bitcoin rose more than 1% during the Asian trading session on Monday, positioning itself for a five-day winning streak, the longest since early October.
The leading cryptocurrency by market value jumped from about $91,480 to $92,500, CoinDesk data shows. At one point, prices exceeded $93,000. Top alternative cryptocurrencies like solarium and ether jumped from 0.7% to 1%. The CoinDesk 20 and CoinDesk 80 indices rose 1.5%, indicating broader market cheer.
“Market sentiment is improving, with Bitcoin and Ethereum transitioning into uptrend regimes,” said Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, who was recently voted top crypto analyst, in a Telegram message to CoinDesk.
“We became constructive following the options expiration at the end of December, anticipating that tax-loss selling would decline and that trading desks would regain flexibility to deploy risks in the new year,” Thielen added.
Bitcoin and the broader crypto market remained depressed throughout December as US-based holders reportedly liquidated their holdings at a loss to offset capital gains and reduce overall tax liability. Investors intentionally take losses on low-performing assets to reduce the tax owed on profitable sales.
Bitcoin underperformed the Nasdaq, gold and other precious metals through 2025, ending the year with a 6% loss. Performance was particularly weak during North American business hours in the final weeks of the year.
Bitcoin’s latest rally coincides with renewed geopolitical tension stemming from the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States. This rise is increasingly seen as a sign that cryptocurrencies are attracting safe haven demand.
“We view the simultaneous rise in multiple asset classes following US military action in Venezuela as a classic flight to quality. Safe havens like gold and silver are rebounding sharply as investors price in elevated geopolitical risk that could persist or escalate,” Ryan Lee, chief analyst at cryptocurrency exchange Bitget, said in an email.
“Oil, for now, remains relatively contained around the $60 per barrel level, helping to limit immediate inflationary pressure, but markets are clearly pricing in the risk of future energy disruptions and tighter liquidity conditions that could force the Federal Reserve to keep rates elevated for longer,” Lee added.
Looking ahead, the bias remains bullish as BTC price remains above the 21-day exponential moving average, according to Thielen.
“Early ETF inflows have been encouraging, and as long as Bitcoin remains above its 21-day moving average, the short-term bias will remain skewed to the upside,” Thielen said.
The 11 bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) raised more than $471 million on Friday, the most in a single day since Nov. 11, according to data source SoSoValue.
