{"id":8368,"date":"2026-04-14T06:29:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:29:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:29:42","slug":"crypto-winter-bites-as-new-narratives-drive-surprise-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368","title":{"rendered":"Crypto Winter Bites as New Narratives Drive Surprise Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
    \n
  • A new report from crypto exchange Swyftx has confirmed what most investors have suspected: crypto is currently in a deep bear market.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Despite the market slump, the report identified a few bright spots including the continued growth of the on-chain perpetuals market and strong progress on infrastructure, institutional engagement and regulation.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The report identified macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical uncertainty as contributing to the bear market, highlighting a weakening jobs market and rising household debt in the US.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    A new report from Australian crypto exchange Swyftx has confirmed what most investors already suspected \u2014 crypto is indeed in a bear market.<\/p>\n

    Swyftx\u2019s third end-of-quarter overview noted that since the start of 2026, the Bitcoin market cap has fallen 25%, while other major cryptocurrencies have fared even worse. Ethereum is down 27% and Solana down 33%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The overall crypto market cap dropped 22% through Q1 and is down over 40% since Q3 of 2025. Not great numbers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Given these substantial drawdowns, coupled with other indicators such as the Bitcoin fear and greed index, which hit the lowest point in its history during Q1 of 2026, Swyftx is now confident the crypto market is well and truly in a bear market, if not a full-blown crypto winter.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    At this point, it\u2019s difficult to deny crypto is staring at a bear market.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n Swyftx Q1 2026 End of Quarter Report <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    The report suggests that the bear market may have actually begun way back on October 10, 2025, when an enormous cascading liquidation event saw US$20 billion (AU$28b) wiped off crypto\u2019s overall market cap in under 24 hours. For altcoins outside the top 10 by market cap though, the bad times stretch back much further \u2014 this market sector has been in a long-term down trend since late 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Related: Michael Saylor Signals More Bitcoin Buys as Prices Pull Back From Local Highs Above $73K<\/strong><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s Not all Doom and Gloom\u00a0<\/h2>\n

    One bright spot identified by the report is the continued strong performance of on-chain perpetuals markets such as Hyperliquid (HYPE). Swyftx said that throughout Q1, HYPE had seen growth of about 50%, with around two-thirds of trading volume being in oil and precious metals perpetuals, reflecting the volatile geopolitical climate throughout this period.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The report points to the fact that weekend volume in particular has surged on Hyperliquid \u2014 increasing over 900% through Q1 \u2014 as traders look to trade commodities in response to weekend events while traditional markets are closed.<\/p>\n

    The report notes that despite the poor price performance and depressed market sentiment in Q1, crypto is continuing to build important infrastructure, particularly at the institutional level, and regulation continues to progress.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    Although bearish price action dominated the past quarter, the industry\u2019s \u2018build phase\u2019 remained decoupled from the charts.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n Pav Hundal, Swyftx lead analyst <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    \u201cProgress continued in the halls of government, refining the infrastructure and regulatory rails required to scale. The crypto ecosystem continues to gear up for adoption \u2013 time will tell just how far the pendulum swings toward an on-chain global economy,\u201d Hundal said.<\/p>\n

    What\u2019s Behind This Bear Market?<\/h2>\n

    According to Hundal, much of crypto\u2019s recent performance can be explained by the state of the US economy.<\/p>\n

    Hundal argued that factors like a weakening jobs market, rising inflation and increasing household debt in the US are putting the squeeze on consumers, causing sentiment to plummet and reducing the amount of money floating around for people to spend on non-necessities like crypto investments.<\/p>\n

    \u201cRising household debt, paired with consumer sentiment hovering around its lowest point since the inflation crisis of 2022, does not equal a recipe for excitement in risk-on assets like crypto,\u201d Hundal explained.<\/p>\n

    \"\"\"\"
    Consumer sentiment measured against household debt and total crypto market cap. Source:<\/em>Swyftx Q1 2026 End of Quarter Report<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Looking ahead at what Q2 2026 might bring, expert trader David Bird (aka ASX Trader) suggested the coming quarter is likely to remain tough for crypto, with all risk-on assets struggling amid the precarious broader economic and geopolitical climate.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt appears the macro backdrop remains in control of crypto and risk asset narratives. This is an environment where playing defence may be prudent,\u201d Bird wrote.<\/p>\n

    Related:Bitcoin Holds Firm Despite $271M Sell-Off From Long-Term Whales<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Bird suggested pivoting into defensive assets, such as precious metals, materials, energy and utilities, might be a good option in the short to medium term. However, he doesn\u2019t suggest crypto is dead or dying, simply that we\u2019re at a point in the cycle where lower-risk assets may provide better returns.<\/p>\n

    \u201cCrypto will have its time again. These cycles don\u2019t disappear \u2014 they just shift, and the key is being patient enough to wait for the right phase. Right now doesn\u2019t appear to be that phase.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

    Cryptocurrency,Market Analysis,Swyftx#Crypto #Winter #Bites #Narratives #Drive #Surprise #Winners1776148182<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A new report from crypto exchange Swyftx has confirmed what most investors have suspected: crypto is currently in a deep bear market. Despite the market slump, the report identified a few bright spots including the continued growth of the on-chain perpetuals market and strong progress on infrastructure, institutional engagement and regulation. The report identified macroeconomic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[331,62,2560,4000,953,284,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-8368","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bitcoin","8":"tag-bites","9":"tag-crypto","10":"tag-drive","11":"tag-narratives","12":"tag-surprise","13":"tag-winners","14":"tag-winter"},"yoast_head":"\nCrypto Winter Bites as New Narratives Drive Surprise Winners - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crypto Winter Bites as New Narratives Drive Surprise Winners\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new report from crypto exchange Swyftx has confirmed what most investors have suspected: crypto is currently in a deep bear market. Despite the market slump, the report identified a few bright spots including the continued growth of the on-chain perpetuals market and strong progress on infrastructure, institutional engagement and regulation. The report identified macroeconomic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-14T06:29:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.cryptonews.com.au\/2023\/09\/28131019\/Pav-Hundal.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u884c\u653f\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u884c\u653f\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368\",\"name\":\"Crypto Winter Bites as New Narratives Drive Surprise Winners - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Social-media-thumbnail.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-14T06:29:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/822778c5844e0d16d43dce6630f4f1bf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Social-media-thumbnail.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Social-media-thumbnail.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Crypto Winter Bites as New Narratives Drive Surprise Winners\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/\",\"name\":\"Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis\",\"description\":\"Latest Crypto & Bitcoin News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/822778c5844e0d16d43dce6630f4f1bf\",\"name\":\"\u884c\u653f\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4c2d23409b09e004cef3facbe677e95c5401f9e29680f3a311e0130c5748089?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4c2d23409b09e004cef3facbe677e95c5401f9e29680f3a311e0130c5748089?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"\u884c\u653f\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/demo3.aiwalls.com\/coinbase\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Crypto Winter Bites as New Narratives Drive Surprise Winners - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Crypto Winter Bites as New Narratives Drive Surprise Winners","og_description":"A new report from crypto exchange Swyftx has confirmed what most investors have suspected: crypto is currently in a deep bear market. Despite the market slump, the report identified a few bright spots including the continued growth of the on-chain perpetuals market and strong progress on infrastructure, institutional engagement and regulation. The report identified macroeconomic","og_url":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368","og_site_name":"Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis","article_published_time":"2026-04-14T06:29:42+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.cryptonews.com.au\/2023\/09\/28131019\/Pav-Hundal.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"\u884c\u653f","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"\u884c\u653f","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368","url":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368","name":"Crypto Winter Bites as New Narratives Drive Surprise Winners - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Social-media-thumbnail.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-14T06:29:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/822778c5844e0d16d43dce6630f4f1bf"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Social-media-thumbnail.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Social-media-thumbnail.jpg","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=8368#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Crypto Winter Bites as New Narratives Drive Surprise Winners"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/","name":"Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis","description":"Latest Crypto & Bitcoin News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/822778c5844e0d16d43dce6630f4f1bf","name":"\u884c\u653f","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4c2d23409b09e004cef3facbe677e95c5401f9e29680f3a311e0130c5748089?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4c2d23409b09e004cef3facbe677e95c5401f9e29680f3a311e0130c5748089?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"\u884c\u653f"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/demo3.aiwalls.com\/coinbase"],"url":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}