Bitcoin has kicked off 2026 with a renewed risk-on surge, briefly touching $93,000 as crypto markets extended their New Year rally alongside gains in commodities and Asian equities.
BTC is up roughly 3% over the past week, ether is holding near $3,160 and majors like XRP and Solana are climbing, while Dogecoin leads with a 17% weekly jump.
The move has been amplified by aggressive derivatives positioning, with more than $260 million in liquidations over 24 hours, around $200 million from shorts alone, highlighting how crowded bearish bets were as prices pushed higher.
The rally mirrors strength across risk assets, with gold jumping back above $4,400 an ounce and Asian equities hitting record highs on continued AI-led momentum and geopolitical developments linked to the US ousting of Venezuela.
Does Bitcoin’s ability to rally alongside equities and commodities suggest it’s being treated less as a speculative outlier and more as part of the global risk-asset complex? Are the heavy short liquidations a sign of fragile positioning rather than fresh conviction and how sustainable is a move higher when BTC remains well below its all-time highs while traditional assets sit near records? And as traders point to start-of-year flows and “price inefficiencies,” is this rally more about relative value and positioning than a fundamental shift in crypto demand?
Utkarsh Ahuja, Founder & Managing Partner at Moon Pursuit Capital, can break down what this surge really signals for crypto markets in early 2026. He can explain why Bitcoin is attracting risk capital even as gold and equities rally, what the $260 million liquidation wave reveals about leverage and sentiment and whether BTC’s relative performance versus altcoins points to a maturing market structure. Would you like to schedule time with Utkarsh to discuss whether this New Year breakout marks the start of a broader trend or a positioning-driven move that still leaves room for volatility ahead?
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