💥 $BTC There is still a large liquidity pool at $95,000, which interestingly aligns with Deribit’s Options Max Pain.
However, in the short term, traders have been persistently entering longs. This suggests a good probability of price moving toward $95k and then dropping aggressively below $84k.
Alternatively, the opposite could happen: price may first move down to $84k and then rally quickly toward $95k.
Both bulls and bears are likely to be punished once again by the market.
📉 #BTC #ETH #ETF Between December 15 and 19, spot BTC ETFs experienced a total net outflow of about $497.05 million, while spot ETH ETFs saw a net outflow of approximately $643.97 million.
📉 KOL Emperor Osmo reveals that in 2025, the crypto sectors with the steepest declines were DeFAI, which plummeted by 97%, followed by Modular at 92% and DeSci at 91%. Additional sectors also saw substantial losses exceeding 80%, including AI at 87%, GameFi at 85%, LRT at 83%, and both Data and L2 at 81%.
Purchases of ADA commenced yesterday morning, immediately following its launch at 08:28 Moscow time, quickly becoming one of the top purchases by SmartMoney. The substantial spike occurred today when smart wallets resumed buying at 15:10, propelling ADA to the top spot in SmartMoney's purchase rankings by 15:22.
Bitcoin Has Been Stuck for Weeks, And Options Expiry Explains Why
Bitcoin spending nearly all of December trapped between $85,000 and $90,000 hasn’t been random, and it hasn’t been weakness either. It’s been mechanics.
A massive concentration of options around current prices forced dealers to constantly hedge their exposure. Every dip toward $85,000 triggered buying. Every push toward $90,000 triggered selling. Not because traders had conviction, but because dealers had to stay neutral.
This kind of environment kills volatility and frustrates spot investors, even while equities rally and gold makes new highs.
That pressure is about to ease. Around $27B in bitcoin options are set to expire, wiping out more than half of open interest. The positioning is heavily skewed toward calls, with most strikes sitting far above current price levels. Once that gamma pressure decays, the artificial range that held BTC in place weakens.
Historically, when suppression ends during low implied volatility, price tends to resolve in the direction of positioning. In this case, the math favors upside rather than a breakdown.
The range wasn’t distribution. It was containment.
🧠🎢 Update for Tonight #FOMO : - #PTB surged +90% today: This token was one of the top picks on all CEXs at 08:05 Moscow time. By 10:06, it claimed the top spot for growth in open interest. However, starting at 13:05, a wave of significant sell-offs led to a sharp decline in the PTB price. - #ARC rose +40% since last night: Buying activity kicked off at 22:35, and this morning, ARC was among the leaders in open interest growth. However, from 13:05 onward, it topped the sales charts across all CEXs and led the sales on Bybit Futures. By 15:36, it also ranked first for the largest drop in open interest, resulting in a complete reversal of its price gains. #Careport
🎰🚀 #SmartMoney has propelled #snowball by approximately 1800%, while #bearcoin is approaching 1000% since last night. SmartMoney began acquiring snowball at 21:00 Moscow time yesterday, and by 21:09, the memecoin had climbed to the top of the smart wallet purchase list, holding that position for most of the day.
In contrast, bearcoin purchases kicked off at 21:57, quickly catapulting the memecoin to second place on the smart wallet purchase list. However, the significant price surge for bearcoin didn’t occur until today at 01:54, when large purchases resumed. Shortly after, SmartMoney started taking profits, resulting in a swift decline in the token's price. #CAreport
I'm not going to lie, the $BTC / #GOLD power curve breaking down has left a wound. Yes, the BTC/USD power curve is still okay, but I expected better relative performance.
I'm not that interested in the USD value of #Bitcoin . What's more important is its purchasing power, and 2025 changed that trajectory.
#blackRock highlights #Bitcoin as a top 2025 investment theme
BlackRock has placed its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) alongside Treasury bills and Magnificent 7 tech stocks as one of its three key investment themes for 2025 — a strong signal of continued institutional conviction.
Despite Bitcoin being down ~30% from its October peak, #IBIT has attracted over $25B in net inflows in 2025, ranking 6th among all ETFs. That level of demand during a down year speaks volumes.
NovaDius Wealth president Nate Geraci noted that BlackRock appears unfazed by recent price weakness. Bloomberg #etf analyst Eric Balchunas added that if IBIT can pull in $25B during a soft market, inflows could be significantly higher in a strong cycle.
Including $37B in 2024, total IBIT inflows now stand at $62.5B, more than 5× larger than its nearest competitor.
JUST IN: #James_Wynn claims he has closed all his short positions and is now bullish on Bitcoin for the first time since $120K. He believes something is happening in #Bitcoin and #crypto that has never happened before.
Why Markets Are Choosing Gold and Copper Over Bitcoin in 2025
This year’s market behavior tells a clear story. Investors are prioritizing assets they can touch, store, and rely on when confidence in financial systems weakens or when growth demands real infrastructure.
Gold has surged as fears around fiscal sustainability, currency debasement, and political instability intensify. Copper has followed, driven by the AI boom, electrification, and global infrastructure build-out. Both assets represent tangibility in a world questioning paper promises.
Bitcoin, despite being positioned as both digital gold and high-end tech, has not captured either flow. Institutions have largely priced in ETFs and regulatory clarity, while sovereigns continue to favor gold as their hedge of choice.
This divergence does not necessarily mean Bitcoin has lost relevance. Historically, gold tends to lead during periods of monetary stress, with Bitcoin reacting later and often with greater volatility.
The current market is not rejecting crypto. It is demanding proof, patience, and timing.
What Gold and Copper’s 2025 Rally Says About Bitcoin
Gold and copper are the two strongest performers of 2025, and their leadership is revealing. Gold reflects deep concern about global debt, currency stability, and long-term fiscal health. Copper reflects optimism around AI, energy transition, and physical infrastructure demand.
Bitcoin was expected to benefit from both narratives. Instead, it has lagged.
One reason is structural. Gold has sovereign demand. Central banks buy it as a reserve asset. Bitcoin, while portable and attractive to individuals and funds, does not yet have that same institutional anchor.
Another reason is narrative fatigue. Bitcoin is increasingly marketed as a passive store of value rather than a growth story, which limits fresh capital inflows in a market chasing either safety or acceleration.
The declining copper-to-gold ratio suggests a late-cycle environment, where growth exists but fragility dominates. In past cycles, Bitcoin often consolidated during this phase before responding sharply once monetary stress intensified.