Short excerpt from a YouTube video by Ben Simpson (uploaded January 17, 2026) discussing whether investors have 'missed the top' in crypto markets. He argues the answer is no, notes protective portfolio actions (selling some altcoins, taking profits on winners such as 'syrup'), cites that Bitcoin is down year-to-date and that 'altcoins on average are down 44%,' and emphasizes liquidity and rate-cut expectations as drivers of the current choppy, painful market period rather than the end of the cycle.
Questions this video answers
January 17, 2026
44%
Chapters
Number one question I continue to get right now is have I missed the top? Have I missed the boat again? The answer is no. Folks like I took profits on a couple of altcoin positions. You know, syrup was a big winner for me this year. But everything else, you know, Bitcoin is down year to date. Altcoins on average are down 44%. You've had to be very protective of the portfolio. There hasn't been a lot of outperformance. Hyper Liquid has done really well, but everything else has not achieved even close to getting to all time highs, apart from a couple of coins. So there hasn't been an opportunity really to, you know, take a lot of chips off the table at some euphoric, you know, blow off top like we've seen in previous cycles. Remember that tops are easy to look at in hindsight and you go, oh, that was the top. But in the moment they're difficult. I think the thing we've got to remember is that the cycles now are really driven by liquidity. And what we thought was going to be here right now was liquidity, lower rate cuts and a much more beneficial environment for risk on assets. We haven't seen that. And short term bearish conditions has been something that we've been talking about now for a few weeks that is playing out and there's going to be a painful choppy period. But it doesn't mean the cycle's over and we still have a lot of tailwinds to come. And that is why we've just got to be patient and wait for the top. And you know, when it does come, that's where we're going to be taking profits. Don't get me wrong.