No one knows, but we still predict crypto and tech in 2026

In the final episode of 2025, Michiel Frackers and dr. Nisheta Sachdev look back at one of the most volatile and confusing years in crypto and tech. From wildly inaccurate Bitcoin price predictions to the rise of ETFs and the continued blur between crypto and traditional finance, the episode reflects on what actually mattered and what did not. They discuss major 2025 themes including ETF inflows, AI companies buying competitors, the surprising performance gapbetween Bitcoin, Solana, gold, and Nasdaq, and why diversification mattered more than conviction this year. The conversation also covers Asia’s growing role in crypto adoption, Solana’s real revenue traction, and why some narratives ran far ahead of reality. The episode wraps with the NFA trading competition results, a candid look at how both hosts performed, and a forward looking discussion on 2026. Spoiler alert: both Nish and Frackes beat the market indexes and the major cryptocurrencies, but there was one clear winner who did almost twice as good as the other... Other topics include market volatility, potential IPOs in 2026, infrastructure assets, and which projects and tokensmay be worth watching next year.As always, this is not financial advice. Chapter list with timecodes00:00 Intro: Wrapping up 202501:06 Why predictions failed again02:10 Bitcoin price forecasts and expert misses03:45 No one knows: volatility and reality04:10 2025 crypto news roundup05:27 Meme coins collapse and gaming growth06:00 Asia Pacific crypto adoption06:55 Japan, Mt. Gox, and risk aversion07:27 Solana tipping and real revenue08:24 Bitcoin ETFs vs gold inflows09:26 Who really bought the Bitcoin ETF11:04 Meta buying Chinese AI startup Manus11:54 Nvidia, Groq, and competition by acquisition13:19 Gold, Bitcoin, stocks: what actually performed15:01 NFA trading competition results16:26 Diversification and portfolio lessons18:12 Five year crypto performance comparison19:38 Nasdaq and S&P as benchmarks20:44 Infrastructure assets and copper21:31 IPOs to watch: Kraken, SpaceX, Helium23:32 Reviewing last month’s predictions24:43 Market cap and Bitcoin outlook for 202626:15 Ethereum and Solana predictions27:52 Altcoin season and sentiment28:20 Breakout projects and ASTR29:55 Volatility expectations for 202631:04 Trading plans for the new year33:07 Final thoughts and sign offSubscribe to the NFA Podcast newsletter on LinkedIn or Substack. About Nish & FrackersNisheta SachdevNish Sachdev has been in web3 since 2020 andhelped build and scale one of the largest marketing agencies in the space, allowing her to help launch and scale hundreds of projects from the AI, gaming, infra, DeFi, and RWA spaces. As a fractional CMO and advisor, Nish leadsall marketing efforts at various companies, including marketing strategies, branding, growth, community management and sentiment, partnerships, business development, and operations.Follow Nish on:· X· LinkedIn  Michiel FrackersMichiel Frackers is a technology entrepreneur whofocuses on developing solutions that are good for the bottom-line, the community and the planet. He is cofounder of Tracer,cohost of the NFA Podcast with Nisheta Sachev and writer of a popular weekly tech newsletter.Previously co-founded Planet Internet, at the time the largest internet company in the Netherlands and invested in startups such as Flabber (acquired by Vice). Speaker at many leading global events like Techcrunch Disrupt, SXSW and the World Economic Forum (Davos).Follow Michiel on:· X· LinkedIn