Crypto’s 2025 ‘whipsaw’ year drove capitulation as markets look toward a 2026 rebound, Pantera says

What looked like a choppy year for crypto in 2025 was, beneath the surface, a full-scale bear market for most tokens that began more than a year earlier, according to prominent venture capital firm Pantera Capital. In its 2026 outlook, the VC firm said that the non-bitcoin token market has been in a sustained downturn since December 2024. Total crypto market capitalization excluding bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and stablecoins dropped about 44% from its late-2024 peak through the end of 2025. The declin ...