Santiment: Retail sentiment has started the year positively; if Bitcoin quickly rises to $92,000, it may trigger FOMO

The analysts at the blockchain analysis platform Santiment pointed out that cryptocurrency market participants showed strong sentiment on social media at the beginning of the year, but simultaneously warned that whether the market can move further upward depends on whether retail investors can remain rational.

"We need retail investors to maintain a certain level of caution, a certain level of pessimism, and a certain level of impatience," Santiment analyst Brian Quinlivan said in a YouTube video released on Saturday. Although other crypto sentiment indicators show that market participants are experiencing fear, Quinlivan stated that Santiment's social media data points in the opposite direction. "Current sentiment is very positive," he said, "which is usually somewhat concerning, but this time it may just be a normal rebound after the holiday return."

Quinlivan expressed that he is not overly worried about "a surge of FOMO sentiment," but added that if Bitcoin quickly rises to $92,000, such sentiment could flood the market. When market excitement is too high, the cryptocurrency 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 in funds because of 'Bitcoin going up,' that would be a negative signal." Despite January's historical strong performance, the crypto market still faces fear signals. Retail euphoria in the cryptocurrency market often occurs near historical highs or cycle peaks, and historical data shows that the market often declines afterward.