Bitcoin ‘bullish’ in Q1 says Willy Woo, XRP lacks CLARITY: Trade Secrets

Bitcoiners tip ‘bullish pump’ in Q1

Bitcoin’s price look set to rip early in 2026, but the pump may be short-lived, according to Bitcoin OG analyst Willy Woo.

“The trend so far paints a bullish pump in Q1,” Woo tells Magazine, adding that the “longer term structure is bearish.”

He adds his conviction is “loosely held, no crystal ball.”

January is typically a quieter month for Bitcoin, averaging just 4.28% gains since 2013, while February and March have historically produced stronger returns of 13.12% and 12.21%, according to CoinGlass.

Woo says Bitcoin’s performance in the near-term is dependent on investor flows, which he says has been in a “six-month down trend.” Bitcoin is trading at $95,520 at the time of publication, up 4.34% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin has “good odds”of heading to $108,000

Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards said Bitcoin’s recent price surge “opens up good odds of a trend to $108K from here.”

“Bitcoin just has its first promising technical move in a while,” Edwards said. He explained that he would need to see Bitcoin close this week above $93,500 to “confirm downside fakeout.” Crypto analyst Rekt Capital said “it’s likely” that Bitcoin will be able to close above that price level.

Edwards declared that now “would be a great time to turn this ship around.” 

A quick move to $108,000 could wipe over $673 million in Bitcoin short positions.

XRP may falter upon “surprises” from CLARITY Act: Analysts

XRP’s price could face near-term pressure if there are “any unpleasant surprises” around the US CLARITY Act voting process, according to Swyftx analyst Pav Hundal.

Members of the US Senate Banking Committee had been scheduled to markup the CLARITY Act on Thursday, but this was postponed after the draft bill faced backlash from some crypto industry executives worried lawmakers were giving too much ground to TradFi .

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, one of the executives criticizing the draft bill, still expects a markup in the next few weeks.

Hundal added that political or macro shocks — including an escalation in geopolitical tensions — would create a difficult backdrop, raising the risk of sentiment and price quickly flipping against the token.

XRP is trading at $2.06 at the time of publication, down 2.91% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap.

From a technical perspective, Hundal says that XRP has “successfully” found buyers around its 50-day moving average, but recent attempts to push higher were rejected at the 200-day moving average near $2.39.

“That might be a technical area that sellers again get busy,” Hundal says.

“My caution on XRP is that further upside becomes too reliant on narrative,” he adds.

Hundal believes that XRP is at a “major test of actual conviction” as XRP spot demand has been weakening since the middle of December.

Nansen analyst Jake Kennis tells Magazine that he also believes that the upcoming CLARITY Act Senate vote could have an impact on XRP’s price.

Kennis also points to other key near-term catalysts to watch, including Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin expansion, which has reached a $1.33 billion market cap and is launching in Japan through SBI, as well as continued ETF inflows and the progress of Ripple National Trust Bank.

ETH about to start next “multi-year cycle,” an analyst says

Ether and altcoins may be entering their next multi-year cycles, with a potential price breakout toward all-time highs, crypto analysts say.

“The bottom was Q4 2025 for both,” crypto analyst Matthew Hyland said. Hyland said that this marked Ethereum’s fourth cycle, with its low coming just three months after reaching all-time highs of $4,953 in month 38 of the previous cycle.

“The next cycle low is due in Q2 2029,” Hyland said.

Pseudonymous crypto trader Titan of Crypto says an ETH breakout is already underway.

“If confirmed, the pattern target is $4,200,” he said, which would be a 27.56% increase from its current price of $3,292, according to CoinMarketCap. 

Meanwhile, institutional forecasts are becoming more conservative for Ether’s price.

Standard Chartered lowered its Ether price forecast to $7,500 for the end of 2026, down from its previously forecast $12,000, while lowering its end-2028 forecast to $22,000 from $25,000.

However, the bank expects Ether to surpass $40,000 by 2030, raising its long-term forecast from the previous $30,000 target.

The largest Ethereum public treasury company, BitMine, just staked another huge batch of Ether, bringing its total amount staked to over 1.5 million ETH.

Bitcoin sentimentis turning bearish…or bullish

Bitcoin sentiment on social media has turned increasingly pessimistic even as the asset has climbed roughly 5% over the past seven days, according to crypto sentiment platform Santiment.

“The commentary toward Bitcoin across social media has interestingly turned more and more bearish as prices have bounced this week,” Santiment said on Thursday.

Santiment said rising FUD across social media over the past ten days could be the fuel Bitcoin needs to push back toward $100,000, noting that markets often move against retail sentiment.

However, other indicators suggest that sentiment among market participants is moving upwards.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures overall crypto market sentiment, returned to “greed” on Thursday, with a score of 61, after hovering between “fear” and “extreme fear” territory since early November.

Meanwhile, the Altcoin Season Index, which is based on the performance of the top 100 altcoins relative to Bitcoin over the past 90 days, suggests that market participants are still in “risk-off” mode, with the index reading a “Bitcoin Season” score of 27 out of 100.

What are the prediction markets saying?

Prediction market participants are growing more confident that Bitcoin can reclaim six-figure levels by the end of the month, but how the year ultimately plays out remains far less certain.

The odds of Bitcoin ending January above $100,000 stand at 54%, according to crypto predictions platform Polymarket.

Longer-term, the market sees a 91% chance of Bitcoin ending the year above $100,000, but just a 54% probability of revisiting all-time highs above $120,000. 

The odds of the ambitious $200,000 price level are low, with odds at 10%, while downside fears still persist, with a drop below $75,000 holding a 63% probability.

Prediction markets show increasing skepticism around ETH’s January performance, with the odds of finishing the month above $3,600 falling 14% to 36%. 

The probability of Ether trading above $3,800 in January is just 16%.