Crypto market dips as Bitcoin falls below $85k amid risk-off sentiment

Crypto market dips as Bitcoin falls below $85k amid risk-off sentiment

Crypto Market Pulse — December 2025

Crypto markets were lower over the past 24h, with Bitcoin briefly dipping under $85,000 on Monday (apnews.com), pulling major altcoins down. The move coincided with tech-stock weakness and rising bond yields, marking a risk-off shift. The market is now awaiting new catalysts after this multi-week pullback.

24h at a Glance

  • Total Market Cap: $2.4–2.6 trillion (24h Δ –4% to –2%)
  • BTC Dominance: ~46.0% (Δ +0.3%)
  • ETH Dominance: ~17.8% (Δ –0.2%)
  • Spot Volume (24h): ~$150 billion
  • Market Breadth (Top 100): ~15 advancers vs ~85 decliners

Note: Figures are estimates; different data providers may report slightly different values based on methodology.

Why the Market Moved

  • Equity sell-off: Broad tech stock declines triggered crypto profit-taking and a move to safer assets (apnews.com).
  • ETF outflows: Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw record net outflows in November (apnews.com), reflecting broad selling pressure.
  • Policy pressure: Hawkish Fed guidance and stalled crypto legislation kept sentiment cautious (apnews.com).
  • Meme token crash: High-profile speculative tokens (e.g. Trump-related coins) plunged as hype faded (apnews.com).

Sectors & Movers

  • Bitcoin (BTC) — Market bellwether briefly fell below $85k (apnews.com), underscoring the risk-off bias.
  • Ethereum & Layer-2 — ETH and its scaling tokens declined with low trading volume, leaving these networks range-bound.
  • Memecoins — High-volatility meme tokens (e.g. Trump-linked coins) plunged sharply on unwinding speculation (apnews.com).
  • Large-Cap Movers (≥ $5B): Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano — all slid about 3–6% amid the broad sell-off.
  • Mid-Cap Movers (≥ $500M): Toncoin (TON), Arbitrum (ARB), Floki (FLOKI) — TON jumped on Telegram integration news; ARB rose on L2 demand; FLOKI crashed with fading hype.

What It Means

  • Opportunity: If macro headwinds ease (e.g. lower yields or positive news), this dip could be a chance to buy leading crypto assets at a discount.
  • Risk: Continued economic and market uncertainty could push prices lower. Sustained selling into key supports would indicate deeper downside.
  • Timing/Regime note: Risk-Off – widespread losses with high volume and weak breadth suggest a cautious market environment.

Invest or Wait?

Aggressive: If Bitcoin and crypto show stabilization, consider buying dips in top coins with tight stop-losses (not financial advice).
Cautious: Prefer to wait for clear trend reversal signals or accumulate gradually via dollar-cost averaging; set defined stop-loss levels (not financial advice).

Crypto is volatile. This overview is informational only. Always do your own research and consider your risk tolerance.

Bottom Line

Crypto markets remain under short-term pressure amid macro uncertainty. Unless broad conditions improve, expect continued caution and choppy trading — though lower prices may set the stage for opportunistic entries in the long run.