Hunter Horsley, chief executive officer at Bitwise, has joined the choir of pundits who argue that the four-year cycle theory is essentially dead.

He has predicted that a massive bull run is going to take place next year.

"Everything is lining up for a massive 2026. It's stunning," he said.

A bear market?

"We will look back on 2025 and realize that it's been a bear market since February," Horsley said.

However, this "bear market" has been masked by the relentless bid from digital asset treasury (DAT) companies.

A new all-time high?

As reported by U.Today, Standard Chartered also recently stated that Bitcoin’s traditional four-year halving cycles are no longer a reliable predictor of price moves.

Historically, Bitcoin peaked about 18 months after each halving, but the bank argues that U.S. Bitcoin ETFs have substantially changed market dynamics.

To validate this new theory, Bitcoin would need to break its all-time high of $126,000. Standard Chartered expects it could happen in early 2026.

Several other analysts and market observers, Bernstein, are also on the same page.

Meanwhile, BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes has cited the changing global monetary conditions as the key reason why four-year crypto cycles are essentially dead.

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