Bitcoin Falls to $87K but Grayscale Predicts New All-Time High: Time to Buy the Dip?

After a weak November and additional pressure in early December, spot Bitcoin ETFs are seeing heavy outflows, and futures pricing has turned more cautious. BTC is down 9.9% over the past month, keeping “buy the dip” calls in check.

The largest cryptocurrency by market cap is consolidating around 87,000 today, with the wider crypto market at $3.03 trillion. BTC’s dominance is currently at 56.9%, suggesting traders are still leaning toward large-cap cryptos during the market cooldown.

Grayscale, however, argues that BTC’s pullback does not end the broader trend. In its 2026 outlook report, the asset manager says Bitcoin could print a new all-time high in the first half of 2026 as institutional demand and regulation keep moving in crypto’s favor.

That combination of short-term caution and long-term optimism is also why presale projects (such as Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER), a new Bitcoin Layer 2) are still attracting capital. With staged pricing and no open-market order books, presale tokens can stay steadier through slumps while still offering upside if exchange listings spark a price surge. Is this the right time to hold steady and keep DCA-ing into Bitcoin, or look for a potentially lucrative presale?

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Grayscale’s 2026 Outlook Meets a Risk-Off Market

The recent 2026 outlook report published by the world’s largest digital asset manager, Grayscale, keeps the long-term thesis on Bitcoin intact. The report explains why Bitcoin is likely to set a new all-time high in the first half of 2026, and argues that the market is shifting away from a clean four-year-cycle playbook as institutional participation and regulation mature.

In the near term, however, positioning still appears bearish. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $800 million in net outflows last Thursday, painting the week red overall despite a decently-sized green Friday.

The macro picture is also not doing crypto any favors at the moment. Global markets are trading cautiously ahead of delayed U.S. jobs data and upcoming inflation prints, with multiple central bank decisions in focus this week – conditions that typically keep leverage light and dips shallow rather than “V-shaped.”

That’s where the risk-reward argument starts to shift. If spot markets continue to consolidate, traders will look for other profitable opportunities – mainly in the form of presales, where pricing isn’t set by hourly order-flow. This has helped the Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER) presale to raise over $29.5 million, with its innovative Solana-powered Bitcoin Layer 2 providing a clean upside narrative.

Bitcoin Hyper Introduces a DeFi-Capable Bitcoin L2 Scaling Solution

Bitcoin Hyper’s main goal is to make Bitcoin more usable day-to-day without asking users to abandon their BTC holdings. Instead of treating BTC as “hold only,” the project aims to make it usable in decentralized apps, with faster transfers, lower fees, and a smoother experience than waiting for slow base-layer confirmations.

The Layer 2 system includes a Canonical Bridge, allowing users to deposit BTC and receive an equivalent amount of wrapped BTC on the Layer 2. Meanwhile, Bitcoin Hyper’s Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) implementation aims to support high-throughput activity and app-driven experiences. Last but not least, the network batches and compresses L2 transactions, uses zero-knowledge proofs to validate them, and periodically commits that state to Bitcoin’s Layer 1.

In practical terms, that architecture targets fast BTC payments, low-fee transfers, and a broader on-chain ecosystem – DEXs, staking flows, token launches, and other DeFi tools that need quick confirmation. It also pitches a smoother build path for teams already familiar with Solana-style tooling and Rust programs.

That utility angle, alongside a staking APY of 39% for HYPER, is helping the presale keep momentum: Bitcoin Hyper has raised over $29.5 million to date. Borch Crypto, a crypto analyst with a YouTube following of over 90,000, has called HYPER a potential 100x presale, citing its Bitcoin-native use case as the main draw.

HYPER Closes in on $30M as Buyers Look Beyond the BTC Dip

With Bitcoin still cooling off after a troubling pullback, some investors are sticking to simple dollar-cost averaging strategies, while others are looking for setups that are less exposed to daily swings and still offer large long-term upside.

Bitcoin Hyper is a clear example of that demand. The HYPER token is currently priced at $0.013435, and is expected to increase in a little over a day. The project’s 39% staking APY has attracted numerous long-term investors as well, with 1.3 billion HYPER already committed to the staking pool.

In the “DCA-ing into Bitcoin versus presale entry” debate, HYPER is attracting users by combining a low entry price with strong utility and a low implied market cap, remaining a must-watch crypto project in 2025 and beyond.