additionally in the real world, StableCoins and tokenised assets are becoming more central to financial infrastructure. All of this helps to boost long-term confidence and the best evidence of this can be seen in the fact that it is not just being driven by BitCoin and a few of the bigger AltCoins, but many of the assets that seemed to be dead in the water.
Can I dare to fall in love with TEZOs again?
And on that note of optimism and as always stay safe and well my friends.
