- VanEck CEO Jan van Eck asserts Bitcoin is near its bottom, driven by the four-year halving cycle.
- He predicts a gradual recovery for Bitcoin in 2026, despite it being a typical bear market year in the cycle.
- Bitcoin’s price has risen to $68,400, with gains of 2.6% in 24 hours and 7.6% over the past week.
- Geopolitical tensions may be fueling Bitcoin’s appeal as a tool for moving funds outside traditional banking systems.
Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck, declared on Monday that Bitcoin is making a bottom, citing the winding down of its four-year cycle during a CNBC interview. He expects Bitcoin to gradually start picking up this year, arguing the halving cycle has been the primary price driver recently.
However, 2026 represents the fourth year of the cycle, which historically sees a significant downturn. “There’s been an investing cycle, Bitcoin goes up three years in a row, goes down pretty massively in that fourth year,” he explained.
Consequently, he believes the current bear market is cycle-driven and that a bottom is forming. Meanwhile, the relevance of the four-year cycle is hotly debated among crypto analysts.
Arguments against the cycle include macro demand from exchange-traded funds, the weakening USD, and positive regulatory developments. This debate arises amid broader market maturity and institutional adoption.
Bitcoin’s price is up 2.6% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $68,400, according to data from CoinGecko. It has also gained 7.6% over the past seven days.
This price pump coincides with growing geopolitical tensions after the United States and Israel initiated air strikes on Iran. Van Eck speculated that Bitcoin’s recent recovery may be partly sparked by the conflict.
He highlighted crypto payment rails as a key tool to move funds outside of banks in times of economic uncertainty. “So it could be that if we wanted to move money to good actors, we would wanna use crypto payment rails as opposed to going through decrepit Iranian banks that we don’t control,” he added.
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