Cryptocurrency prices began the U.S. trading session with a slight uptick, as Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed the $89,000 mark after dipping to $87,000 just a day earlier.
This rise in Bitcoin during American market hours marks a significant change from the previous month, where prices consistently declined throughout U.S. sessions. Data from Velo reveals that Bitcoin experienced an approximate 20% total drop during these hours over the past 30 days.
Regarding Wednesday’s modest gain, Coinglass data indicates that Bitcoin open interest measured in BTC decreased following the U.S. market opening—from 514,000 BTC down to 511,000 BTC. This reduction alongside rising prices suggests that traders are closing short positions rather than initiating new leveraged long positions.
Stocks linked to cryptocurrencies such as Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD), and Circle (CRCL) remained largely stable, mirroring minimal changes seen in broader indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
According to Jasper de Mare of Wintermute, ongoing year-end risk reduction strategies combined with record-breaking ETF outflows and thin liquidity due to holiday periods are keeping markets relatively quiet.
The three primary cryptocurrencies continue trading below critical technical thresholds; price movements appear mainly influenced by rollover flows and tax-related adjustments he added.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows totaling $19.3 million on Monday alone—marking seven consecutive days of withdrawals. In mid-December specifically, investors pulled approximately $1.29 billion from bitcoin funds—with BlackRock’s IBIT seeing a single-day exit of $157 million according to de Mare’s analysis. Despite IBIT accumulating $25 billion in inflows year-to-date, December’s sell-off likely reflects tax-loss harvesting activities while altcoins—mostly exempt from IRS wash-sale regulations—haven’t faced similar selling pressure.
On derivatives markets: over $27 billion worth of BTC and ETH options expired on December 26th—the largest single-day expiry event ever recorded within crypto history per Deribit data. Both funding rates and open interest—which peaked at around $70 billion back in June—have steadily declined approaching year-end.
The realized volatility for BTC over seven days dropped sharply until December 25 but has recently begun increasing again due to unpredictable intraday price swings. De Mare recommends traders refrain from relying too heavily on short-term signals until institutional investment flows resume early next year.