Editorial Year-End Reflection | What did we gain in 2025? What are we looking forward to in 2026?

Reflecting at the intersection of 2025 and 2026, every legal change, token fluctuation, and narrative rise and fall in the crypto space has become a silent epic etched into practitioners’ memories. Over the past year, the industry has been navigating through extremes: digital asset custody institutions continuously emerging, key legislation being enacted; meanwhile, project failures and shattered narratives have repeatedly played out. Some see new growth amid the ruins, while others exhaust their last faith in speculative waves. As 2026 approaches, it may be a year of silent accumulation. The industry needs to rediscover its initial purpose, gather strength in calmness, and wait for the next breakthrough.

At the end of 2025, we asked all editors and reporters of Foresight News four questions: 1. Looking back at 2025, what have you gained and what regrets do you have? How does this compare to your predictions for 2025? 2. As 2025 draws to a close, what is the biggest change you’ve observed in the crypto world? 3. In the coming year, which crypto tracks and targets do you favor most? 4. Predict: will Ethereum outperform Bitcoin in 2026? What will be the highest prices for Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2026?

Additionally, Foresight News editors and reporters disclosed their own cryptocurrency holdings (for public disclosure only, not investment advice).

Gains and Regrets

Looking back at 2025, what have you gained and what regrets do you have? How does this compare to your predictions for 2025?

Joe Zhou: Cryptocurrency is a very abstract concept. Who really needs it? The biggest gain this year might be traveling to over ten countries and gradually seeing which individuals, groups, and nations truly require cryptocurrencies.

The biggest regret is that the entire crypto industry didn’t see any groundbreaking innovations that broke out of the crypto circle this year. However, sectors like Hyperliquid’s decentralized derivatives, RWA projects like Ondo (especially in stock tokenization), and x402 still seed hope for the industry’s future. Narratives like Polymarket, which had been abandoned by the industry long ago, have become hot again in recent years. This might also mean that temporarily discredited sectors like NFTs and decentralized stablecoins could re-emerge someday.

I predicted Bitcoin would peak at $160,000 this year, but it ultimately didn’t break $130,000. The AI Agent sector didn’t see qualitative changes over the year, and the altcoin market remains sluggish.

Nicky: The most obvious feature of 2025 is “speed.” Most tokens’ rally periods last only a month or even just a day or two. You must get in early; otherwise, you’ll miss out. On October 6, after CZ commented “Binance life” in the comments, the token market cap rose to $6 million. I thought it might be another wave, so I didn’t think much. But by October 8, it surged to $500 million—almost 100 times higher. If you chased the hype out of FOMO, you’d likely lose big. Contrary to the “long-term value” narrative I predicted for 2025, narratives may be long-lasting, but prices probably won’t.

KarenZ: Even for fundamentally strong projects, market surprises can be overwhelming. Without timely profit-taking, you’ll give back to the market. Usually, staggered profit-taking is the key to survival. An unexpected joy was a Meme coin on BNB Chain, bought when its market cap was a few hundred thousand dollars, then doubled when it reached 5 million and 10 million. Although this Meme coin later went to zero, it reinforced my belief that taking profits is the greatest respect for trading. Also, in the face of uncertainty, reducing trading frequency is essential for survival; preserving profits is harder than finding opportunities.

Sanqing: Riding on narratives and losing to emotions. Early in the year, the airdrop of RWA blockchain Plume was the biggest alpha. Long-term participation in RealtyX’s real estate tokenization also yielded high returns a few times. Predictions like the League of Legends series on Polymarket were profitable. Other gains came from scattered meme, ICO, and Farcaster ecosystem projects. The regret is not learning to lock in profits during rallies; I didn’t sell much at Plume’s peak, kept buying as it fell, and got stuck. ETH didn’t see active buying around $2,000 in the first half. I missed many opportunities, but one can’t earn in all aspects, and talking too much might seem greedy.

Yobo: I followed my plan to “sell all BNB holdings at 1200,” completing three-quarters of it, but kept some “dream” holdings. It proved that strict adherence to the trading plan is better. The good news is that most of the plan was executed, earning some gains; the bad news is that human nature’s “drag” caused me to miss more opportunities.

Eric: The biggest gain in 2025 was letting go of the obsession with “making money.” The regret was not waking up earlier. The saying “wealth doesn’t come from impatience” is now very true. Perhaps after being in the industry so long, I’ve seen too many overnight riches stories that disturbed my youthful mindset. After 30, I started believing everyone has their own destiny, and I no longer chase profits just for the sake of it. I devote more time to family and friends, treat content creation as a lifelong career—if successful, thank the heavens; if not, accept it. Compared to previous predictions, I anticipated a downturn, but the market’s resilience was stronger than expected.

Chandler: The biggest change is the reduction of fantasies about overnight riches. Making money has a ceiling; contentment does not. Life is far more interesting than investing.

angelilu: I saw opportunities but didn’t act decisively. Discovered some quality meme projects early but hesitated, doubted, or mismanaged positions, so I didn’t go all-in. Even with some early investments, I didn’t take profits timely, giving back gains to the market. Another regret is not creating more tangible value for the industry and community.

Anderson Sima: From a personal perspective, 2025 was about accumulating substantial trading and interaction experience. Many hot topics finally involved me as a participant rather than an observer, such as Trump memes. But I missed out on more hot topics like Plasma and Aster. Slight regrets include hesitating on some opportunities or not having enough awareness and vision when participating. Overall, it met my expectations, and I look forward to continued growth. I predicted AI + Web3 wouldn’t become a hot trend this year, but the year-end large model trading competition was impressive.

Luffy: No major gains; the regret is buying many Ethereum ecosystem altcoins that ended up at a loss.

1912212.eth: I learned harsh lessons and have many regrets. I predicted more wealth effects in 2025, but instead saw endless PvP. The biggest regret is missing giggle, which wasn’t an official meme coin but had a great concept inspired by CZ’s education. I hesitated to buy, then it surged after Binance Alpha, and I thought it wouldn’t rise much further. I bought spot, and it surged again—missed out.

Major Changes in the Crypto Industry

As 2025 ends, what do you see as the biggest change in the crypto world?

Sanqing: This year, traditional finance and regulatory forces flooded into crypto, but returns didn’t outperform traditional assets. More RWA and ETF projects became compliant, more crypto companies IPOed, and MiCA regulation fully took effect. But as crypto markets further integrate with traditional finance, price volatility is increasingly influenced by Fed rates, inflation, and global liquidity. Under high interest rates and economic slowdown, crypto didn’t erupt as it did in previous cycles.

It was also a year where airdrop methods gradually failed. “Mining” models faltered due to large-scale “whale” attacks and fake social tasks like “mouth mining.” Some distributions were intercepted by centralized exchanges through various mechanisms, shifting from community contribution-based logic to capital and traffic. To avoid massive sell-offs from zero-cost chips, projects reverted to ICOs or pre-sales to raise funds early and set baseline prices.

Joe Zhou: On-chainization and compliance are advancing rapidly. 1) On-chainization is spreading across the industry. Driven by Hyperliquid, Solana, Binance, OKX, top companies are pushing their organizational on-chain processes. The industry is transforming quickly. 2) Crypto compliance has become a consensus among major countries. Nine of the top ten economies have regulated stablecoins. The global adoption of stablecoins is one aspect; more importantly, the US is actively promoting full on-chain finance domestically. The US aims to lead the world into a crypto-powered financial era, though the altcoin market hasn’t reflected this yet.

Anderson Sima: 2025 in crypto shows a “double-edged sword” scene. Externally, global adoption continues to rise, with regulation and innovation advancing under US influence, attracting funds from Wall Street and the Middle East. Internally, after four years, no new DeFi or NFT-level innovations have emerged. Current focus on RWA, prediction markets, stablecoins, and payments can’t solve underlying regulatory and large-scale application issues. So, crypto is starting to be seen as a huge casino. This reveals the core reason why crypto was historically not accepted by sovereign states: fulfilling some people’s wealth dreams. But I believe the truth isn’t all there is; the industry is controlled by top financial institutions now, but its future lies in the hands of Satoshi and Vitalik. I continue to wait for the crypto “ChatGPT” moment.

1912212.eth: More bad actors are harvesting market liquidity shamelessly and without punishment. The 1011 crash caused huge negative impacts. Bitcoin remains Bitcoin, but most altcoins probably won’t regain market favor.

KarenZ: Exchanges are evolving into “super app” ecosystems, including spot, derivatives, wallets, DeFi, new listings, and tokenized stocks. Major players like Stripe, Mastercard, Ripple are competing in stablecoin infrastructure. Regulatory frameworks in some countries are becoming clearer. Small and medium projects face shrinking survival space. Hot sectors come and go quickly.

Nicky: Bitcoin hit a new all-time high in 2025, with many new DAT companies emerging, even presidents posting memes! The passage of compliance standards like the GENIUS Act will facilitate moving off-balance-sheet assets onto the balance sheet, aiding in balance sheet repair. All this is happening now, and we are witnessing history.

Luffy: The biggest change is that even though Bitcoin hit a new high this year, it still underperformed compared to gold, US stocks, and even A-shares. Our previous belief that crypto was an alpha asset might need to change.

Eric: The biggest change is that retail investors are waking up—they won’t blindly believe vague narratives anymore. This is good for industry development but also means a period of pain as the old era ends and a new system isn’t fully built yet. However, this also means rational value investing opportunities are approaching.

Chandler: Chaos, fragmentation, rapid rotation, emotional swings, gambling.

angelilu: Institutional buying of Bitcoin ETFs has indeed pushed prices up but also made the market more like stocks. Polymarket and Web3 AI agents seem somewhat useful in reality. Retail FOMO modes are being reshaped; projects are focusing on how to generate alpha. The myth of making 10x or 100x profits on-chain is fading.

Yobo: No change. The early stage of highly financial industries keeps replaying familiar stories in new forms. Ultimately, it all circles back to core financial elements.

Most Favored Tracks or Targets in 2026

In the coming year, which crypto tracks and targets do you favor most?

1912212.eth: Crypto + AI robots and prediction markets.

KarenZ: RWA, payments, Crypto & AI robots (like Yu Shu Technology listed?), and mining companies focusing on AI and high-performance computing.

Nicky: Creator economy, prediction markets.

Luffy: Stablecoins and prediction markets. Stablecoins remain the largest use case for crypto, with further adoption in traditional sectors; prediction markets will continue to hype before Polymarket’s token launch.

Eric: The most promising tracks are those not yet visible, but I don’t know which exactly.

Chandler: Practical applications of stablecoins and emerging AI integrations.

angelilu: Prediction markets, AI agents, and crypto payments.

Joe Zhou: Stablecoins, RWA, prediction markets, DEX, DePIN.

Yobo: Leading DeFi projects (Aave, Pendle), Bitcoin, top exchange platform tokens, long-term choices spanning cycles, including planned dips.

Anderson Sima: Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB.

Sanqing: Prediction markets focus on information aggregation and risk hedging, seen as future financial infrastructure. Polymarket’s IPO and token issuance are worth watching; RWA will grow with compliance, but token prices may lag. Ethereum’s ongoing upgrades strengthen its financial infrastructure role; the current market environment is different. Perp DEX faces competition from centralized exchanges on security, efficiency, rapid iteration, and user migration costs, and is more vulnerable to front-end compliance and AML regulation pressures.

2026 Expectations for Bitcoin and Ethereum

Predict: Will Ethereum outperform Bitcoin in 2026? What will be the highest prices for Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2026?

1912212.eth: No. Ethereum won’t beat Bitcoin. Bitcoin might reach $103,000, ETH at $4,000.

KarenZ: Yes. Ethereum may outperform Bitcoin in 2026.

Nicky: Yes. Ethereum could outperform Bitcoin, with Bitcoin at $175,000 and ETH at $10,000.

Sanqing: Yes. Ethereum’s productivity and usability will surpass Bitcoin’s scarcity. ETH at $7,000, BTC at $150,000.

Luffy: No. Market expectations are poor; in a bear market, ETH will likely underperform Bitcoin. Optimistically, BTC could reach $120,000 and ETH $4,000.

Eric: No. Expect a decline; specific levels are unpredictable. I predict ETH will outperform BTC in the next cycle, but not next year.

Chandler: No. Not optimistic about 2026; BTC at $100,000, ETH at $4,100.

angelilu: Yes. If application layers take off, ETH might have a chance; BTC at $120,000–$150,000, ETH at $5,000.

Joe Zhou: Yes. I bet on Polymarket that ETH will reach $5,000 before gold, as a hopeful wish.

Yobo: No. Long-term, ETH’s price will stay relatively stable, which might be good for applications. BTC may dip again in spring; 2026 will focus on bottoming and sentiment recovery, roughly between $75,000–$105,000, with highs early in the year and lows around March/April, then stabilizing. ETH’s price won’t be predictable.

Anderson Sima: No. Both will be roughly equal; BTC at $150,000, ETH at $5,000.

Holdings Disclosure

1912212.eth: USDT

KarenZ: USDT, ETH, ENA, Aster

Nicky: USDT

Sanqing: Plume, MON, OKB, MNT, ETH options

Luffy: BTC, BNB

Chandler: USDT, BTC

angelilu: BTC, ETH, USDT

Yobo: BTC, BNB, PENDLE, CRV, SUI, APT

Joe Zhou: BTC, ETH, HSK, JESSE

Anderson Sima: BTC, ETH

Eric: None