According to seasoned trader Peter Brandt, it may take over a year for Bitcoin to return to its previous peak of $126,100, which was achieved in October of last year.
Brandt shared with Cointelegraph that he does not anticipate any new price highs for Bitcoin in 2026. “Perhaps we might see something by the second quarter of 2027,” he added, while also noting that “this is merely speculation.”
Similarly, analysts on the crypto prediction platform Polymarket are expressing skepticism, estimating only a 15% likelihood that Bitcoin will reach $120,000 again in 2026.
The outlook among analysts regarding Bitcoin’s performance in 2026 is mixed. The four-year cycle theory indicates a potentially weaker year ahead for Bitcoin; however, some experts believe that increasing institutional interest could disrupt this trend and lead to an upward movement instead.
Brandt maintains his stance on Bitcoin
As per CoinMarketCap data at the time of writing, Bitcoin is priced at $66,329—a decline of 3.46% over the past week—and approximately down by about 47% from its all-time high.
This cryptocurrency hit a yearly low of $60,000 on February 6; however, Brandt speculates this may not be the lowest point for this year. He predicts that it could revisit or even dip slightly below September or October’s levels.
“That would mark the bottom of the bear cycle before entering into a new bull phase,” Brandt explained.
Despite his cautious perspective for this year ahead, Brandt emphasized that his overall view regarding Bitcoin remains unchanged. “The $BTC narrative revolves around being a store of value. The development built upon $BTC‘s utility could influence its pricing,” he remarked while maintaining neutrality or bearish sentiments towards other cryptocurrencies.
An analyst named Willy Woo mentioned via an X post dated March 17 that liquidity-wise; we are roughly one-third through what can be termed as a bear market for Bitcoin.
Additonally Anthony Scaramucci from SkyBridge investment firm noted last week how we currently find ourselves within the bearish segment of our four-year market cycle.
“We’re observing trends consistent with this four-year pattern where traditional investors have faith in these cycles—what often happens when people strongly believe something? They end up creating self-fulfilling prophecies,” he stated.
This comes after spot bitcoin ETFs concluded their streak with net outflows totaling $296.18 million during last week’s close.
Meanwhile investor sentiment appears cautious amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties affecting crypto markets as reflected by various indicators measuring fear and greed levels among traders—the Crypto Fear & Greed Index has remained entrenched within “extreme fear” territory since March twenty-first recording just eight points earlier today!
A few voices remain optimistic about future prospects though! In January Fundstrat’s research head Tom Lee expressed confidence stating he still anticipates seeing another record-breaking high achieved later this calendar year despite advising stakeholders prepare themselves mentally against potential downturns across both cryptocurrency & stock arenas alike!