By Jack Denton
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tumbled in Monday trading, slipping below key levels over the weekend as sentiment for digital assets eroded.
Technical indicators for Bitcoin are negative, and history says performance in the month ahead is only a coin flip.
The price of Bitcoin fell 6% over the past 24 hours to $85,805. The largest digital asset had reclaimed the key $90,000 support level last week but fell through it again on Sunday.
"Bitcoin shows weak development in a falling trend channel in the short term. This signals increasing pessimism among investors and indicates further decline," according to technical analysis of price trends released by Investtech. "The currency has support at points $84,000."
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index, which is a composite measurement of crypto investor sentiment, was also flashing red, with the index at 20 out of 100, indicating "Extreme Fear."
Cryptos had been at the leading edge of a deterioration, and then recovery, in wider risk sentiment in recent weeks, falling through November but bouncing back in the last week of the month.
An important macroeconomic factor for crypto traders, like investors in the stock market, has been the question of whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December, easing lending conditions and boosting liquidity.
The tumble in Bitcoin to start the week could be a bearish signal for risk sentiment more broadly. History also suggests that December is not the best month for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin has only risen in the period between Black Friday and the end of the year in 54% of cases since 2014, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Since Bitcoin was trading above $91,000 to close out last week, the flagship crypto is off to a poor start.
Beyond Bitcoin, Ether, the second-largest crypto by market cap, lost roughly 8% to $2,810. Smaller cryptos were also in decline, with XRP retreating 9%, Solana slipping 9%, and so-called memecoin Dogecoin down 10%.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 01, 2025 08:50 ET (13:50 GMT)
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