The cryptocurrency market weakened along with global risk assets as investors pulled back ahead of key US economic data, extending a December slowdown marked by dwindling liquidity and growing caution in markets.
bitcoin fell to $85,800 in Asian trading, a drop of more than 4% over the past week, as selling pressure spread among major tokens.
Ether fell to around $2,930, while solana , and all posted weekly losses of more than 5%, indicating a broad pullback rather than token-specific stress.
Macro Perspective
The move reflected weakness in global markets. Asian stocks fell sharply, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index falling 1.3%, while US stock futures softened ahead of Tuesday’s November jobs report, which is expected to show a cooling labor market.
The dollar hovered near two-month lows and the yen strengthened to around 155 per dollar ahead of a widely expected rate hike by the Bank of Japan later this week.
The cryptocurrency market capitalization fell to approximately $3.06 trillion, falling 0.2% in 24 hours and more than 2% for the week. While the market has repeatedly defended the $3 trillion level over the past 10 days, analysts say the shift from an uptrend to sideways support is a sign of weakened momentum rather than renewed strength.
“The transition from an uptrend to horizontal support is not a positive signal for buyers,” Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, said in an email. “Selling pressure since late November has broken the short-term structure and the market is now in a consolidation phase with downside risks still in play.”
Sentiment indicators point to growing unrest. The cryptocurrency fear and greed index has fallen to 16, its lowest level in almost three weeks, reflecting extreme caution.
The prolonged stay in fear territory without a clear catalyst echoes periods of cyclical weakness seen toward the end of previous market cycles.
$81,000 base
Bitcoin briefly fell below $87,500 earlier in the week before recovering towards $90,000, but the broader technical picture has deteriorated.
FxPro analysts say a return towards the $81,000 area now represents the base case, although a period of range-bound consolidation remains possible if selling pressure eases.
Still, broader indicators suggest the market is entering a deeper corrective phase. Binance Research estimates that the total crypto market capitalization has fallen by approximately 15% in the last 30 days.
December is typically a period of lower liquidity, increasing the risk of steeper price swings as traders adjust exposure before the end of the year.
Prediction markets also reflect a more cautious outlook. At Kalshi, most users expect Bitcoin to end the year below $100,000, with a probability of exceeding that level of only 23%.
