Zach Prince said that extreme bearish mood in the second half of 2025 could trigger Bitcoin’s next big move.
Even as retail interest wanes, financial institutions are still building quietly behind the scenes.
Prince predicts that Bitcoin will reach an all-time high in 2026 as circulation and adoption increases.
Zach Prince, former CEO of BlockFi and current head of Galaxy One, believes Bitcoin will hit a new all-time high in 2026. In a recent chat with Milkroad’s John Gillen, Prince pointed out that heavy bearish sentiment in the second half of 2025 is a sign that things are getting better.
“At the beginning of almost every year, I predict that Bitcoin will hit a new all-time high, and there is a pretty high probability that it will.” he said.
Prince described Bitcoin as a combination of store of value and venture capital-style betting. He added that he follows a simple approach of setting an allocation and sticking to it, rather than trading based on emotion.
Bearish sentiment usually precedes an upswing
The overall impression of the second half of 2025 is very bearish. But Prince sees that as a good thing, not a bad thing.
“Whenever you start to see that emotion…that could be the beginning of a signal that…it’s about to break.” he explained.
He said he would be “more surprised” to see another tough year than a good one, given how low sentiment has already been.
Retail is boring, but institutions continue to evolve
Prince noted that despite the shift in focus from retailers, institutions are still expanding their crypto infrastructure behind the scenes. Many traditional channels such as wealth advisors and major platforms are still slowly rolling out access to cryptocurrencies.
He predicts that retail could reawaken once bonus season arrives, Bitcoin breaks above key price levels, and new institutional products begin to be launched.
What could drive Bitcoin higher in 2026
Prince cited factors for the year ahead, including the expansion of ETF distribution, younger generations inheriting wealth and preferring app-based finance, and a possible loosening of the Fed’s policy environment.
“Older people will die and their money will be passed on to younger people.” he pointed out.
He also expects stablecoin adoption to continue to increase, more crypto ETFs to be launched, and experimentation with tokenized real-world assets to continue.
If the shift in sentiment plays out as Prince predicts, the retail industry could be left behind once again.
