Real Vision CEO predicts the end of the current cryptocurrency cycle in 2026

What’s new? According to Raoul Pal, the CEO of crypto research platform Real Vision, the current crypto market is repeating the situation of 2017, when bitcoin showed steady growth throughout the year and then rose sharply in December.

Source: X.com

What else is known? According to crypto market data aggregator CoinMarketCap, the bitcoin price was around $1044 at the beginning of 2017, reached $2187 by May 31, and ended the year at $14 156, a 1256% increase from the price at the beginning of the year.

This time around, however, Pal suggests that the weakening dollar may indicate that the current cryptocurrency cycle is far from peaking.

According to his prediction, the current crypto cycle will last until Q2 2026.

Since January 1, the Dollar Index (DXY) has declined 8,99% to 98,77, according to TradingView. Bitcoin and the DXY have an inverse correlation.

When the dollar weakens, BTC becomes more attractive not only as a speculative investment but also as an alternative currency.

Pal believes that macroeconomic data has been the main catalyst for the slowdown in the cryptocurrency cycle:

“It’s like the whole cycle got shifted cause rates didn’t get adjusted; the dollar was sideways for a period of time,” he said.

He also said that current market conditions may look more like 2020 than 2021. Because of this, the market may be in an earlier growth phase than many people assume.

Bitcoin started 2020 at $7174, but fell 27% to $5227 by March. It then jumped 129% to $11 990 in August, eventually ending the year at $28 993, up 304% from the beginning of the year.

Pal said the market must continue to attract big players if it is to continue to expand. He talked about his recent trip to the Middle East, where he met with sovereign wealth fund representatives, and said most of them were optimistic about cryptocurrencies:

“The mandate across the entire region, from Saudi to Abu Dhabi to Dubai to Bahrain to Qatar, is AI and blockchain. Not just using Bitcoin as a reserve asset but also building the entire government infrastructure on blockchain,” he added.