Daijiworld Media Network - New York
New York, Dec 16: Bitcoin fell below the $86,000 mark for the first time in two weeks on Monday as weakening investor sentiment pushed the world’s largest cryptocurrency deeper into bear market territory.
The original cryptocurrency has been drifting towards the lower end of its recent trading range, with any price recovery facing selling pressure from investors who bought near the all-time high reached in early October, analysts said. Bitcoin dropped as much as 3.3 per cent to $85,578 and is now down nearly 30 per cent from its record high of over $126,000.
“We’ve continued to trade this very choppy range between $85,000 and $94,000 in Bitcoin, with a continued lack of interest and low volumes broadly across crypto markets,” said Bohan Jiang, senior derivatives trader at FalconX.
In recent weeks, Bitcoin has moved in line with declines in other risk assets but has failed to rebound when they recovered, breaking its usual upside correlation. Analysts say the slide reflects weak liquidity and fading risk appetite, even after the US Federal Reserve’s rate cut last week failed to revive momentum in digital assets.
The final full trading week of 2025 began with stocks, bonds and the dollar wavering as Wall Street awaited key economic data that could shape the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook.
“Broadly, Bitcoin and crypto continue to follow weakness in equity markets, with the sell-off in sync with equities as they opened higher and headed lower throughout the US session,” Jiang said.
Despite the broader market weakness, Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. continued to increase its Bitcoin holdings. The company said it acquired nearly $1 billion worth of Bitcoin for the second consecutive week, largely funded through at-the-market sales of its Class A common stock and preferred shares.
Critics, however, have raised concerns that the strategy dilutes existing shareholders and erodes the premium the stock once commanded over its roughly $59 billion Bitcoin holdings.
Other cryptocurrencies also saw sharp declines, with Ether, Dogecoin and XRP falling around five per cent each. Shares of crypto-related firms slumped as well, with Strategy dropping over eight per cent and Coinbase Global Inc. slipping nearly six per cent.
Bitcoin had earlier touched a 2025 low of around $74,400 in April after President Donald Trump’s initial tariff plans unsettled global financial markets.