Entering 2026, Bitcoin broke the holiday silence with a powerful surge—breaking through $91,000, while Ethereum also stabilized at the $3,150 level. It looks like a rally triggered by some positive news, but the truth is much more complex. This wave of gains resulted from a combination of liquidity re-entering the market, explosive leverage liquidations, and multiple geopolitical resonances. Although there are still dissenting voices in the market, data and structural signals tell an interesting story: a silent bull market may be brewing.

If we consider what drives this rally, it all starts with liquidity. After the end of holidays in Europe and America, large sums of capital returned to exchanges, breaking the quiet period from Christmas to New Year. Bitcoin repeatedly broke through key levels at $88,000 and $89,000, finally stabilizing above $90,000. Throughout this process, the futures market experienced a bloodbath-level liquidation: within 24 hours, global crypto futures liquidations reached as high as $180 million, with forced liquidations of shorts accounting for 74%, roughly $133 million.

Interestingly, traders who bet on a pullback were forced to cover their positions, which in turn fueled this rally. In a market with insufficient liquidity, seemingly modest spot buy orders can leverage technical breakouts. The most notable aspect of this rally is that not only did trading volume gently expand, but mainstream altcoins like Solana and Cardano also followed the upward trend, indicating an improvement in market breadth. Compared to the downtrend in December 2025 with no volume, the current breakout is built on a much more solid foundation. From a technical perspective, Bitcoin’s daily RSI has moved out of oversold territory, the MACD shows signs of a green histogram rebound, and the weekly moving average structure is turning positive.