Wintermute Predicts Early Bull Cycle for Crypto Market
Crypto market maker Wintermute believes the current bull cycle is still in its early stages despite recent stagnation in altcoins like NEAR, XRP, and ARB.
- Wintermute identifies the crypto bull cycle as being in its early stages.
- Altcoins like NEAR, XRP, and ARB have recently shown signs of stagnation.
- NEAR's Total Value Locked (TVL) has decreased by 3.0% over the past week.
Wintermute, a prominent crypto market maker, has stated that the current bull cycle in the cryptocurrency market is still in its early stages. This perspective comes amidst a period of stagnation for several leading altcoins, including NEAR, 
XRP, and ARB. The market maker suggests that this stagnation does not indicate a broader market downturn but rather a temporary phase within the ongoing bull cycle.
The analysis by Wintermute gains relevance in the context of current market data. The total crypto market cap stands at $2.98 trillion, with the overall market showing a relatively flat trend. 
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, has experienced a slight decline of 0.45% over the past 24 hours but remains up by 2.40% over the last week. Meanwhile, XRP and NEAR have seen more pronounced dips, with XRP down 0.86% in the last day and NEAR dropping 2.86%.
NEAR Protocol's Total Value Locked (TVL) currently sits at $137.01 million, reflecting a 3.0% decrease over the past week, according to DeFiLlama. This decline in TVL may be indicative of the broader stagnation observed in altcoins, as noted by Wintermute.
The broader market sentiment, as measured by the Fear & Greed Index, remains in 'Greed' territory at 73, suggesting a positive outlook despite the recent stagnation. This context supports Wintermute's view that the market is still in the early stages of a bull cycle.
The implications of Wintermute's assessment are significant for investors and traders. If the bull cycle is indeed in its early stages, as suggested, it could mean that the current stagnation in altcoins is a temporary phase, and further growth may be on the horizon. However, market participants should remain cautious and closely monitor developments in the crypto space.
At today's peer-to-peer rate, 1 BTC ≈ ₦117.01M (about $85,529.00), down 0.3% over 24 hours. The naira itself trades about 2.8% above the official rate on the P2P market, so a Nigerian buyer's effective cost differs from the headline dollar price.
Live market data
Current prices for the assets in this story — live, source-stamped, updated every 15 minutes.
Figures and sectors in this story, checked live against on-chain aggregators · October 6, 2026.
TLT reads these figures directly from on-chain aggregators (DeFiLlama, mempool.space) at build time — independent of what any outlet reported. Sector totals aggregate every protocol DeFiLlama tracks in that category. Values are live and will change.
Bitcoin — questions
How much is 1 Bitcoin worth in naira today?
About ₦117.01M at the live peer-to-peer (P2P) USDT rate, which is what Nigerians typically trade at — equivalent to roughly $85,529.00. The naira price moves with both BTC's US-dollar price and the USDT/NGN rate; use our Bitcoin in naira page for any amount.
Has Bitcoin's price moved since this brief was published?
BTC is down 0.06% since this brief first published — trading at $85,529.00 now versus $85,584.00 at publication. TLT re-checks this figure against CoinGecko and Binance every 15 minutes.
Which outlets reported this story?
This is an original TLT brief that synthesises reporting from U.Today. It is not a copy of any one article — follow the source links above for the original reporting.
Original summary — not financial advice. This is an original TLT brief that summarises a development reported elsewhere and adds live market data for context; it is not the original article and reproduces no part of it. Follow the source link above for full details. Crypto is volatile and high-risk — always do your own research.