Bitcoin has been sliding down from its historical high of $120,000, and the continuous net inflow of ETFs has also begun to slow down. The performance of various coins in the market has started to diverge, and the once-popular Meme coin craze is gradually cooling off. Interestingly, compared to the market movement at the end of 2021, this time there hasn't been a sudden policy crackdown, and aside from the sharp fall on the 10th of November, there haven't been any liquidity issues. However, you can still feel that the market atmosphere is a bit off.

If we see the cryptocurrency market in 2025 as a real value repricing process, then the question arises - will 2026 be better? This question is worth pondering. Perhaps we need to acknowledge that the cryptocurrency industry is undergoing a transformation, bidding farewell to the era of purely relying on one-sided surges, and gradually breaking away from the 'casino-like' narrative-driven approach.

**The identity of Bitcoin is quietly changing**

In the past year, Bitcoin's performance and market positioning have undergone a significant shift. After surpassing $120,000, the price began to adjust, and the volatility increased, leading to a cooling of market sentiment. Notably, the main players in this round of increase are no longer retail investors, but institutional funds behind ETFs. According to data, the average holding cost of the U.S. Bitcoin ETF is around $79,000 (as disclosed by CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr. last month), which many consider to be a key support level.

Looking at it from a different angle, Bitcoin's current trend increasingly resembles a highly volatile institutional asset – it possesses inflation-resistant properties similar to gold, while also exhibiting the fluctuations typical of tech stocks. This shift in identity precisely reflects the transition of the entire market from retail-driven to institutional participation.