Bitcoin misses out on Wall Street Christmas cheer

Synopsis

As the holiday season approaches, Bitcoin is struggling to capture the festive spirit. While traditional assets like stocks and gold are enjoying a celebratory surge, cryptocurrency enthusiasts find themselves in a state of stagnation. After a tumultuous autumn sell-off, Bitcoin is trading within a confined range, and trading volumes have dropped significantly, reflecting a decline in retail trading enthusiasm.

Bitcoin is missing out on the Christmas cheer.

As traditional markets move into the final days of the year with a burst of seasonal optimism, the world's largest cryptocurrency has barely stirred. Bitcoin is trading around $87,370, pinned in a $85,000 to $90,000 range and showing little sign of life - an asset built on hype, volatility and disruption ending the year in a standstill.

The lethargy follows a bruising autumn. A sharp sell-off in October knocked Bitcoin from records, draining momentum and leaving prices stranded. The token is down about 30% since around then and on track for its worst quarterly performance since the second quarter of 2022, when the collapse of TerraUSD and Three Arrows Capital rocked the industry.

The market is still struggling to regain its footing after the October crash. Trading volumes are thin and retail speculation has faded. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have turned into net sellers in the fourth quarter, removing a key source of demand that powered earlier rallies.

Elsewhere, markets are sending a very different signal. US stocks have surged into a classic Santa rally, pushing the S&P 500 to a record close and rewarding retail investors who stayed with technology shares and other momentum trades.

Gold, the market's oldest refuge, has climbed to fresh all-time highs, reinforcing its role as both a hedge against uncertainty and a store of value. The metal has climbed near $4,500 an ounce, capping gains of more than 70% this year - on track for its best annual performance since 1979 and the second-strongest in over a century, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Bitcoin is managing neither. After spending much of early 2025 trading like a risk-on asset alongside equities, it has conspicuously failed to join the year-end rally. And despite its long-running pitch as "digital gold," it has not attracted the defensive flows lifting bullion. Instead, it has gone quiet, down more than 7% for the year.

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