The cryptocurrency market tried to scare investors overnight. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell by about 2.5% from yesterday's high but recovered most of the losses. Currently, it is only 0.5% below the day's initial value, remaining above the crucial level of $2.93 trillion — an important decision point.
Bitcoin and Ethereum have hardly moved during the turbulence. Bitcoin is stable or slightly down (0.4%), while Ethereum shows a slight gain (up 0.5%). Meanwhile, Zcash (ZEC) did not receive the recovery alert and has accumulated a drop of 6.6%, becoming the largest capitalization token with the worst performance for the second consecutive day.
In today's news (15):
Markets are preparing for the risk from the Bank of Japan: Investors may be anticipating a possible interest rate hike from the Bank of Japan on December 19, reigniting fears of unwinding positions in yen. The last time Japan tightened monetary policy, cryptocurrencies suffered a sharp decline, and the correlation with stocks is increasing again.
Spot ETF flows remain strong despite volatility: Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded net inflows of $287 million last week, while Ethereum ETFs added $209 million. Solana ETFs also showed positive flows, signaling broad accumulation rather than rotation.
Correlations between cryptocurrencies are reaching extreme levels: DeFiLlama data shows that many major cryptocurrency pairs now have a correlation above 0.9, with SOL-BTC close to 0.99. This means that macroeconomic shocks are moving the entire market together, not just Bitcoin.
Why has the cryptocurrency market stagnated after the recovery?
The cryptocurrency market's recovery following the 2.5% correction from yesterday's high was real but also fragile. The price movement quickly stagnated near an important resistance zone, explaining why the market is still in decline.
The market continues to respect the $2.93 trillion level as firm support. Buyers stepped in aggressively in this zone, preventing a sharper decline towards $2.73 trillion. However, bullish strength remains limited near $3.06 trillion, a resistance area that the market has failed to convincingly reclaim in recent sessions. Until this level becomes support, rallies remain vulnerable to stagnation.
Bitcoin's behavior helps explain this hesitation. BTC corrected about 2.7% from its recent high before stabilizing, and the market as a whole moved in sync. This strong correlation has been exceptionally significant, meaning that hesitation in Bitcoin quickly limits the upside potential of altcoins.
Macroeconomic uncertainty is increasing this pressure. Polymarket odds now price in an almost certain 25 basis point interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan. Markets are already anticipating the risk of unwinding carry trade operations with yen, which historically pressure both stocks and cryptocurrencies. This may be the main reason why the cryptocurrency market is trending down today.
98% odds of a 25bps rate hike by the Bank of Japan, according to Polymarket
This could trigger a selloff in the US equity markets and crypto this week.
https://t.co/ZV6kipfSwD pic.twitter.com/j7k4MU8AT5
— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) December 14, 2025
The markets ended the week with a coordinated sell-off.
Here’s why:
Traders are likely front-running the Bank of Japan and a potential yen carry trade unwind.
Bitcoin is down 2.4% this week, ETH 2.3%, Nasdaq nearly 2%, with equities and crypto moving in sync.
The BOJ is… pic.twitter.com/4YTydngrpP
— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) December 13, 2025
In summary, the recovery found support, but resistance and macroeconomic caution still prevail.
The price of Bitcoin remains stable
Bitcoin also retreated, dropping about 2.7% from yesterday's high, before regaining most of the movement. The drop was sharp, but the response was even more significant. Buyers stepped in quickly, keeping Bitcoin above important support zones and preventing a sharper decline.
One of the reasons for the decline may have been the significant and visible selling by Wintermute. Blockchain data shows that the market maker moved over $1.5 billion in Bitcoin between exchanges in short periods.
🚨 BREAKING
WINTERMUTE IS NON-STOP DUMPING BITCOIN RIGHT NOW.
THEY JUST SOLD $1.5 BILLION $BTC AND KEEP SELLING MORE EVERY FEW MINUTES.
HUGE MANIPULATION IS HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES!! pic.twitter.com/EcpULT0dvH
— 0xNobler (@CryptoNobler) December 14, 2025
This type of flow can pressure prices in the short term, especially in a market with low liquidity. Even so, the selling did not trigger a collapse.
Bitcoin continues to hold above the $89,200 zone, which has acted as a demand zone throughout December. As long as this price range holds, the downside risk remains limited. On the positive side, Bitcoin needs to recover $91,300 to regain short-term momentum. This level has constrained the price since December 13.
If the $91,300 level becomes support, the next important test is near $94,600. A movement above this zone would pave the way for $96,700 and even higher levels. Until then, Bitcoin remains in a narrow range, absorbing sales rather than accelerating downwards.
Zcash demonstrates a lack of confidence, with investors adopting a pessimistic stance.
While most of the cryptocurrency market has stabilized following Bitcoin's recovery, Zcash has not followed the same path. ZEC has fallen nearly 7% in the last 24 hours, making it one of the worst-performing large-cap cryptocurrencies in a session where correlations among major assets remained exceptionally high.
The divergence is notable. While Bitcoin and the overall market have recovered some of their losses, Zcash has failed to attract the same buying interest on the dip. On-chain and derivatives data show that traders are increasingly inclined to buy on the dip, even as leverage remains relatively modest.
A newly created wallet deposited $1.23M $USDC into #HyperLiquid and opened a $ZEC short position with 2x leverage.
The whale still holds $404K on-chain and is likely to deposit it into #HyperLiquid. https://t.co/CDEmAE0ZdE pic.twitter.com/WdVcrbmreX
— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) December 15, 2025
The price movement reflects this caution. Zcash is still being traded within a broader consolidation structure, rather than a declared breakout, but the momentum has clearly stagnated. The $435 level now acts as the fundamental dividing line. A daily close above this level would signal renewed bullish interest and pave the way for higher resistance zones, near $685 and $737.
Until that happens, confidence remains fragile. Short selling exposure has increased, not aggressively, but steadily. This suggests that investors are positioning defensively, rather than betting on a sharp reversal.
Conversely, a loss of $368 would significantly weaken the structure and increase the risk of a deeper retracement.
The article Why is the cryptocurrency market down today 15/12/2025? was first seen on BeInCrypto Brazil.
