Bitcoin extended its slide into the weekend, breaking from its usual pattern of Sunday-night volatility and retreating to $90,000 during early U.S. trading hours. The drop unwound most of the recovery from last Sunday’s sharp sell-off, when panic briefly drove the price down to $84,000.
The renewed weakness adds weight to analysts’ expectations that the market may be headed for a period of year-end consolidation rather than a quick rebound. That sentiment spilled into crypto-linked equities as well, with Strategy (MSTR), Galaxy Digital (GLXY), CleanSpark (CLSK), and American Bitcoin (ABTC) all trading 4%–7% lower.
Market behavior continues to align with trends seen over the past six months. Data from Velo shows the hour before the U.S. market opens and the first hour after the bell have been the most consistently bearish trading windows. Fridays have also registered as the weakest day of the week for digital assets.
Still, there were early signs that the selling pressure could ease. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment data released at 10 a.m. ET showed a sharper-than-expected decline in inflation expectations, offering a brief reprieve for risk assets. The 1-year inflation outlook fell to 4.1% from 4.5% previously, while the 5-year measure slipped to 3.2%, both coming in below forecasts. Bitcoin responded with a modest bounce back toward $91,000 shortly after the report.
Though these surveys are often influenced by political biases and are far from official economic releases, the lack of major data in recent weeks has given them outsized influence. With markets widely assuming the Federal Reserve will cut rates at next week’s final meeting of 2025, traders are now looking to early 2026. Continued softening in inflation could pave the way for additional rate reductions in Q1, a potentially constructive backdrop for risk assets—including crypto.
