Bitcoin Whipsaws as Traders Brace for New Year Rebound

Bitcoin briefly topped the $90,000 mark on Monday before tumbling, leaving traders waiting on a potential breakout after the token missed a Santa rally that sent stocks to record highs.

The original cryptocurrency rose as much as 3.1% to trade above $90,200 in Asian trading hours on Monday. It later pared those gains to sink back below $88,000 by 9 a.m. in New York. Other cryptocurrencies had also swung, with Ether up as much as 4% to surpass $3,000 before dropping into the red.

In the build up to Christmas, Bitcoin was largely unmoved despite the S&P 500 surging to a record close. The wider crypto space has yet to recover from a weeks-long selloff that began in October with the liquidation of some $19 billion worth of leveraged positions, leaving Bitcoin below where it started 2025.

“Crypto markets were fairly muted over the festive season,” said Simon Peters, crypto analyst at eToro. He pointed to Tuesday’s release of minutes from a Dec. 9-10 Federal Reserve policy meeting as a possible catalyst that could drive prices higher, should they provide insight into any future rate cuts.

While traders have been reluctant to bet big on a comeback since October, there are early signs of a shift in mood.

Monday’s uptick “appears somewhat driven by short term retail traders taking on growing positions in futures,” said Sebastian Bea, chief investment officer of ReserveOne Inc., a crypto treasury firm.