The number of crypto market participants predicting that Bitcoin will surge to fresh all-time highs has declined, a trend crypto analytics platform Santiment views as a constructive sign.
“Calls for Bitcoin to hit $150K to $200K, and even $50K to $100K, are drying up,” Santiment said in a report Friday.
According to the firm, the cooling of FOMO-driven narratives and flashy “Lambo” talk reflects a healthier market environment, suggesting that retail optimism is fading rather than overheating.
Bitcoin sentiment shifts to ‘neutral’
High-profile Bitcoin (BTC) supporters such as Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, and Tom Lee, chair of BitMine, had publicly projected prices as high as $250,000 in 2025.
Instead, Bitcoin peaked at $126,100 in October before entering a downtrend, eventually closing the year below its starting level.
The slide carried into the new year, with Bitcoin falling to around $60,000 on Feb. 6 before rebounding to approximately $67,847 at the time of publication, according to CoinMarketCap.
Santiment said its sentiment tracker — which measures the ratio of bullish to bearish social media commentary — has improved from “extreme bearishness” to “neutral territory.”
However, the firm noted that neutral sentiment can complicate trading decisions, as the absence of strong emotion often reduces the clarity of signals. “Better to avoid trading in these scenarios or at least discount the significance of sentiment metrics in your analysis,” Santiment said.
Meanwhile, other measures indicate that crypto investors remain uneasy.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which tracks overall market sentiment, remained in “Extreme Fear” territory on Saturday with a score of 8, signaling heightened caution among participants.
At the same time, Santiment warned that on-chain activity is “flashing warning signs.” The firm noted that transaction volume, active addresses and overall network growth are all trending downward.
“These utility indicators suggest the network is being used less frequently. While not immediately bearish, this dormancy implies traders are sitting on their hands,” Santiment said, adding that a genuine market expansion would typically be accompanied by rising user participation.
