Bitcoin held above $85,000 after a recent sell-off, while spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $358 million in net outflows and the price sits 31% under the $126,219 all-time high. Despite the breach of the $90,000 level and short-term ETF weakness, correlation and volatility metrics, along with institutional positioning via ETFs and corporate reserves, suggest large investors have not definitively abandoned expectations for a move toward $100,000.

On December 15, CryptoQuant data showed short-term holders moved about 24.7K BTC to exchanges near ~$88.2K, with 86.8% realized in profit and over $1.89 billion in value. As price slipped toward ~$85K on December 16, STH inflows fell to 3.9K BTC while long-term holder inflows were muted, indicating profit-taking rather than structural distribution.

Kindly MD has received a Nasdaq notification after its stock traded below the $1 minimum bid price for 30 straight business days, triggering a 180-day compliance period. The company, which merged with Bitcoin-focused Nakamoto Holdings in August and holds thousands of BTC, must raise its share price above $1 for at least 10 consecutive trading days or face potential delisting. Its shares, trading under the ticker NAKA, have dropped more than 98% from late May highs to $0.39.

In a Dec. 15 post, YouTuber Graham Stephan argued that an unwind of the yen carry trade could drain liquidity and pressure risk assets, including Bitcoin. He outlined the trade's mechanics—borrowing near 0% in Japan and buying 4-5% U.S. yields—and claimed the Fed has cut rates for the third time this year and ended QT. BTC was $87,082 at press time.

On December 16, 2025, MetaMask announced native Bitcoin (BTC) support in its wallet. Users updating to the latest version automatically receive a BTC address via multichain accounts and can buy, swap, send and manage BTC alongside ETH, SOL and SEI; SegWit is supported at launch, with Taproot planned. The company said local‑currency purchases are available and BTC confirmations typically take longer.

In 2025, the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio slid from roughly 40 to 20 ounces per BTC as gold outperformed and drew strong buying interest from central banks and ETF investors. Over the same period, spot Bitcoin ETF assets fell from $152 billion to $112 billion and long-term holders realized substantial profits, pressuring BTC on a relative basis. The move reflects diverging demand patterns for gold and Bitcoin rather than a fundamental collapse in BTC's long-term narrative.

On December 16, 2025, the US unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, above the 4.5% forecast and the prior 4.4%. Commentators say the highest reading since September 2021 could drive Federal Reserve easing in 2026. Bitcoin traded near $88,000 after the release, up 1.84% over the past three hours.

On December 16, 2025, analyst Michaël Van De Poppe argued that gold is priced too richly compared with Bitcoin, citing the Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC versus gold falling below 30 for only the fourth time. He noted that similar readings coincided with major Bitcoin bear market lows in 2015, 2018 and 2022, and suggested a possible rotation from gold into BTC as the crypto asset trades at $85,583.