This week (December 15-21), the crypto market experienced fluctuations without a clear trend: after a slump at the beginning of the week, Bitcoin remained in the $87-89 thousand range, and investors switched back to a wait-and-see mode due to the macro agenda, mixed dynamics of ETF flows, and a seasonal decline in liquidity ahead of the holidays.
Bitcoin gained about 1.6% (at closing) between December 15 and December 21, but there was a noticeable V-shaped movement during the week: selling pressure in the $85,000–86,000 range was offset by rebounds to $88,000–89,000.
Ethereum remained virtually unchanged over the same period (close to zero at closing), staying around the $3,000 mark, but with noticeable intraday fluctuations.
Sentiment remained subdued: fear and greed indices showed “Extreme Fear” for most of the week, which usually amplifies sharp movements in a thin market.
The key external factor was expectations regarding US interest rates and year-end risk-off sentiment. In December, the Fed cut rates by 25 basis points to 3.5-3.75%, while the market interpreted its rhetoric as more cautious about further steps.
Against this backdrop, any hint of a pause or a tighter rate trajectory weighed on risk appetite, as evidenced by the reaction of crypto assets at the beginning of the “last full week of the year.”
The second theme is institutional flows. According to reports and market news, there were inflows and noticeable outflows from BTC and ETH ETFs during the week (investors often “close” risk or lock in results at the end of the year), which added volatility and increased dependence on news.
The third line is that “traditional finance” continues to tokenize, but this is still more of an infrastructure trend than an immediate price driver. For example, JPMorgan announced the launch of a tokenized money market fund on the Ethereum blockchain, supporting the long-term narrative around real assets on-chain.
Even during a calm week in terms of prices, reminders of the risks were loud and clear: research on crypto crime and isolated incidents in DeFi underscore that “operational risk” (vulnerabilities, deployment errors, key management) remains a key vulnerability for the industry.
Fixygen’s short-term forecast until the end of 2025
Until December 31, the base scenario is sideways movement with an increased likelihood of sharp spikes due to low liquidity during the holidays and reduced institutional activity. Important triggers for the rest of the year are ETF flow dynamics, any surprises from US macro statistics and Fed rhetoric, plus local stories about major players in the public market (there is also growing attention around the classification of companies with large crypto reserves).
Regarding risks: during the “holidays,” the influence of thin trading and liquidations increases — movements may be disproportionate to the news.
The week of December 8–14 was marked by a cautious recovery for the crypto market after a sharp decline in November. Bitcoin stabilized in the $89,000–92,000 range, partially recovering from last month’s drop from above $120,000, but it is still far from new highs.
According to several market reports, Bitcoin fell to the $83,800–88,000 range at the beginning of the week, then rebounded to ~$94,000, and stabilized just below $90,000 by the weekend. On December 8, Binance recorded BTC at around $91,900 (+3.1% per day) with a daily range of $87,700–92,300. On December 14, according to Binance and Coindesk, Bitcoin traded near $88,800–89,200, losing about 1.5–2% per day. On a weekly basis, the total growth is estimated at approximately +6.5%, but this is still below the levels seen in early November.
Implied volatility for BTC narrowed slightly after a spike earlier in the week, but Friday’s decline pushed it back up again. Analysts note that the market is caught between expectations of further easing of US Fed policy and fresh memories of the November “dump,” so real volumes and risk appetite are significantly lower than in the first half of the year.
Ethereum followed in Bitcoin’s wake: at the end of the week, ETH settled at around $3,100, showing an increase of about +3% over 7 days.
At the institutional demand level, the picture is more complicated. After a record outflow in November (when Bitcoin ETFs in the US lost about $3.5-4 billion), the situation began to unfold in December: aggregate ETFs on BTC and ETH showed a net inflow of about $341 million, although a confident recovery is still far off. At the same time, some spot ETFs on Ethereum still recorded a net outflow this week (about $42.4 million on December 11), indicating a redistribution of positions and investor caution towards second-tier altcoins.
The overall ETF market in the US is growing at a record pace (AUM of all ETFs reached $13.22 trillion), but the share of cryptocurrencies in this pie remains niche and highly volatile.
According to trading platforms, most of the major altcoins traded worse than Bitcoin during the week: BTC’s dominance increased slightly, while many tokens continued their slow slide after their autumn highs.
A telling example is Solana. The average price of SOL in December fell to around $133, while in October it was around $187, and in September it was above $200. In other words, since early autumn, Solana has lost about a third of its value at closing, despite the ecosystem’s still high activity.
In the short term, individual tokens continue to show double-digit returns: in daily dynamics on Binance, the leaders of the week were ACA, GLMR, and VOXEL (growth of +38%, +18%, and +16%, respectively), while new “meme stories” such as PENGU or FARTCOIN appear in exchange digests and trader chats.
But the overall background for alts remains difficult: volumes are declining, liquidity is fragmented, and any news about Bitcoin instantly overtakes local trends.
In terms of news, the week was marked by two important signals for the industry:
1) An investigation by The New York Times and The Daily Beast showed that under the current US administration, law enforcement practices against a number of large crypto companies have softened dramatically: the SEC closed or weakened several cases against platforms associated with Donald Trump’s circle, and the founder of Binance received a presidential pardon. This has reduced regulatory pressure, but at the same time raised questions about the level of investor protection.
2) In the Persian Gulf, the industry’s biggest players are actively seeking “financial salvation”: top managers of crypto companies and Bitcoin ideologues held a series of events in Abu Dhabi, trying to attract capital from UAE sovereign wealth funds and secure the emirates’ status as a new hub for digital assets.
These processes are intensifying the geographical shift of the industry: part of the liquidity and infrastructure is moving from traditional centers to new jurisdictions with more lenient rules.
It is highly likely that the market will end 2025 in a state of heightened volatility and “nervous stabilization”: range movements around current levels, sharp spikes on news about rates and regulation, and the absence of a single driver that could quickly return Bitcoin to its autumn highs.
The cryptocurrency market is starting December on a downward note: Bitcoin and leading altcoins are showing a sharp decline amid global market volatility and local shocks in the DeFi sector.
What is happening on December 1
According to CoinMarketCap and other analytical platforms, the total capitalization of the crypto market fell to approximately $2.9–3.0 trillion on December 1, losing about 5% over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin (BTC): trading in the $86,000–87,000 range, with a daily decline of about 4–5%; during the day, the price fell to a low of about $85,500, while the day before it fluctuated around $90,000.
Ethereum (ETH):
remains in the $2,800–2,850 range, with a daily decline of 5–6%, while the coin has already retreated by almost a quarter from its recent local highs in November.
Among the major altcoins, the following are suffering the most:
BNB – around $825–830 (down ~5%),
Solana (SOL) – around $126–127 (down ~7%),
XRP – around $2.0–2.05 (down ~7%).
Speculative memecoins (SHIB, PEPE, BONK, WIF, etc.) are losing 6% to 10–13% per day, which fits the traditional scenario: the riskiest assets fall faster than the market in phases of sharp risk aversion.
Analytical reports from the largest crypto exchanges and specialized media highlight several key factors behind today’s pullback.
1. Liquidation of leveraged positions in a thin weekend market
Decreased liquidity over the weekend and at the beginning of the week allowed relatively small orders to push the price of Bitcoin down by several thousand dollars in a matter of minutes.
This triggered a cascade of liquidations of overleveraged long positions on futures platforms — estimates suggest that the volume of forced long closures exceeded $600–700 million in a few hours.
2. Exploit in DeFi and growing nervousness about security
In the decentralized finance sector, there was an incident with the Yearn Finance protocol’s yETH pool: the leak was relatively small by market standards, but it came at a “delicate” time and reinforced mistrust of complex income-generating products.
Some participants used this as an excuse to reduce their positions in riskier tokens and DeFi assets.
3. Macrofon: Japan, the Fed, and a general reassessment of risk
At the same time, investors are awaiting the US Fed meeting on December 9–10: futures markets are pricing in a high probability of a rate cut, but uncertainty surrounding the pace of policy easing is keeping nerves on edge.
4. ETF fund flows and profit-taking by large players
After months of active inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, November saw a wave of net outflows worth billions of dollars, which spurred sales.
On-chain data and derivatives show that large holders (whales) are gradually hedging their risks or reducing their longs, while retail investors entered the market late in the bullish momentum.
Additionally, new regulatory initiatives are weighing on sentiment, in particular Japan’s plan to impose a flat 20% tax on cryptocurrency income, which makes the market more “similar” to the traditional one, but at the same time reduces its attractiveness for some speculators.
A separate technical signal: according to CoinDesk, on the monthly Bitcoin chart, the MACD indicator has turned red for the first time in a long time, which in previous cycles was accompanied by either protracted corrections or the formation of a medium-term bearish trend.
What does this mean for the market now?
According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin’s dominance in market capitalization remains at around 58-59%, and the “altcoin season” index remains in the “Bitcoin season” zone, meaning that altcoins have been lagging behind BTC on average in recent months.
The global cryptocurrency market experienced a sharp correction in November 2025 after reaching its autumn highs, losing more than $1 trillion in total capitalization amid profit-taking by investors, outflows from exchange-traded funds, and a deterioration in risk appetite in global markets, according to estimates by analytical platforms and market participants.
From late September to early October, when Bitcoin was hitting historic highs above $120,000–126,000 per coin, to mid-November, the total capitalization of the crypto market fell by about a quarter. At times, the Bitcoin price fell to around $82,000–85,000, which is a decline of about 20–30% from its October peak. By the end of the month, the first cryptocurrency had partially recovered from the fall and consolidated in the range of about $87,000–90,000.
Analysts attribute the correction primarily to large-scale profit-taking after months of growth that began in 2023–2024, as well as a revision of expectations regarding Fed rates and a decline in interest in risky assets amid the strengthening of gold’s position as a safe-haven asset.
Additional pressure on the market came from significant outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US: according to market participants’ estimates, the total amount of funds withdrawn from such funds in November amounted to several billion dollars, which led to sales of the underlying asset. At the same time, a number of public companies reduced their cryptocurrency reserves to service their debts and support their own quotations.
The correction also affected other leading crypto assets. Ethereum traded in the range of about $2,800–3,000, and a number of major altcoins (including Solana and XRP) also showed double-digit declines from recent local highs, although some of the losses were recouped by the end of November.
Against the backdrop of general volatility, individual tokens showed mixed dynamics. For example, the previously inconspicuous RAIN token, associated with the decentralized prediction market, showed short-term growth of more than 100% after one of the biopharmaceutical companies announced plans to form a significant amount of reserves in this asset.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) segment came under pressure again in November due to security incidents: one of the major automated trading protocols lost a significant amount of user funds as a result of an exploit, which intensified the debate surrounding the stability of complex DeFi mechanisms.
At the same time, regulation continued to tighten and infrastructure continued to institutionalize. Financial regulators in a number of countries announced increased requirements for reserves and asset segregation on crypto exchanges, while large fintech companies continued to work on their own stablecoins and blockchain payment solutions within the framework of existing or upcoming regulatory regimes.
Most industry analysts assess what has happened not as the beginning of a new prolonged “bear market,” but as a deep but typical correction for cryptocurrencies after a period of overheating. At the same time, they point out that volatility and high sensitivity to macroeconomic factors maintain the status of crypto assets as one of the most risky segments of the global financial market, despite the growth of institutional participation and the development of a regulated infrastructure.
The cryptocurrency market is experiencing one of the sharpest declines in recent months. According to estimates by specialized media, over the past 41 days, the total market capitalization has fallen by approximately $1.1 trillion, and Bitcoin has fallen by almost 25% from its historic October high of over $126,000 to levels below $95,000.
Against this backdrop, most major cryptocurrencies are trading in the red. Over the past week, Ethereum has lost more than 11%, falling to around $3,200, Solana has fallen by about 15% to $141, and XRP has fallen by more than 9%. Analysts note that the fall in Bitcoin triggered a chain reaction among the major altcoins: XRP, BNB, Solana, Cardano, and Zcash showed declines of 5-12% per day on certain days.
The riskiest segments of the market fell the hardest. Against the backdrop of general uncertainty, the value of meme tokens and speculative altcoins is declining significantly. Certain themed coins, such as Rizzmas (RIZZMAS) and SANTA, lost about 30% and 48% respectively in a week, demonstrating high sensitivity to liquidity outflows and declining interest from retail investors. In annual terms, certain meme tokens, including PEPE, have already lost up to 80% of their value, according to analysts’ estimates.
Medium and small-cap cryptocurrencies are seeing double-digit declines every day. According to some platforms, tokens such as Supra, DMAIL Network, Verasity, Stafi, and LooksRare regularly make it onto the list of daily outsiders, losing between 14% and 18% or more in a day. This segment is characterized by low liquidity, so any large sales lead to sharp price drops.
Macroeconomic factors are putting additional pressure on the market. Against the backdrop of declining expectations of a rapid easing of Fed policy, some investors are exiting risky assets. Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US are seeing their highest outflows since February on some days, and the crypto market fear index has fallen to three-year lows, according to estimates by analytical resources.
For investors, the current correction means that the leaders of the decline are most often those assets that showed the greatest dynamics in the previous growth phase and attracted speculative capital. In the short term, the market remains influenced by sentiment and news related to the monetary policy of the largest central banks. In the medium term, the key issue will be the ability of the largest cryptocurrencies to maintain long-term support levels and restore the confidence of institutional players.
Source: https://www.fixygen.ua/news/20251117/kriptorinok-u-chervoniy-zoni-analiz-fixygen.html
The cryptocurrency market remained quite volatile during the week of November 10-16 and ended the period in the red. According to consolidated quotes from exchange trackers, Bitcoin fell from the $106,000 range to $95,000–96,000, with daily lows dropping to $94,000. Ethereum fell from approximately $3,570 to $3,170, and Solana fell from around $167 to $141. The dynamics were accompanied by irregular flows in spot ETFs: days of net inflows and outflows alternated, which intensified price volatility. Additional pressure was created by the growth in US government bond yields and investor caution ahead of inflation releases.
By segment, BTC is holding the support zone of $94,000–96,000, but the momentum is weak and sensitive to daily flows in ETFs. ETH remains under pressure from outflows and capital rotation into individual altcoins. SOL is showing increased beta volatility amid relatively stable inflows into ecosystem products.
Short-term outlook for 1–2 weeks: the base scenario assumes BTC consolidation in the range of $92–105 thousand with a reaction to daily ETF flows and treasury yields. Several days of steady inflows into funds could return the price to the upper end of the range, while new outflows threaten a retest of $94,000–95,000. ETH is likely to move sideways between $3,050 and $3,350 until flows reverse, while SOL is likely to move between $135 and $155, remaining highly sensitive to ecosystem news.
Assessment until the end of 2025: in a bullish scenario, a series of net inflows into BTC-ETFs and an improvement in global risk appetite could bring BTC back to 105–112 thousand and pull ETH up to 3.4–3.7 thousand. Against a neutral backdrop, trading is likely to remain in the $95,000–107,000 range for BTC, with high-quality altcoins dominating. The bearish scenario envisages a strengthening of the dollar and yields, with the risk of BTC testing the $90,000 level and ETH falling below $3,000.
Key indicators for the coming week: daily reports on inflows and outflows in spot ETFs on BTC, ETH, and the largest alt products, leverage and liquidation metrics on derivatives exchanges, as well as the US macro calendar (inflation, Treasury auctions, Fed comments). For tactical strategies, the advantage of range trading and quick reactions to flows is noted. For strategic positions, it is better to gradually build up long positions as inflows stabilize and volatility decreases.
