VanEck's mid-December ChainCheck report argues that falling Bitcoin network hashrate often precedes stronger performance. The firm notes hashrate slipped about 4% in the month before December 15 and, since 2014, 90‑day returns were positive roughly 65% of the time during contractions versus 54% during expansions, framing miner stress as a contrarian tailwind.

In the month leading up to December 15, Bitcoin's network hashrate fell by 4%, a development VanEck analysts Matt Sigel and Patrick Bush characterize as a historically bullish contrarian signal for future price action. Since 2014, Bitcoin has recorded positive 90-day forward returns 65% of the time after a 30-day hashrate decline, compared with 54% when hashrate rose, and negative 90-day hashrate growth has preceded positive 180-day returns 77% of the time with an average gain of 72%. Bitcoin trades around $88,400, while mining profitability is shifting as electricity breakeven costs drop and roughly 1.3 gigawatts of capacity in China allegedly shut down, with some energy potentially redirected toward artificial intelligence demand.

As 2025 nears its end, Bitcoin is trading below a long-standing bull market channel after six weeks of failed attempts to reclaim it and is now consolidating under key resistance. Analysts are split between scenarios that include a possible move down toward $60,000 or a renewed push toward the $100,000–$105,000 area, while spot price hovers near $87,100 amid a weak fourth quarter.

Axel Adler Jr. reports the composite sentiment index fell to 40%, flagging risk-off conditions as Bitcoin trades near $87,400 under all short-term holder realized price bands. Nearby hurdles sit at $90,300 and then a cluster at $100,400–$101,800, while the broader realized price support stands at $56,300.

On 23 December 2025, Bitcoin-focused firm Strategy was reported to have built a $2.19 billion cash reserve to support interest and preferred dividend payments for nearly three years. TD Cowen analysts say this liquidity shift eases balance-sheet concerns, even as the stock's large Bitcoin position and link to crypto sentiment keep volatility high. They also highlight a changing regulatory backdrop and project Strategy's Bitcoin holdings could climb toward 835,000 BTC by the end of fiscal 2027.

Gold set a new peak above $4,420 per ounce on December 22, 2025, reviving comparisons with Bitcoin as BTC hovered near $88,000. Analyst Darkfost's 180-day moving-average work finds no consistent gold-to-Bitcoin rotation, while reports of Kazakhstan weighing up to $300 million for BTC/crypto and a Peter Schiff poll (62.4% for Bitcoin) highlight evolving preferences.

In the past day, traders have added new Bitcoin positions in the perpetual futures market, and the Funding Rate indicates these are largely leveraged long bets. On-chain data shows Open Interest climbed from 304,000 BTC to 310,000 BTC alongside a price recovery toward $90,000, while the Funding Rate increased from 0.04% to 0.09%. Bitcoin has since eased slightly from its latest high, with the spot price pulling back to $89,500.

BlackRock named its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) one of three primary investment themes for 2025, alongside short‑term Treasurys and US mega‑cap technology stocks. Despite a roughly 9.6% year‑to‑date decline and Bitcoin's pullback of about 30% from its October peak, IBIT has drawn more than $25 billion this year, with total net inflows since launch near $62.5 billion per Farside Investors.