Volatility continues in thin holiday trading

Wintermuth reports that Bitcoin briefly fell below $85k and Ethereum fell below $3k last week.

In the year As 2025 draws to a close, cryptocurrency markets are still volatile, with typically quiet holiday trading, although traders face hundreds of millions in daily liquidity.

This constant volatility, marked by high price volatility and failed rallies, reflects a market still struggling to recover from a historic downturn and now entering the new year in a state of structural instability.

Heavy liquidity exposes a weak year-end market structure

According to a recent report by market maker Wintermuth, bearish pressure intensified early last week, with Bitcoin (BTC) briefly breaking below $85,000 and Ethereum (ETH) falling below $3,000 before derivatives-led selloffs took hold.

Liquidations surged to $600 million on Monday, followed by about $400 million each on Wednesday and Thursday as heavy rebounds were quickly sold off.

“Downward movements remain spontaneous, but increasingly independent as energy is quickly released and capital flows into liquid assets,” he wrote.

By the end of the week, the movement slowed, and Bitcoin returned to $90,000, although this level will be difficult to hold again.

As reported by CryptoPotato on December 23, BTC failed to find a clean break above $90,000 before retreating to the high-$80,000 region. That struggle set bitcoin up for a nearly 24% loss in the fourth quarter, its weakest Q4 since 2018, according to Coinglass data.

Wintermuth's inflow data points to a tighter market. Buying interest is still focused on BTC and ETH, institutional interest is constant with the summer.

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Meanwhile, retailers seem to be moving out of smaller tokens and back into majors.

“BTC and ETH continue to act as the main risk bearers, as the broader market struggles under supply pressure and limited appetite,” Wintermute said.

The company says token launches and oversupply continue to weigh on altcoins.

October's benefit flow still hangs on sentiment.

Rush conditions are associated with deep scars left by October's high sales prices. Many analysts argued that the crash, which lost more than $12,000 from bitcoin's value in a single day, had damaged confidence in the heavy-hitting exchange. Despite relatively strong fundamentals, BTC is now down about 7% and is heading for a rare red year.

Wintermute cautioned that price discovery is still occurring “at the margin on the origination side,” leaving room for unexpected air pockets as tight spots loosen. In addition, interest rates remain tight, options markets are yielding, and holiday trading desks are shrinking, making the money supply thinner.

Looking ahead, the market maker expects quieter conditions until the end of the year, unless there is a clear macro or policy trigger for region-related trading. While institutional participation continues to grow, the organization cautions that recent moves may be driven by attitude rather than conviction.