Bitcoin extends gains above $90,000 as traders monitor signals of a changing trend.

Crypto assets are starting 2026 on firmer ground after a bruising finish to the prior year, when persistent selling during U.S. trading hours weighed heavily on the sector.

That late-2025 pattern appears to be easing, at least for now. In the first official trading session of the new year, digital assets moved higher alongside U.S. equities, hinting at a potential shift in market behavior.

Bitcoin climbed back above the $90,000 level, gaining about 2.5% over the past 24 hours to trade near $93,400. Ether rose nearly 4% to around $3,160, while solana and XRP posted similar gains, each advancing roughly 4%.

Traditional markets also opened the year in positive territory. The Nasdaq rose 0.6%, driven by strength in AI-focused chipmakers such as Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron, and Intel, which logged gains ranging from 3% to 6%. Commodities were broadly higher as well, with silver jumping 3% and gold and copper edging up.

Shares of crypto miners that have increasingly repositioned as AI infrastructure providers surged across the board. Hut 8, CleanSpark, and TeraWulf climbed around 10%, while Cipher Mining and IREN advanced roughly 8%.

Elsewhere in the crypto ecosystem, Strategy and Coinbase gained more than 3%, Galaxy Digital jumped 7%, and Circle Financial added about 4.5%.