The cryptocurrency market has ignited a significant rally in early 2026, with Bitcoin leading the charge by reclaiming the $92,000 level and pushing past $93,000. According to CoinGecko data, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $92,383.87 at press time, marking a 0.98% daily gain and a 2.77% increase over the past week. The asset recorded a substantial $38.54 billion in 24-hour trading volume.
The rally is being attributed to coordinated, large-scale Bitcoin purchases by major entities. Market analyst DeFiTracer reported that over $3.5 billion worth of BTC was purchased within a ten-hour window. The reported buyers include a random whale (10,594 BTC), Binance (3,488 BTC), Coinbase (2,617 BTC), Bybit (3,112 BTC), and market maker Wintermute (1,439 BTC). These purchases sparked rapid price appreciation across both spot and derivatives markets.
Bitcoin's strength has spilled over into the broader altcoin and memecoin markets. Data from Crypto Bubbles shows the vast majority of digital assets trading in the green, with risk-on tokens like PEPE and BONK leading the sector's gains. This signals rising speculative activity and broader market participation.
Macro factors are also supporting bullish sentiment. Traders are positioning ahead of the U.S. jobs report scheduled for January 5th. Furthermore, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF flow data from SoSoValue (covering December 29 to January 2) showed total net inflows of $459 million. BlackRock's IBIT ETF led with $324 million in weekly inflows. In contrast, spot Ethereum ETFs saw net outflows of $161 million. The data also showed modest inflows into SOL ($10.43 million) and XRP ($43.16 million) spot ETFs.
Despite the bullish momentum, notable skeptic Peter Schiff, chief economist at Euro Pacific Capital, has dismissed the rally. Schiff claims Bitcoin's "mania is over" and pointed to overnight gains in precious metals as evidence of a historic shift away from crypto. Analyst Dave the Wave noted that Bitcoin's break above $93,000 validates a "higher low" market structure, but a push toward $100,000 is needed for bullish momentum to fully gain traction. Bitcoin remains approximately 27% below its all-time high.
