2025-12-30 23:20:15

As gold breaks its all-time high and the S&P 500 surges, Bitcoin instead seems to be pressed against the $87,000 ceiling, barely moving. This is not just a matter of tight funds during the holiday season; behind it lies a reallocation of market power.

The Christmas rally is here, with US stocks rising happily and gold soaring to a historic high of $4,500 per ounce. But what about Bitcoin? It’s like a neglected character, stuck tightly in the narrow range between $85,000 and $90,000, almost without any vitality.

**The Truth About Year-End Stagnation**

This asset, known for its volatility, has surprisingly fallen into stagnation by the end of 2025. Its current price hovers around $87,000, down more than 7% since the beginning of the year. To put it in perspective, since dropping from the $126,000 peak in October, it has fallen nearly 30%, marking the worst quarter since mid-2022.

What’s more painful is that the institutional funds driving the market—US spot Bitcoin ETFs—have turned to net sellers in the fourth quarter. They were once the main force pushing Bitcoin higher, but now they have become a cash drain. Meanwhile, the defensive funds piling into gold have shown no signs of shifting any funds into Bitcoin. Signs of market divergence are becoming increasingly evident.

**The Other Side of the Power Play**

On the surface, this looks like seasonal liquidity tightening, but a closer look reveals a power struggle between traditional finance and the crypto market. Gold, as the ultimate safe-haven asset, is gaining attention, while Bitcoin’s narrative as an emerging, disruptive asset seems to be fading. The shift in institutional attitudes, the withdrawal of liquidity, and cooling market sentiment—these factors together have pushed Bitcoin into a difficult predicament.

BTC0.56%

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CryptoGoldmine

· 9h ago

From the perspective of the computing power network, this kind of pullback is actually a golden opportunity for accumulation. Institutional selling is not scary; history has always played out this way. To be honest, there's no need to be too pessimistic about defensive capital flowing into gold. BTC's cycle has always been like this; just be patient and wait for the difficulty adjustment. A 30% decline looks painful, but based on my recent mining revenue data, the ROI is actually improving after the difficulty decreases. As long as the technical fundamentals are intact, there's no need to panic. A shift in institutional attitude is normal; ETF selling precisely indicates that retail investors have a chance to jump in. At this point, focus on technological iteration rather than chasing risk sentiment. Instead of getting caught up in power struggles, it's better to study the current hash rate return ratio. Improving efficiency during a bear market is the real priority. After reviewing the mining data from the past three months, the difficulty is currently in a critical adjustment cycle, and the deployment opportunities are indeed present. From the growth curve of TH/s, there are no signs of network decline; it's just a phase of bottoming out. This is very important.

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BearEatsAll

· 9h ago

Unbelievable, institutions are directly stabbing us in the back this time. While the US stock market and gold are celebrating wildly, we're retail investors in the crypto circle still holding on desperately.

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0xSunnyDay

· 9h ago

The institutional guys really know how to pick the timing. As soon as Christmas vacation starts, they begin to withdraw funds. Has Bitcoin been collectively stood up?

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ChainSpy

· 9h ago

Institutions are really starting to sell off, this time it's serious. --- Gold is eating into profits while Bitcoin is drinking soup. Both are still stuck in place by the end of 2025, awkward. --- Fallen from 126,000 to now, it's like a complete waste. This quarter has truly been the most volatile in two years. --- With that sudden ETF net selling, funds have long moved to gold. There's nothing we can do. --- Once a disruptive asset, it has now become a cold palace for safe-haven assets. Irony or not? --- Basically, the attitude of institutions has changed, and their influence has been taken away. --- Stuck at 87,000 for so long, I'm almost falling asleep. --- The power game between traditional finance and crypto, this time it looks like gold has won. --- Liquidity tightening is just a smokescreen; the real truth is that people's confidence has dispersed. --- Bitcoin has truly been backstabbed in this wave.

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BlockchainDecoder

· 9h ago

The data is quite interesting. From a technical perspective, the ETF net selling signal is indeed worth caution, as it cannot be simply explained by seasonal fluctuations. Research shows that a shift in institutional influence often indicates a structural adjustment in the market, rather than just a matter of sentiment.

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