Against the backdrop of strong pressure on the U.S. bond market, more and more crypto investors are wondering if they have missed the opportunity to get in. According to a latest report released by market maker Wintermute, the answer is clear: it's not too late to buy now, as the global bull market trend for digital assets is still in the early stages of this cycle.
However, Wintermute also indicates that in the short term, investors holding mainstream coins such as NEAR and XRP should be prepared for a temporary lull, as the current wave of counterfeit coin price increases, which has lasted for three months, has entered a more mature stage.
As of October 2026, Bitcoin ( BTC ) rose by 2.4% for the week, reaching $86,100, indicating that this flagship asset still has significant upside potential. The main achievement for buyers was holding the $82,500 level, which has now transformed into a support level. The next target range is between $90,000 and $95,000; earlier this year, retail investors' bullish positions faced strong profit-taking pressure in this range.
However, reports indicate that the factors driving the further rise of BTC are no longer unique to the crypto industry, but rather are related to the traditional market environment. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds has risen to 5.35%, and the yield on 30-year Treasury bonds has reached 5.6%, both reaching their highest levels since 2008.
As the correlation between Bitcoin and the S&P 500 index increases, a decline in the stock market could pose a hidden macroeconomic risk to the crypto market.
Why is the pause between XRP and NEAR actually good news for the market?
For those investors who think it's too late to adjust their positions now, with layouts like NEAR, XRP, ARB, or ZEC, the current market is sending an important signal: the altcoin index has fallen by 1.1%, marking its first weekly decline since early August.
Reports indicate that in the past 14 days, projects with strong fundamentals have mostly been consolidating, while tokens with low market value and low quality have begun to experience dangerous surges. Funds have started to flow towards those lagging second-tier assets, simply because they had not yet risen before.
Wintermute emphasizes that the current local market trend seems to be nearing its end. Buying low-quality tokens at this stage is a common trap for latecomers. In contrast, the pauses in NEAR and XRP represent healthy consolidation. In terms of the long-term trend structure, this fully supports the view that "this bull market cycle has just begun."
Wintermute Analysts assess market maturity by tracking the changes in the top 250 largest cryptocurrencies; within this range, new technology-based projects are replacing the established leaders of the past few years.
Reports indicate that after DePIN and AI laid the foundation in 2024, followed by further expansion under the leadership of AI at the beginning of 2025, October 2026 showed signs of steady growth in market value. This pattern aligns with previous years, suggesting that altcoins have a full opportunity to establish themselves as mature blue-chip assets in this cycle.
Wintermute believes that the market is just waiting for November 3rd to arrive, when the U.S. mid-term elections will reduce the uncertainty surrounding U.S. Treasury bonds and clear the way for the market to reach new highs.
Source Note
The content of this article is based on the paraphrase and presentation of the report from U.Today to Wintermute. The relevant judgments and viewpoints are attributed to Wintermute and the analyses cited in the text.
