Crypto Twitter Turns Bearish on 2026—but These 3 Sectors Could Still Win
As main asset managers and business consultants start outlining their expectations for 2026, one analyst has summarized what Crypto Twitter (CT) broadly anticipates for the crypto market within the coming 12 months.
CT’s rising consensus suggests the market is bracing for a extra selective, fundamentals-driven part slightly than a broad speculative growth.
Crypto Sectors That Could Perform Well in 2026
In a latest X (previously Twitter) submit, analyst Ignas famous that Crypto Twitter’s outlook for 2026 displays a stark shift from the 2022 outlook.
“The consensus is the precise reverse to after we entered the bull run in 2022,” the analyst stated.
At the time, many buyers positioned for Ethereum (ETH) and altcoins to outperform Bitcoin. Instead, Bitcoin dominated, leaving the market trailing behind. This 12 months, sentiment was fairly bullish, with many forecasting increased valuations for main property.
However, the market moved in the other way. As a end result, Crypto Twitter’s outlook has shifted towards a extra cautious and concentrated set of expectations. Here is what CT believes will carry out nicely in 2026.
1. Bitcoin
Bitcoin is broadly seen as the first outperformer heading into 2026. This confidence comes regardless of the asset’s latest weak point.
(*3*) has lagged behind valuable metals and shares in 2025. Furthermore, the asset is down 6.2% year-to-date.
If the declines proceed, Bitcoin may finish the 12 months within the crimson, breaking its two-year constructive streak. Even so, CT consensus continues to favor Bitcoin over the broader crypto market.
At the identical time, issues round quantum computing stay a part of the dialogue. Quantum advances pose a structural danger to Bitcoin’s cryptography. Nonetheless, analysts remain divided on whether or not such threats are imminent or nonetheless years away.
2. Real-world property (RWA)
Real-world property (RWA) and tokenization are rising as one of many key progress areas in crypto for 2026. The RWA sector has already defied the market slump with distributed worth and customers rising steadily, and the momentum may proceed.
“RWAs and tokenization will develop BIG however exhausting to search out nice proxies to guess on progress (Plasma, Stable horrible TGEs are clear examples),” Ignas wrote.
Notably, Plume CEO Chris Yin additionally initiatives 10- to 20-fold progress in each worth and customers by 2026, even with conservative forecasts. Furthermore, Jesse Knutson, Head of Operations at Bitfinex Securities, suggests the tokenization market will reach at the least $100 billion by the tip of 2026.
3. Prediction Markets and Perpetual Financial Products
CT expects prediction markets and perpetual merchandise to more and more “financialize the whole lot,” extending to real-world occasions and even pre-IPO devices.
According to BeInCrypto’s recent report, curiosity in prediction markets accelerated in late 2025. During October and November, buying and selling volumes on prediction platforms surpassed these of meme cash and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). User exercise additionally elevated as members turned to those platforms to take a position on outcomes starting from election outcomes to climate forecasts.
Institutional involvement has adopted. Major corporations, together with Coinbase and Gemini, have begun increasing into the sector in an effort to capitalize on the rising momentum.
Perpetual markets are additionally gaining consideration. Coinbase previously identified real-world asset perpetuals as a key funding theme for 2026, citing their potential to unlock new types of on-chain monetary publicity.
“Because perpetuals don’t require securing an underlying asset, markets can type round nearly something, enabling the ‘perpification’ of the whole lot,” Coinbase acknowledged.
Crypto Sectors That Could Face Pressure
Ignas identified that in addition to Bitcoin, the CT consensus suggests main beneficial properties are more likely to focus in solely a small variety of winners. Many different sectors may face continued stress as capital turns into more and more selective.
1. Broad Altcoin Markets
The market largely anticipates continued stress throughout the altcoin sector, with many tokens liable to going to zero. This may occur resulting from high token emissions, restricted retail participation, and weak institutional demand.
As a end result, expectations for a broad altcoin season just like 2021 stay low. In October, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen mentioned an altcoin season is unlikely to materialize in both 2025 or 2026.
2. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Tokens
The analyst added that the latest ongoing governance disputes surrounding Aave (AAVE) additionally increase issues about all DeFi tokens.
The debate facilities on Aave’s decision to integrate CowSwap into its frontend, changing ParaSwap. Critics argue that the transfer, finalized after Aave Labs obtained a grant from CowSwap, redirected as much as $10 million in potential annual income away from the DAO.
In response, Aave founder Stani Kulechov and Aave Labs have maintained that frontend-generated income is separate from core protocol income and has been voluntary.
Market Divided on Whether Ethereum’s Success Translates Into ETH Gains
Meanwhile, the writer revealed that there is no such thing as a clear market narrative about what may occur to Ethereum (ETH).
On one aspect, some stay bullish on Ethereum, because it stands to learn from the fast enlargement of tokenized property. Others stay unconvinced that this adoption will materially profit ETH holders.
“ETH as an asset doesn’t essentially profit from tokenization: Ethereum simply turns into boring infra layer with most upside loved by user-facing apps. Like Facebook, Microsoft benefiting most from the rise of web,” Ignas mentioned.
Crypto Twitter’s 2026 Market Focus
In addition to those, Ignas additionally outlined that tokens launched with high absolutely diluted valuations and restricted circulating provide are seen as “perma shorts.” It basically signifies that these tokens are persistently good candidates for shorting (betting towards).
Market knowledge reinforces this view. According to an analysis by Memento Research, which lined 118 token technology occasions in 2025, initiatives that debuted with elevated FDVs have struggled to maintain momentum. Notably, among the many 28 tokens that launched with a completely diluted valuation of $1 billion or extra, none are presently buying and selling in constructive territory.
Lastly, the market is inserting elevated emphasis on tokenholder rights, alongside a rising focus on income technology. These discussions are anticipated to accentuate and proceed into 2026.
As the crypto business matures, it’s more likely to turn into much less speculative and fewer pushed by hype, however considerably bigger in scale. In parallel, Crypto Twitter’s affect over the broader narrative may wane, as crypto-native voices progressively lose prominence.
The submit Crypto Twitter Turns Bearish on 2026—but These 3 Sectors Could Still Win appeared first on BeInCrypto.
