A swing trader realized $12.5 million in combined profit from a two-month Bitcoin short position as of Dec. 24, Arkham data show. The trade incurred $9.6 million in funding fees, and the trader holds BTCB worth $3.5 million on BNB Chain.

Bitcoin traded between $85,000 and $90,000 on December 24, showing little sign of a rebound as it hovered around $87,000, Bloomberg reports. The world's largest cryptocurrency failed to mirror Wall Street's year-end rally despite seasonal optimism in traditional markets.

Metaplanet shareholders approved equity proposals on Dec. 24 to fund additional Bitcoin purchases targeting 210,000 BTC by end-2027, DL News reports. Strategic Director Dylan LeClair said the extraordinary meeting authorized financial instruments that avoid immediate dilution.

Bitcoin options worth approximately $23.6 billion are set to expire on Friday, representing the largest options expiry in Bitcoin's history, BlockBeats reports on Dec. 24. The expiry is notably large and skewed toward bullish positions, with the max pain level—the price at which option buyers face maximum losses and sellers maximum gains—standing at $96,000. Analysts say this positioning supports the prevailing upward price trend.

Analyst @alicharts said on December 24 that Bitcoin cycles average approximately 1,064 days from bottom to peak and roughly 364 days from peak to the next low, BlockBeats reports. If the pattern holds, a 364-day correction window could place a potential bottom around October 2026 at $37,500.

Bitcoin's short-term holder net pressure tilt fell into the bottom 5% of its three-year distribution on Dec. 24, indicating balanced buying and selling among short-term holders, CryptoQuant analyst @AxelAdlerJr said in a note relayed by BlockBeats. The metric, which equals short-term holders' weighted sell pressure minus buy pressure, stood at 4.79 on a 24-hour moving average with price at $87,324; positive readings denote heavier selling while negative readings signal stronger buying. He noted such balance periods are historically unstable in bull markets and often turn upward before reverting to selling, adding that with price staying nearly two months 13.9% below the STH realized price, short-term holders are in losses. If price drops below $85,000 and net pressure falls under -15, it would indicate a deeper correction, he said.

Entities allegedly tied to Aleksey Bilyuchenko deposited 1,300 BTC to an unknown platform over the past seven days, Arkham analyst Emmett Gallic said on Dec. 24. The related addresses still hold 4,100 BTC and have sold 2,300 BTC in total, according to Gallic.

Bitcoin has never broken above $100,000 when adjusted for inflation, despite setting a nominal all-time high above $126,000 in October, Galaxy head of research Alex Thorn said on Dec. 24, BlockBeats reports. He noted that consumer price index purchasing power has declined each year since 2020. When recalculated in 2020 dollars to account for inflation, Bitcoin's price has never exceeded the $100,000 level, Thorn argued.

Bitcoin is in a bear market due to weak demand, CryptoQuant's Julio Moreno said on Dec. 24, BlockBeats reports. Demand growth fell below trend since early October 2025, with U.S. spot BTC ETFs recording net outflows in Q4 2025—holdings dropped by approximately 24,000 BTC—and the price slipping below the 365-day moving average.