The post Crypto tokens down 79% in year-long bear market, Pantera eyes 2026 rebound appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

The cryptocurrency market’s troubles run deeper than many investors realize. Most digital tokens have been stuck in a severe downturn that started over a year ago, according to venture capital firm Pantera Capital. In its 2026 outlook, the firm shows that tokens outside of bitcoin have been falling steadily since December 2024. Poor value retention, declining network activity, and reduced retail investor interest have all weighed on prices. Market plunge triggers capitulation-level selling Pantera says the total market value of cryptocurrencies, excluding bitcoin, ethereum, and stablecoins, plunged roughly 44% from its high point in late 2024 through year-end 2025. That sharp drop pushed investor sentiment and borrowing to levels typically seen during capitulation phases, when desperate holders sell off their positions to avoid bigger losses. Bitcoin managed to end last year with only a small decline. But the rest of the market? It faced a prolonged and continuing slide. The performance gap was stark. Bitcoin closed 2025 down about 6%, ethereum fell around 11%, and SOL dropped 34%. The wider group of tokens, not counting BTC, ETH, and SOL, tumbled nearly 60%. The typical token lost approximately 79% of its value. Pantera called 2025 an unusually concentrated market where very few tokens posted gains. Market fundamentals weren’t really driving things, the firm noted. Instead, policy changes, tariff concerns, and shifting risk tolerance drove wild price swings throughout the year. October brought a massive wave of forced selling that wiped out over $20 billion in positions, bigger than the Terra/Luna and FTX crashes. Structural problems compound token weakness There are deeper problems too. Pantera pointed to ongoing uncertainty about how tokens create value. Governance tokens frequently lack clear legal rights to cash flows and leftover value that stock shareholders typically receive. That situation helped digital asset stocks perform better than tokens…

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Filed under: News - @ January 23, 2026 11:28 am