Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC Struggles As Gold, Silver Surge To Record Highs
Bitcoin (BTC) and the cryptocurrency market retreated on Fri as gold, silver, platinum, and copper surged to record highs, indicating that metals are attracting capital on the debasement trade and geopolitical tensions.
BTC briefly crossed $89,000 on Friday but failed to sustain momentum and dropped to $87,296. The flagship cryptocurrency is marginally up during the ongoing session, trading around $87,472.
Bitcoin’s price action has come under intense pressure following $23.6 billion worth of Bitcoin options expiring on December 26.
Authorities Make Arrests Linked To Coinbase Breach In India
Coinbase Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong has confirmed that authorities arrested a former customer service agent in India. The arrest comes months after attackers bribed customer support executives to gain access to sensitive customer information. Coinbase had stated that hackers had paid contractors based outside the US to gain access to customer data before attempting to extort the company for $20 million. According to the exchange, the security breach could have cost $400 million to remediate, making it one of the most expensive security breaches in the crypto industry.
A spokesperson confirmed the arrest, conducted in cooperation with US law enforcement. The security incident highlights a persistent vulnerability facing crypto platforms. While crypto platforms have invested heavily in technical safeguards, hackers have started targeting customer support channels, particularly those based overseas.
We have zero tolerance for bad behavior and will continue to work with law enforcement to bring bad actors to justice. Thanks to the Hyderabad Police in India, an ex-Coinbase customer service agent was just arrested. Another one down and more still to come.
Jan3 Founder Makes Bold Bitcoin Prediction
Jan3 founder Samson Mao believes Bitcoin could be entering a decade-long bull market after a bear market over the past year. Mao stated in a post on X that “2025 was the bear market.” Bitcoin analyst PlanC echoed a similar sentiment, stating,
If you made it through 2025, you made it through the bear market. Bitcoin has never had two red yearly candles in a row.
However, not all analysts agreed, arguing that Bitcoin’s all-time high of $125,100 was the cycle high, and the flagship cryptocurrency could be entering a bear market in 2026. Bitcoin is also well below bold predictions by BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes and BitMine Chair Tom Lee, who predicted in October that the price could reach $250,000 by the end of the year.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis
Bitcoin (BTC) is struggling to build momentum thanks to low liquidity levels over the holiday week. The flagship cryptocurrency’s price action has been relatively muted this week, with significant movement recorded only on Friday when it briefly crossed the $89,000 mark to $89,496. However, it lost momentum and settled at $87,296, ultimately registering a marginal increase. The price is marginally up during the ongoing session, trading around $87,431.
Bitcoin has traded between support at $86,000 and resistance at $90,000. Prices fall gradually, followed by a rebound lacking strong upside momentum. Some analysts believe the price action is a deliberate attempt by large players to keep prices lower. According to one analysis that studied transactions worth $20 million or more, large transactions moved to exchange hot wallets between October and mid-December. The analysis states that 65% of BTC across whales and institutions was sent to exchanges. Such moves, analysts believe, are generally a preparatory step before selling rather than immediate selling.
Outflows peaked in November across Bitcoin whales, BlackRock-linked wallets, and Wintermute, coinciding with price weakness as the flagship cryptocurrency slipped below $85,000.
BTC’s sluggish price action comes as gold, silver, and other metals continue to soar, posting record highs on Friday. The record surge suggests metals, not Bitcoin, are attracting capital on the global debasement trade. Crypto stocks, including Coinbase (COIN), Gemini (GEMI), Bullish (BLSH), and Galaxy Digital (GLXY), are trading in the red.
BTC started the previous week in bearish territory, dropping 1.99% to $86,417. However, it recovered on Tuesday, rising 1.66% to reclaim $87,000 and settle at $87,854. The price reached an intraday high of $90,336 on Wednesday but lost momentum after reaching this level and settled at $86,209. Bitcoin bulls made another attempt to breach the $90,000 ceiling as the flagship cryptocurrency reached an intraday high of $89,447. However, selling pressure at upper levels forced BTC into a retreat as it settled at $85,460, down almost 1%. Despite the overwhelming selling pressure, BTC recovered on Friday, rising over 3% to $88,092.
Source: TradingView
Price action remained positive over the weekend as BTC registered marginal increases on Saturday and Sunday, settling at $88,639. The flagship cryptocurrency reached an intraday high of $90,541 on Monday. However, it lost momentum after reaching this level and settled at $88,556, ultimately registering a marginal decline. Selling pressure persisted on Tuesday as the price fell by over 1% to $87,429. BTC registered a marginal increase on Wednesday but lost momentum on Thursday, dropping 0.50% to $87,171. The flagship cryptocurrency briefly crossed $89,000 on Friday, reaching an intraday high of $89,496 before settling at $87,296. The price is marginally up during the ongoing session, trading around $87,411.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.