Bitcoin's Holiday Bounce: What's Really Going On?

Bitcoin saw a small bounce back on December 26, hitting near $89, 000 after a shaky start. The whole crypto market was pretty quiet during the holidays, which made prices jump around more than usual. Big money was pulling out of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. On December 24, Bitcoin ETFs lost $175. 3 million, and Ethereum ETFs saw $52. 7 million leave. This has been happening for five days straight, pushing crypto prices down. On December 26, Bitcoin was stuck between $86, 897 and $89, 188. Everyone was waiting for a huge options expiry that day. About $23. 7 billion in Bitcoin options were set to expire, which is one of the biggest ever.BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, had the most outflows with $91. 4 million leaving on December 24. Grayscale’s products also saw $30. 4 million in outflows. For Ethereum, Grayscale’s ETHE had $33. 8 million leave. Trading was slow because of the Christmas holiday. This made the market more volatile around key price levels. The big question is why this is happening. Bitcoin and other cryptos have been falling since they hit a high near $126, 000 in October. Now, they're about 30% below that high. Some think people are selling to lock in losses before the year ends. The options expiry might show which way prices will go next. But for now, the market is waiting for more trading activity in January to see clearer trends.