Crypto funds shifted to market-neutral trades as volatility punished directional bets and triggered a fourth straight month of losses.
Crypto funds opened 2026 with losses and defensive positioning, based on a February 18 survey by Presto Analysis and Otos Knowledge.
The report reveals buyers shifting in direction of relative-value and market-neutral trades as macro uncertainty and value swings weigh on directional bets.
Market-Impartial Funds Outperform as Directional Methods Sink
In line with Presto’s survey, all liquid crypto hedge funds dipped by a mean of 1.49% final month. The losses prolonged a tough stretch for lively managers, marking the fourth consecutive month of damaging equally weighted efficiency throughout each elementary and quantitative classes, a sequence not seen since late 2018 and early 2019.
The dispersion inside the numbers tells a clearer story, with elementary funds dropping 3.01% in January, whereas quantitative funds fell 3.51%. However, Presto revealed that market-neutral funds, which goal to revenue from value variations somewhat than market route, gained about 1.6%. Over six months, those self same impartial methods are up practically 5% whereas elementary funds are down greater than 24%.
Throughout that very same interval, Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen roughly 31%, Ethereum (ETH) 23%, and Solana (SOL) 47%.
Evaluation by different market watchers helps the delicate tone, with knowledge from Alphractal displaying that Bitcoin was buying and selling in a stress zone the place weaker holders are likely to promote whereas long-term buyers accumulate. The agency’s founder, Joao Wedson, mentioned long-term holder revenue ranges are nonetheless constructive, an indication that the market might not but be at a last turning level.
Positioning Knowledge Factors to Defensive Posture, Not Panic
The Presto survey’s move evaluation reveals a transparent behavioral arc by January. The month opened with constructive positioning and name shopping for, however as rallies failed, merchants rotated into tactical fade buildings. By the third week, draw back hedging grew to become dominant, as ETF flows fluctuated, with intervals of influx offset by miner distribution and whale promoting. In the meantime, company accumulation remained current however inadequate to offset broader threat discount.
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Importantly, the report famous that positioning into the month-end was not outright capitulative. The analysts acknowledged that whereas safety was in place, the leverage appeared extra orderly in comparison with the chaotic reset occasion in October 2025.
The absence of broad panic means that stress is constructing in pockets somewhat than being expressed as systemic liquidation. This distinction issues because the market assesses whether or not January represents continuation or exhaustion.
The researchers suggested that till coverage readability improves or a structural crypto-specific catalyst emerges, rallies are more likely to fade, volatility will stay reactive to headline threat, and adaptableness somewhat than conviction will decide survival within the first quarter of 2026.
Whether or not January marked a continuation of the bear development or the exhaustion section of promoting strain stays an open query. Nonetheless, at current, the info point out that methods that prioritize relative worth over directional conviction are efficiently navigating the present challenges.
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