Crypto in 2025 didn't just have a moment. It had a full-blown mania, complete with presidential endorsements and family involvement. Now it's paying the price.
Jay Woods, Chief Market Strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, has a blunt diagnosis: too many powerful people jumped in at once, including President Donald Trump and his family. The result? One of the year's most crowded trades, and now the hangover looks brutal for 2026.
"That became such a crowded trade," Woods explained. "We had too many people in high places, including the president of the United States and his family, getting involved."
The numbers tell the tale. Bitcoin (BTC) and other major cryptocurrencies rocketed to new all-time highs in 2025, only to crater in recent months. The culprits? Forced liquidations of overleveraged positions and a broader retreat from risky assets as investors got spooked.
What 2026 Holds for Crypto
Woods didn't explicitly connect the late-2025 crash to the frenzy that came before it, but he made his point crystal clear: the technical charts show just how overcooked the market became. And fixing that kind of damage takes time.
"I think crypto will struggle to make new highs in 2026," Woods said flatly.
This isn't just idle speculation. Woods has already shared his S&P 500 predictions and identified which Magnificent Seven stocks he's watching this year. When it comes to cryptocurrency, though? He's sitting this one out.
Technical Wreckage Everywhere
The fundamentals aren't offering much help right now, Woods noted, so the technical picture has to do the talking. And what it's saying isn't pretty.
"We've seen a lot of damage done technically and it will take time for Bitcoin and Ethereum and Solana to get back on that uptrend," he told MarketDash.
There's one thing that might help stabilize major coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL): consolidation. Woods thinks Bitcoin specifically needs to find its footing before any real recovery can start.
"I still think we need to see some consolidation here around the $90,000 level in Bitcoin," he said. Only after that settling period could the market get an "all clear" signal and "march to new highs."
Until then, his message is unambiguous: after a year defined by everyone and their politically connected uncle piling into digital assets, crypto starts 2026 playing defense.
Where Bitcoin Stands Now
Bitcoin trades at $87,905 at the time of writing. The leading cryptocurrency has bounced between $74,436.66 and $126,198.07 over the past year, hitting that all-time high of $126,198.07 on Oct. 6, 2025.
Year-to-date in 2025, Bitcoin is down 5.9%.