SKN | Bitcoin Eyes Longest Winning Streak in Three Months as Momentum Builds Into 2026

Bitcoin pushed higher during Monday’s Asian trading session, extending its recent recovery and setting the stage for its longest daily winning streak in nearly three months. The advance comes as year-end pressures fade, ETF inflows rebound, and traders reassess bitcoin’s role amid renewed geopolitical stress.

Bitcoin was trading around $92,500 during Asian hours, up more than 1% on the session after rising from roughly $91,480, according to market data. At its peak, the largest cryptocurrency briefly crossed $93,000. If gains hold through the daily close, bitcoin would log a five-day winning streak — its strongest run since early October.

The move lifted the broader crypto complex. Ether hovered near $3,160, while solana and XRP posted gains of roughly 1%. Both the CoinDesk 20 and CoinDesk 80 indexes rose about 1.5%, signaling improving breadth after a subdued December.

Momentum turns constructive after weak December

Market sentiment has shifted noticeably since the turn of the year. Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, said bitcoin and ether have transitioned into what he described as “bullish trend regimes,” following weeks of defensive positioning.

December had been marked by persistent weakness, particularly during U.S. trading hours, as investors engaged in tax-loss selling. That dynamic weighed heavily on crypto prices even as U.S. equities, gold and silver posted strong gains into year-end. Bitcoin finished 2025 down roughly 6%, underperforming major equity indices and precious metals.

The exhaustion of tax-driven selling appears to be a key inflection point. “We turned constructive following the late-December options expiry, anticipating that tax-loss selling would subside and that trading desks would regain flexibility to deploy risk into the new year,” Thielen said.

ETF inflows return as confidence improves

Another important tailwind has been the revival of institutional demand through exchange-traded funds. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded more than $471 million in net inflows on Friday, the largest single-day total since mid-November, according to SoSoValue data.

ETF flows had been a major drag in November and December, with sustained outflows contributing to bitcoin’s inability to hold above $90,000 late last year. The sudden reversal suggests institutional investors may be re-engaging after year-end portfolio adjustments, providing a firmer base for prices in early 2026.

As of now, bitcoin is holding above its 21-day exponential moving average, a level closely watched by technical traders. Thielen noted that as long as this support remains intact, the near-term bias favors further upside.

Geopolitics revive the safe-haven debate

Bitcoin’s latest rally has also coincided with heightened geopolitical tension following the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. While gold and silver have led the traditional safe-haven trade, some analysts see signs that cryptocurrencies are beginning to attract defensive flows as well.

Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget, described the move as part of a broader “flight to quality” across markets. Precious metals have surged, while oil prices remain relatively contained near $60 per barrel — a combination that limits immediate inflation pressure but raises longer-term uncertainty.

For bitcoin, the key test will be whether this improving sentiment translates into sustained demand once Western markets fully re-engage. A clean hold above the low-$90,000s could shift focus back toward the $95,000–$100,000 zone, while failure would risk another pullback into the high-$80,000 range.

For now, bitcoin enters the new year with momentum on its side, a rare alignment of technical strength, improving flows, and fading seasonal headwinds.