Why Is Crypto Down Today? – December 23, 2025
Total cryptocurrency market capitalization has declined by 2.4% over the past 24 hours and now stands at $3.06 trillion. Despite the pullback in prices, overall activity remains elevated, with 24-hour trading volume at $109.3 billion.
Market breadth also skewed negative, with the majority of large-cap assets trading in the red during the last day.
TLDR:
- Crypto market cap is down 2.4% on Tuesday, falling to $3.06 trillion;
- Most large-cap assets are in the red, with BTC down 2.4% to ~$87,780;
- Analysts say the Oct. 10 crash marked a decisive bearish shift, wiping out ~$1.3T in market value;
- Bitcoin continues to lag stocks and gold as whale selling and ~$5.1B in ETF outflows weigh on price;
- Crypto market sentiment remains in fear, with the Fear & Greed Index at 29;
- US BTC spot ETFs saw $142.19M in net outflows, led by Grayscale and Bitwise products;
- US spot Ether ETFs bucked the trend with $84.59M in inflows, driven mainly by Grayscale funds;
- BlackRock continues to back Bitcoin, naming its spot BTC ETF as a top investment theme for 2025.
Crypto Winners & Losers
At the time of writing, most of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are posting losses over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin (BTC) is down 2.4% on the day, currently trading at $87,780. Despite the decline, Bitcoin remains relatively resilient compared to several major altcoins.
Ethereum (ETH) has slipped 2.6%, changing hands at $2,968, while BNB is down 1.6% to $851.51.
XRP (XRP) has fallen 1.7% over the same period and is trading at $1.90, while Solana (SOL) recorded a 3.0% daily drop, now priced at $124.77, marking one of the sharper declines among the top assets.
Dogecoin (DOGE) is also under pressure, down 1.5% in 24 hours to $0.1308.
Outside the top tier, losses are more uneven. Midnight (NIGHT) stands out on the downside, plunging 23.2% to $0.0777, making it one of the day’s weakest performers among trending assets.
On the positive side, a handful of smaller-cap tokens are defying the broader market trend. RaveDAO leads the gainers, surging 37.0% to $0.6357, followed by Impossible Cloud Network, which climbed 32.9% to $0.496. ECOMI also posted strong gains, rising 31.0% to $0.0002373.
Meanwile, 10x Research analysts said that October marked a decisive turning point for Bitcoin in 2025, as a sharp crash on Oct. 10 flipped the market from a bull phase into a sustained bearish regime.
Roughly $1.3 trillion in crypto market value was wiped out in the weeks that followed, while leverage-heavy venues such as Binance and Hyperliquid absorbed massive liquidation activity, and Ethena’s USDe stablecoin saw $8.3 billion in net outflows, signaling a loss of confidence in synthetic collateral structures.
Bitcoin Lags Stocks and Gold as Whale Selling and ETF Outflows Weigh on Price
In a recent post on X, CryptoQuant said that traditional safe assets are flashing stretched conditions, with gold trading about 25% above its 200-day moving average and silver nearly 45% above, levels last seen during the 2020 COVID shock.
At the same time, equities remain resilient, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hovering just a few percentage points below all-time highs, suggesting risk appetite has not collapsed.
Bitcoin, however, has failed to follow either trend. CryptoQuant pointed to a breakdown in BTC’s correlations with both tech stocks and gold since mid-2024, driven largely by sustained selling from large holders and ETF outflows totaling about $5.1 billion.
With capital rotating toward metals and AI-linked equities, Bitcoin remains under pressure, leaving upcoming inflation data, such as the PCE report, as a potential catalyst to shift sentiment.
Meanwhile, Linh Tran, a market analyst at XS.com, said the policy stance of the US Federal Reserve still sets the short to medium-term rhythm for Bitcoin.
“Although US inflation has eased from its peak (with CPI y/y at 2.7% released last week), recent data indicate that the disinflation process is progressing slowly and unevenly,” she said.
Levels & Events to Watch Next
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $87,784, down just under 1% on the day. The session saw BTC attempt a mild recovery early on before slipping lower, briefly testing the $85,000–$86,000 zone.
Since then, price action has remained choppy, with BTC consolidating below the psychologically important $90,000 level. If downside pressure resumes, a move toward $84,000 is possible, followed by the $82,000–$83,000 support range. On the upside, bulls would need to reclaim and hold $90,000 to signal a stronger recovery.
Ethereum is currently changing hands near $2,961, posting a daily decline of about 1.5%. ETH traded higher earlier in the session but failed to sustain momentum above the $3,000 mark, pulling back sharply into the $2,800–$2,900 range before stabilizing.
The chart shows continued lower highs since October, reflecting persistent selling pressure. If weakness continues, ETH could retest $2,800, with a deeper pullback opening the door to $2,700. A bullish reversal would require ETH to decisively reclaim $3,000 and build support above that level.
Meanwhile, crypto market sentiment remains firmly in fear territory.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index currently stands at 29, unchanged from yesterday, signaling persistent caution among investors. While sentiment has improved slightly compared to last week’s reading of 22 and last month’s extreme fear level of 10, it remains well below neutral levels.
Ongoing price weakness across major assets continues to weigh on confidence, with uncertainty still elevated.
US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded another day of net outflows, with $142.19 million exiting the products, according to the latest data. Despite the daily pullback, cumulative net inflows remain strong at $57.26 billion, while total assets across US BTC ETFs stand at $114.99 billion, equal to about 6.5% of Bitcoin’s market capitalization.
Grayscale’s GBTC led losses with $28.99 million in net outflows, followed by Grayscale’s BTC fund with $25.40 million and Bitwise’s BITB, which shed $34.96 million. ARK & 21Shares’ ARKB also saw $21.36 million leave the fund, while VanEck’s HODL posted $33.64 million in outflows.
On the other hand, US spot Ethereum ETFs posted $84.59 million in net inflows, extending their recent positive flow streak.. Cumulative net inflows across Ether ETFs have now reached $12.53 billion, while total net assets stand at $18.20 billion, representing roughly 5.1% of Ethereum’s total market capitalization.
Inflows were driven primarily by Grayscale’s ETH ETF, which attracted $53.70 million, followed by Grayscale’s ETH Trust, adding $30.89 million on the day. Other major issuers, including BlackRock’s ETHA and Fidelity’s FETH, reported flat daily flows, while smaller products from Bitwise, VanEck, Franklin, 21Shares and Invesco also saw no material inflows or outflows.
Meanwhile, BlackRock has placed its spot Bitcoin ETF among its three biggest investment themes for 2025, ranking the product alongside Treasury bills and US mega-cap technology stocks.
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- Bitcoin Price Prediction: Why $88,000 Could Be the Calm Before a $94,000 Push
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- Bitcoin May Not Have Bottomed Yet as Social Media Fear Remains Low: Analyst
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- Bitcoin Price Prediction: Why $88,000 Could Be the Calm Before a $94,000 Push
- XRP Price Prediction: $1.9bn ETF Inflows Put $2.15 Breakout Back in Play
- Bitcoin May Not Have Bottomed Yet as Social Media Fear Remains Low: Analyst
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