Crypto Markets Hit Holiday Crisis: Trading Volumes Fall to Lows in 2025

Altcoins like ETH and SOL are seeing weekly volume drops of more than 50% compared to last year’s holiday season.

As 2025 draws to a close, cryptocurrency trading activity has fallen to a lull this year.

Bitcoin (BTC) and major altcoins are experiencing their lowest two-week trading volume since December 2024, with weekly activity for assets like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) down more than 50% from last year’s holiday season.

Holiday break brings volumes to yearly lows

Data shared by Santiment on X on December 30 showed trading volume slide steadily through the final weeks of 2025, with both Bitcoin and altcoins recording their quietest two-week stretch since the same period last year.

The analytics firm said flat, erratic price movements, combined with year-end holidays, have drawn traders away from the screens, sucking liquidity in the spot and derivatives markets.

The decline is especially visible in altcoins. Santiment noted that ETH, SOL, Cardano (ADA), and Dogecoin (DOGE) are now seeing less than half of their weekly trading volume compared to late 2024, when speculative activity remained high even during the holiday season. According to Santiment, this year’s decline points to weaker short-term interest rates rather than panic selling.

Social data also tells a similar story. A message from Oro Crypto, citing Santiment statistics, marked a steady decline in Bitcoin social volume since mid-November. The figures show that discussions on the major platforms have declined, reactions to price movements have dulled and even volatile sessions have failed to capture attention.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s social dominance has also settled into low single-digit territory, indicating that the focus has been fragmented rather than the hype centered around a single asset.

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Oro Crypto said this environment looks more like exhaustion than fear. Historically, big cycle peaks have coincided with loud stories and heavy retail participation, but those signals are currently lacking, even as prices fluctuate within wide bands.

Various signals for the new year

While the immediate technical conditions appear worrying, some observers have pointed to broader macroeconomic patterns as a reason for optimism.

A recent analysis drew a parallel with mid-2020, when gold and silver rebounded strongly thanks to central bank liquidity before capital turned to Bitcoin, triggering a historic bull run. With gold reaching all-time highs above $4,500 and silver also reaching new highs, the same sequence could unfold.

This perspective views the strength of the metals not as a risk warning, but as a leading indicator that risky assets like BTC may follow in 2026, supported by possible rate cuts and clearer regulation.

Yet Bitcoin’s direct path up the charts remains disputed. The asset is trading around $88,000 and is in a tightening pattern, with one trader noting that Bitcoin needs to break above $90,600 to open a path to $107,000. However, if support does not hold, the market could test levels between $70,000 and $65,000.

The convergence of low volumes, social apathy and critical technical levels means that the current market lull is unlikely to last. As such, the defining story of early 2026 will be whether it breaks out on the upside into another rally or downside into a deeper correction.