Looking back at what seemed inevitable for 2026—and what actually blindsided the community.

The predictions that played out roughly as expected: Bitcoin breaking through to $150k territory, Solana climbing toward $250, and a wave of layer-2 protocols and altcoins pumping into nine-figure valuations. Those narratives felt pretty locked in.

But then there's the plot twist nobody saw coming. One message from Nikita Bier essentially shifted the entire landscape. The way it caught everyone off guard—especially the crowd that had been hyping a particular narrative—showed just how fast sentiment can flip in this space. Within minutes, it became the dominant talking point across Discord servers and X threads.