Crypto Sentiment Starts 2026 ‘Very Positive’

Sentiment among crypto market participants on social media has started the year strong, according to a Santiment analyst, who warned that further market upside depends on retail investors staying level-headed.

“We need retail to continue to be a bit cautious, a bit pessimistic, a bit impatient,” Santiment analyst Brian Quinlivan said in a video published to YouTube on Saturday.

Despite other crypto sentiment indicators showing fear among market participants, Quinlivan said Santiment’s social media data points the other way.

This level has historically been “a concern”

“It is very positive at the moment,” he said. “Usually that is a bit of a concern, but in this case it might just be a hey we’re back from the holidays,” he added.

Quinlivan said he isn’t overly worried about “a lot of FOMO,” but added that it could enter the market if Bitcoin (BTC) quickly climbs toward $92,000. Bitcoin is trading at $89,930 at the time of publication, up 1.77% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.

Quinlivan said a quick increase in Bitcoin’s price to this level will show the “true reaction from retailers.” “Are they starting to pour in money because they’re saying Bitcoin goes up, that would be bad, he said. 

Crypto faces fear signals despite historically strong January

Retail euphoria in crypto markets tends to surge near all-time highs or cycle peaks, and historically, the market has dropped shortly after.

Analysts have previously argued that when excitement gets too intense, the crypto market often moves in the opposite way to what most people expect.

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The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures overall crypto market sentiment, posted a “Fear” score of 29 in its Saturday update. The Index has been in the “Fear” to “Extreme Fear” range since early November 2025.

However, January has historically been a strong month for both Bitcoin and Ether (ETH), with average gains since 2013 of 3.75% for BTC and 19.07% for ETH, according to CoinGlass.

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