Santiment Analyst Notes Strong Retail Sentiment as Bitcoin Eyes $92,000

According to ChainCatcher, analysts from blockchain analytics platform Santiment have noted that sentiment among cryptocurrency market participants on social media has been strong at the beginning of the year. However, they also warned that whether the market can continue to rise further depends on whether retail investors can remain rational. "We need retail investors to maintain a certain level of caution, a certain amount of pessimism, and a certain degree of impatience," said Santiment analyst Brian Quinlivan in a YouTube video posted on Saturday. While other crypto sentiment indicators show fear among market participants, Quinlivan said Santiment's social media data points in the opposite direction. "The current sentiment is very positive," he said, "which is usually somewhat concerning, but this time it might just be a normal rebound after the holidays." Quinlivan expressed no excessive concern about a surge in FOMO (fear of missing out) sentiment, but added that if Bitcoin rapidly rises to $92,000, such sentiment could flood the market. When market excitement is too high, the crypto market often moves in the opposite direction of what most people expect. Quinlivan pointed out that a rapid rise in Bitcoin's price to that level would reveal the "true reaction of retail investors": "If they start pouring money in because 'Bitcoin is going up,' that would be a negative signal." Despite January's historically strong performance, the crypto market still faces signals of fear. Retail investor euphoria in the crypto market often occurs near historical highs or cycle peaks, and historical data shows that the market often declines afterward.