On December 29, 2025, Bitcoin briefly rose to an intraday high near $90,299 before slipping back to around $86,717 and then recovering above $87,700. The move came amid thin holiday liquidity, weekly losses of about 2% and roughly $443 million in Bitcoin fund outflows, while XRP and Solana saw net inflows.

Bitcoin traded around $86,800 on Monday morning after fading a Sunday push above $90,000, per TradingView. An intraday snapshot showed WTI crude up about 1.77% and gold down about 1.74%, while a U.S. 10‑year rate gauge eased, reinforcing tighter financial conditions that could cap crypto.

On Monday, December 29, BlackRock transferred 2,201 BTC and 7,557 ETH to Coinbase, a move valued at more than $214 million at transaction-time prices. These sizeable Bitcoin and Ethereum deposits coincided with notable daily net outflows from BlackRock's IBIT and ETHA ETFs, aligning on-chain activity with declining fund assets.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty climbed to 148.2 trillion in the final adjustment of 2025 and is projected to approach about 149 trillion around Jan. 8, 2026, as network computing power continues to grow. Faster block times and elevated competition are tightening miner margins, while Bitmain cuts ASIC prices and network hashrate shows a roughly 4% pullback into mid-December.

Bitcoin rose about 2.6% in thin holiday trade, but QCP Capital said the move lacks conviction after Friday's record options expiry saw open interest fall roughly 50%. Deribit funding jumped above 30% as dealers turned short gamma, with a push above $94,000 likely to intensify hedging flows.

On December 29, a U.S. SEC filing showed Strategy purchased 1,229 BTC for about $108.8 million during the week ending December 28, at an average price of $88,568. Bitcoin hovered near $88,000 amid the disclosure, with the buy funded entirely by proceeds from the firm's at‑the‑market stock offering. The company sold roughly 663,450 MSTR shares to generate net proceeds matching the bitcoin outlay.

During a Tetragrammaton podcast appearance, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong argued that Bitcoin serves as a market-based check on U.S. fiscal and monetary policy by signaling when confidence in the dollar weakens. He said this alternative asset can discourage excessive inflation and deficit spending, even as U.S. national debt nears $37.65 trillion and policymakers debate Bitcoin reserves and stablecoin regulation. Other voices, including Peter Schiff and stablecoin advocates, offered sharply different views on whether Bitcoin, dollar-backed tokens, or gold will shape the future reserve landscape.

On Monday, Peter Schiff told investors to sell Bitcoin after it rebounded above $90,000, repeating his stance that strength should be used to exit. On December 26, 2025, he called a Christmas rally a selling opportunity, and on December 28, 2025, he noted silver briefly reached $84 per ounce amid heightened volatility.