The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is up 4.2% over the past 24 hours. The world's first and biggest crypto is currently trading for US$95,292. That gives Bitcoin a market cap of US$1.9 trillion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), the world's second biggest crypto, is outpacing those gains today. The Ethereum price is up 7.1% since this time yesterday, trading for US$3,329. This sees Ethereum commanding a market cap of US$402 billion.
As for the two top cryptos' performance 14 days into 2026, that title also goes to Ethereum.
On 31 December, Ethereum was trading for US$2,973, which now sees the number two crypto up 12% year to date in 2026.
The Bitcoin price has gained 7.9% over this same time, having closed out 2025 trading for US$88,321.
Image source: Getty Images
Ethereum and Bitcoin price still well below all-time highs
Despite the solid start to 2026, both top cryptos remain well down from the record highs they notched in 2025.
Ethereum traded at an all-time high of US$4,954 on 25 August last year. This leaves the Ethereum price down 32.8% from that high watermark.
The Bitcoin price notched its own record high of US$126,198 six weeks later, on 7 October. Bitcoin is currently trading 24.4% below that all-time high.
The sell-down from those record highs for both cryptos was partly driven by profit-taking following months of strong gains. The latter half of 2025 also saw investors begin to question the pace and depth of likely interest rate cuts from global central banks.
Much like tech and other growth stocks, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most non-stable coins have proven to be highly susceptible to interest rate moves. Most economists still expect at least one rate cut from the embattled US Federal Reserve in 2026, which could help support crypto prices.
Crypto waters are calming
Zerocap analyst Emir Ibrahim noted that the outsized moves crypto investors have historically experienced in the Bitcoin price have been smoothing out.
"For over a decade, Bitcoin's halving was a North Star for crypto investors," he said. "Things are a bit different as we move into 2026, however, and it has become clear that the rhythmic four-year boom-bust cycle is effectively broken."
According to Ibrahim
In previous cycles, we'd be bracing for a multi-year crypto winter right about now. Instead, we're seeing a market anchored by patient capital. It'd be hard to ignore that institutional participation has fundamentally changed the math on the asset class.
BTC ETFs alone now hold about US$140 billion, about 7% of total supply, and issuance has dropped below 1% annually.
Ibrahim concluded, "It's clear that BTC's volatility is no longer an outlier among other assets; it's on par with major high-growth tech stocks at the end of 2025."
