Crypto Twitter Turns Bearish on 2026—but These 3 Sectors Could Still Win

As major asset managers and industry experts begin outlining their expectations for 2026, one analyst has summarized what Crypto Twitter (CT) broadly anticipates for the crypto market in the coming year. CTs emerging consensus suggests the market is bracing for a more selective, fundamentals-driven phase rather than a broad speculative boom. Crypto Sectors That Could Perform Well in 2026 In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, analyst Ignas noted that Crypto Twitters outlook for 2026 reflects a stark shift from the 2022 outlook. The consensus is the exact opposite to when we entered the bull run in 2022, the analyst stated. At the time, many investors positioned for Ethereum (ETH) and altcoins to outperform Bitcoin. Instead, Bitcoin dominated, leaving the market trailing behind. This year, sentiment was quite bullish, with many forecasting higher valuations for major assets. However, the market moved in the opposite direction. As a result, Crypto Twitters outlook has shifted toward a more cautious and concentrated set of expectations. Here is what CT believes will perform well in 2026. 1. Bitcoin Bitcoin is widely viewed as the primary outperformer heading into 2026. This confidence comes despite the assets recent weakness. BeInCrypto highlighted that BTC has lagged behind precious metals and stocks in 2025. Furthermore, the asset is down 6.2% year-to-date. If the declines continue, Bitcoin could end the year in the red, breaking its two-year positive streak. Even so, CT consensus continues to favor Bitcoin over the broader crypto market. At the same time, concerns around quantum computing remain part of the discussion. Quantum advances pose a structural risk to Bitcoins cryptography. Nonetheless, analysts remain divided on whether such threats are imminent or still years away. 2. Real-world assets (RWA) Real-world assets (RWA) and tokenization are emerging as one of the key growth areas in crypto for 2026. The RWA sector has already defied the market slump with distributed value and users growing steadily, and the momentum could continue. RWAs and tokenization will grow BIG but hard to find great proxies to bet on growth (Plasma, Stable terrible TGEs are clear examples), Ignas wrote. Notably, Plume CEO Chris Yin also projects 10- to 20-fold growth in both value and users by 2026, even with conservative forecasts. Furthermore, Jesse Knutson, Head of Operations at Bitfinex Securities, suggests the tokenization market will reach at least $100 billion by the end of 2026. 3. Prediction Markets and Perpetual Financial Products CT expects prediction markets and perpetual products to increasingly financialize everything, extending to real-world events and even pre-IPO instruments. According to BeInCryptos recent report, interest in prediction markets accelerated in late 2025. During October and November, trading volumes on prediction platforms surpassed those of meme coins and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). User activity also increased as participants turned to these platforms to speculate on outcomes ranging from election results to weather forecasts. Institutional involvement has followed. Major firms, including Coinbase and Gemini, have begun expanding into the sector in an effort to capitalize on the growing momentum. Perpetual markets are also gaining attention. Coinbase previously identified real-world asset perpetuals as a key investment theme for 2026, citing their potential to unlock new forms of on-chain financial exposure. Because perpetuals do not require securing an underlying asset, markets can form around virtually anything, enabling the perpification of everything, Coinbase stated. Crypto Sectors That Could Face Pressure Ignas pointed out that besides Bitcoin, the CT consensus suggests major gains are likely to concentrate in only a small number of winners. Many other sectors could face continued pressure as capital becomes increasingly selective. 1. Broad Altcoin Markets The market largely anticipates continued pressure across the altcoin sector, with many tokens at risk of going to zero. This might happen due to high token emissions, limited retail participation, and weak institutional demand. As a result, expectations for a broad altcoin season similar to 2021 remain low. In October, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said an altcoin season is unlikely to materialize in either 2025 or 2026. 2. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Tokens The analyst added that the recent ongoing governance disputes surrounding Aave (AAVE) also raise concerns about all DeFi tokens. The debate centers on Aaves decision to integrate CowSwap into its frontend, replacing ParaSwap. Critics argue that the move, finalized after Aave Labs received a grant from CowSwap, redirected up to $10 million in potential annual revenue away from the DAO. In response, Aave founder Stani Kulechov and Aave Labs have maintained that frontend-generated revenue is separate from core protocol revenue and has been voluntary. Aave DAO Faces Governance Clash Over Control of Aave Labs 👀An AAVE token holder has proposed a controversial poison pill strategy that would allow the Aave DAO to seize control of Aave Labs intellectual property, brand, and equity, effectively turning the company into a DAO pic.twitter.com/SC1gd1KYhs Karon (@pangestu_karon) December 18, 2025 Market Divided on Whether Ethereums Success Translates Into ETH Gains Meanwhile, the author revealed that there is no clear market narrative about what could happen to Ethereum (ETH). On one side, some remain bullish on Ethereum, as it stands to benefit from the rapid expansion of tokenized assets. Others remain unconvinced that this adoption will materially benefit ETH holders. ETH as an asset does not necessarily benefit from tokenization: Ethereum just becomes boring infra layer with most upside enjoyed by user-facing apps. Like Facebook, Microsoft benefiting most from the rise of internet, Ignas said. Crypto Twitters 2026 Market Focus In addition to these, Ignas also outlined that tokens launched with high fully diluted valuations and limited circulating supply are viewed as perma shorts. It essentially means that these tokens are consistently good candidates for shorting (betting against). Market data reinforces this view. According to an analysis by Memento Research, which covered 118 token generation events in 2025, projects that debuted with elevated FDVs have struggled to sustain momentum. Notably, among the 28 tokens that launched with a fully diluted valuation of $1 billion or more, none are currently trading in positive territory. Lastly, the market is placing increased emphasis on tokenholder rights, alongside a growing focus on revenue generation. These discussions are expected to intensify and continue into 2026. As the crypto industry matures, it is likely to become less speculative and less driven by hype, but significantly larger in scale. In parallel, Crypto Twitters influence over the broader narrative could wane, as crypto-native voices gradually lose prominence. Read the article at BeInCrypto