The cryptocurrency market got off to a strong start in 2026. Bitcoin, along with gold and silver, rose as investors took positions with the expectation that the new year could be “groundbreaking”.
Bitcoin’s price has recovered from levels below $85,000 seen in December and is approaching $90,000, while gold and silver are also heading back to their all-time highs after the sharp fluctuations experienced this week.
The rise in Bitcoin’s price has triggered liquidations in the cryptocurrency market. In the last 24 hours, $382 million worth of liquidations have occurred in the cryptocurrency market, with $323 million of that coming from short positions.
On the other hand, in terms of assets, the most liquidation occurred in Ethereum with $123 million. It was followed by Bitcoin with $115 million and Solana with $20 million.
Statements from US President Donald Trump’s camp have had an impact on this market volatility. Following a hint from Trump’s Treasury Secretary about a “price-changing” move for 2026, Trump’s media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, announced it will launch a new cryptocurrency to be distributed to shareholders in 2026. The company thus once again declared its support for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes announced that Crypto.com will leverage blockchain technology and, with increased regulatory clarity, will launch a first-of-its-kind token distribution. While Trump Media shares rose following the announcement, the price remains approximately 60% below its 2025 peak.
In recent years, Trump has promoted Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a partial solution to the growing US debt burden. During his presidency, he signed an executive order establishing a US Bitcoin reserve and has supported various crypto initiatives. This week, the newly introduced token will give investors one crypto asset for each share they hold, and offer various advantages across Trump Media brands such as Truth Social, Truth+, and Truth.Fi.
Trump’s support for cryptocurrencies coincides with weakening market conditions following the sharp sell-off in October. This sell-off led to a strong rally in gold and silver as investors embraced the “weakening dollar” narrative.
Nic Puckrin, co-founder and investment analyst at Coin Bureau, said this trend will remain strong into 2026. In his assessment on behalf of Coin Bureau, Puckrin stated that the erosion of the dollar’s purchasing power will continue to support commodities like gold, silver, and copper, and Bitcoin could also benefit from this. However, cautioning against overly optimistic price predictions, Puckrin said, “We could see a new all-time high; however, this level may not go much above the previous $126,000 peak. There is also the risk of a bear market afterwards.”
Other market commentators also believe that bitcoin could follow a similar path to gold in the long term. David Miller, Chief Investment Officer at Catalyst Funds, stated that he is optimistic about both gold and bitcoin in the long term, but cautioned that short-term price predictions should not be perceived as “gambling, not investment.” Miller added that the rapidly growing US debt burden and money printing trend are supportive of both assets in the long term, but predicting the direction in the short term is difficult.
*This is not investment advice.
