Bitcoin | Crypto

Widespread protests took place in Iran’s capital after the rial slid to record lows, prompting Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley to argue Bitcoin could help Iranians protect their savings. Protests erupted across Iran’s capital of Tehran on Monday as the rial hit record lows against the US dollar, a currency collapse that locals blame on the central bank’s poor fiscal policies as they watch the value of their life savings evaporate. While there’s no single solution to the economic hardship that Iranians are facing, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley suggested that Bitcoin (BTC) is a way for people around the world to protect themselves from plunging currency values. “Economic mismanagement — The story of the past, present, and future,” Bitcoin is a new way for the people to protect themselves,” Horsley said in a post to X Monday. Read more

Analysts are split on whether Bitcoin’s typical four-year cycle has ended in 2025, with institutional ETFs and regulatory shifts cited as key factors. A wave of institutional crypto participation spurred by exchange-traded funds, an easing of regulations in the US, an increase in global liquidity, and a Federal Reserve leadership change are just some of the reasons why analysts think the typical four-year crypto cycle is broken. The four-year cycle is tied to Bitcoin (BTC) halving events, which cut miner rewards in half, reducing the supply of new Bitcoin entering circulation.  Historically, this was seen as the catalyst for a predictable pattern: accumulation, a post-halving bull run that peaked around 18 months later, followed by a sharp correction and multi-year bear market. Read more

Analyst and creator of the ‘Bitcoin Quantile Model,' Plan C, just posted a bundle of charts that pushed back on the idea of repeating cycle playbooks as Bitcoin trades around $87,661. The set frames a macro mix where business-cycle gauges remain weak while hard assets, led by gold, retain demand. That combination can change the […] The post Bitcoin analyst warns of “biggest financial mistake of the decade” for those still using this common theory appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The purchase lifts the company’s total Bitcoin holdings to 672,497 BTC and ranks among its smaller acquisitions this year compared with earlier multibillion-dollar buys. Strategy announced its latest Bitcoin purchase of 2025, adding 1,229 BTC after a year of accelerated accumulation that saw the company disclose more acquisitions than in the previous two years combined. According to a Form 8-K filed on Monday, the coins were acquired Dec. 22-28 for an aggregate purchase price of $108.8 million, funded through at-the-market stock sales. The purchase brings Strategy’s total Bitcoin holdings to 672,497 BTC (BTC) at an average purchase price of $74,997 per coin, according to the filing. Read more

Luke Gromen still backs debasement but is trimming Bitcoin risk as BTC lags gold, trends weaken and quantum headlines weigh on sentiment. Luke Gromen still believes governments will rely on inflation and weaker currencies to manage heavy debt. He is more cautious on Bitcoin in the short term and sees a possible move toward the $40,000 range in 2026. His main red flags are Bitcoin lagging gold, trend damage on key moving averages and “quantum risk” headlines weighing on sentiment. Read more

Bitcoin traded near $86,800 on Monday morning after reversing its Sunday move above $90,000, as crude oil rose and gold fell. The 30-minute Bitcoin-U.S. dollar chart from TradingView shows BTC peaking around $90,000 before sliding into the U.S. morning. We saw West Texas Intermediate crude up about 1.77%, gold down about 1.74%, and a U.S. […] The post Bitcoin just lost $90,000, and a quiet surge in energy markets suggests the pain isn’t over appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitmain cut prices on Bitcoin mining rigs on Dec. 23 after miner revenue per unit of hashrate fell in November. The discounts, which extend to current-generation hydro and immersion products, are landing in a cycle in which Bitcoin’s price strength has not translated into the kind of mining-margin expansion that previously drove hardware scarcity and […] The post Bitmain just slashed mining rig prices, proving the market’s oldest “Bitcoin rule” is officially dead appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin trades near the 100-week MA, a level tied to past crashes, as analysts watch for a possible breakdown or trend shift before year-end.

Bitcoin needs a return of retail and institutional demand for BTC to clear the next big hurdle at $90,000 and spark a new rally toward six figures. Bitcoin’s (BTC) end-of-year rally toward $90,000 appeared to be stalling due to a lack of demand and weak onchain activity. Still, a new technical setup suggested that momentum may increase once the BTC/USD pair breaks above $90,000.  Key takeaways: Apparent demand and buying from US investors must recover to secure a new year rally for BTC. Read more

Bitcoin reversed Asian session gains, dropping below $88,000 and affecting major altcoins.

Bitcoin failed to flip $90,000 to support at the start of the last week of 2025, but Bitfinex whale long positions built on their highest levels in nearly two years. Bitcoin (BTC) heads into year-end 2025 stuck around $90,000 as stocks and precious metals roar higher. Bitcoin sees only a modest uptick after its last weekly close of the year, as liquidity analysis warns of a fresh dip. Traders’ cost bases form the backbone of support reclaim targets heading into 2026. Read more

Bitcoin is helping reinforce the US dollar’s reserve currency status by acting as a market check on excessive inflation and deficit spending, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has claimed Bitcoin provides healthy competition for the US dollar, which in turn pressures policymakers to maintain fiscal discipline and helps preserve the greenback’s dominance. “[Bitcoin] provides a check and balance on the dollar in the sense of if there's too much deficit spending or inflation in the US, people will flee to Bitcoin in times of uncertainty,” Armstrong argued in an interview on Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin on Thursday. “It might be okay to have 2-3% inflation if the economy is growing at 2-3% but if inflation outstrips the growth of the economy, you'll eventually lose the reserve currency status, and that would be a massive blow to the United States.” Read more

Many analysts previously forecast that Bitcoin would hit a price target between $180,000-$250,000 in 2025, but the price has fallen flat. The yearly Bitcoin (BTC) price candle is set to close in the red, ending 2025 lower than at the start of the year, unless BTC can rise by 6.24% above the yearly open of about $93,374.  “3 days for Bitcoin to recover and close up on the year. If not, this will be the first post-halving year we close in the red. 6.24% required to make this a green candle,” Puckrin said.  Bitcoin hit an all-time high above $125,000 in October, days before a historic market crash put a dent in Bitcoin’s rally and dropped crypto prices across the board. Read more

Bitcoin miners produced block 929,699 on Dec. 27. What if that was the signal for a New Year’s moment, rather than our traditional calendar? The pitch is that block height, the ordered count of blocks every full node can verify, can act as a calendar layer for a market that trades and settles across jurisdictions. […] The post What if Bitcoin blocks signaled the New Year? Creating Universal Bitcoin Time but trapping holders in a tax nightmare appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin has outperformed precious metals over the last decade, but critics say the comparison doesn't hold up under shorter time horizons. Bitcoin (BTC) has outperformed gold and silver by several orders of magnitude since 2015, racking up a 27,701% gain, compared to silver’s 405% gain and gold’s 283% appreciation during the same period, according to author and analyst Adam Livingston.  “Even ignoring the first six years of Bitcoin's existence, for the crybabies who whine about the timeframe comparison, gold and silver drastically underperform the apex asset,” Livingston said in an X post. Gold advocate Peter Schiff, one of Bitcoin’s harshest critics, chimed in, telling Livingston that he should compare these assets over the last four years instead of 10. “Times have changed. Bitcoin's time has passed,” Schiff said. Read more

Bitcoin analysis said that while a retest of $93,500 could still occur by the yearly close, a red 2025 candle would threaten the four-year cycle theory. Bitcoin (BTC) eyed weekend highs into Sunday’s weekly close with the yearly candle in focus. Key points: Bitcoin sees an eerily calm weekend as analysis eyes a three-day bullish divergence locking in. Read more

The Bitcoin-to-gold ratio has strengthened because Bitcoin spent the past year in a “stagnant stage,” while gold enjoyed a “tremendous year,” according to Lyn Alden. Bitcoin doesn’t need to wait for a pullback in gold and silver prices to continue its upward trajectory, according to analysts. “Surprisingly unpopular opinion,” Glassnode lead analyst James Check said after making the statement in an X post on Friday, adding that Bitcoiners who think otherwise “don't understand any of these assets.” Echoing a similar sentiment, macroeconomist Lyn Alden said in a podcast published to YouTube on Saturday that while “a lot of people phrase it as competition,” she is “not in that camp.” Read more

The “fast-moving retail crowd” is one of the reasons Bitcoin is ending the year lower than it started, according to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan. Bitcoin may post steady returns over the next ten years, but exceptionally large year-on-year gains are unlikely, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan. “I think we’re in a 10-year grind upward of strong returns. It’s not spectacular returns, [but] strong returns, lower volatility, some up and down,” Hougan said on CNBC on Friday. Hougan is sticking with his forecast that 2026 will be a positive year for Bitcoin (BTC), an outlook he first shared in July ahead of Bitcoin’s run to a new all-time high of $125,100 in October. “I think next year will be up,” Hougan said. Read more

A crypto analyst says Bitcoin’s current market setup resembles that of 2019, SEC picks a crypto regulation “dream team”: Hodler’s Digest US President Donald Trumps AI and crypto czar, David Sacks, has signaled that the White House may have all the pieces in place for digital asset regulation following the confirmation of Michael Selig to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In a Monday X post, David Sacks said the US was at a critical juncture for crypto regulation, and that Selig and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins made up a dream team to define clear regulatory guidelines. Sacks comments were in response to Selig saying that the US Congress was preparing to complete work on a crypto market structure bill.  We are at a unique moment as a wide range of novel technologies, products, and platforms are emerging, retail participation in the commodity markets is at an all-time high, and Congress is poised to send digital asset market structure legislation that will cement the US as ...

Bitcoin’s resilient basis rate and options data suggest limited downside despite ETF outflows, while BTC waits for a catalyst that can help it reclaim $90,000. Bitcoin (BTC) bulls worry that institutional interest is weakening amid softer demand for BTC futures. However, other metrics suggest that the BTC price could avoid falling below $85,000. Key takeaways: BTC futures open interest fell to $42B, an eighth-month low, signalling a leverage flush rather than bearish bets. Read more