The lethargy follows a scorching autumn. A sharp sell-off in October knocked Bitcoin off records, slowing momentum and leaving prices stuck. The token has since fallen about 30% and is on track for its worst quarterly performance since the second quarter of 2022, when the collapse of TerraUSD and Three Arrows Capital rocked the sector.The market is still struggling to regain its footing after the October crash. Trading volumes are thin and retail speculation has disappeared. U.S. exchange-traded Bitcoin funds became net sellers in the fourth quarter, removing a key source of demand that fueled previous rallies.Elsewhere, markets are sending a very different signal. U.S. stocks have gone into a classic Santa rally, pushing the S&P 500 to a record high and rewarding retail investors who stuck with tech stocks and other momentum trades.
Gold, the market’s oldest haven, has soared to new record levels, strengthening its role as a hedge against uncertainty and a store of value. The metal is up nearly $4,500 an ounce, with a gain of more than 70% this year — on track for its best annual performance since 1979 and the second strongest in more than a century, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Bitcoin controls neither. After spending much of early 2025 trading as a risky asset alongside equities, it has clearly failed to join the year-end rally. And despite its long-standing reputation as “digital gold,” it hasn’t attracted the defensive flows that drove gold higher. Instead, things have gone quiet, down more than 7% this year.
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