Crypto Market Insights is a collaborative report from Coinbase Institutional and Glassnode.
Here's what the report highlights:
We're looking at a positive outlook for the first quarter of 2026. It seems like the crypto markets are kicking off 2026 on a better foot, as we've seen a lot of excess leverage getting cleared out in the fourth quarter. The overall macro situation appears stable, and monetary policy should help things move along.
SURVEY: MAIN FINDINGS
From December 10, 2025, to January 12, 2026, we gathered opinions from 148 global investors (75 institutions and 73 non-institutions) to understand their views on crypto trends, market positions, risk management, and other topics.
01 About a quarter of both institutions (26%) and non-institutions (21%) think we're currently in the bear market phase. That’s a big jump from our last survey where it was just 2% for institutions and 7% for non-institutions.
02 Even with the market being a bit shaky, most investors are either holding their crypto or buying more. Roughly two-thirds of institutions (62%) and non-institutions (70%) have kept their positions steady or increased their long investments since October.
03 There’s a strong belief among investors that bitcoin is undervalued. Around 70% of institutions and 60% of non-institutions consider BTC to be undervalued.
Interesting that ~70% of institutions see BTC as undervalued but only about a quarter think we're in a bear market.
The "holding or adding" stat is the important one imo. Institutions aren't panic selling despite the weakness, which is different from previous cycles where they'd dump at the first sign of trouble.
Though worth remembering these surveys tend to have selection bias, the investors who respond are probably more bullish than the ones who don't bother.
I guess this is part of the reason Bitcoin is still standing strong at above $80k despite all the unfavourable events going on.
Well, if the study was among already existing investors, it's no surprise that this is their thought process. It may not show the full picture of what potential investors think. If more new investors get involved, they may increase the demand.
Personally, I expect this year to be similar to last year. It may be a little less bullish than last year, but it would be similar. There will be times or quarters when it will be bullish and times when the price will dip. That is why I keep believing that we will see a new ATH this year or at least see Bitcoin at $120k.
Another reason I believe so is how resilient Bitcoin has been for the past couple of months. Despite how it felt towards the end of last year and how the prophets of doom kept saying it would fall to $60k, it didn't even go below $80k. And despite all the events that have occurred this year between Europe and America, Bitcoin has still not gone below $85k.
Great survey and the numbers dont lie as to what the market is currently reacting to. The bear market is imminent but the strong hope of investors on Bitcoin and the nature to which the market is standing strong and not falling rapidly shows the much faith these investors are having on Bitcoin. More inflow of money into Bitcoin even when the odds do not favor the bulls is an even more indication of a long term believe in Bitcoin. Even if this continues for a long time, we may not see the bear market reaching as low as other cycles before we eventually get to witness another bull market which will indeed favor the patient and continually consistent investors.