Bitcoin and ether ended December with little sign of the year-end surge that traders often count on, capping a quarter that showed how fragile crypto growth can look when liquidity dries up and risk appetite wanes.
The so-called ‘Santa growth’ never really arrived. Instead, bitcoin repeatedly tried to recover key levels, while ether and major company tokens followed lower.
Bitcoin is on track to end December down around 22%, its worst month since December 2018, while ether is on track to end the fourth quarter of 2025 down 28.07%, according to data compiled by CoinGlass.
A ‘Santa rally’ is a tendency for the market to rise in the last week of December and early January, driven by poor liquidity, year-end portfolio rebalancing and optimistic holiday sentiment.
That weak finish is important because cryptocurrencies historically rely on strong flows at the end of the year to establish early cycle momentum, SEEbiz reports. This time, December looked more like a positioning reset than the start of new growth.
Given that bitcoin posted a sharp negative performance in the fourth quarter, the quarterly data now reads as risk-off rather than risk-up.
The contrast with precious metals is hard to miss.
Gold hit new highs on expectations of interest rate cuts and geopolitical stress, while silver rose and platinum also hit new highs, as previously reported by CoinDesk.
Gold has benefited from steady central bank demand and rising ETF allocations, strengthening its role as a reserve-style hedge when investors are restless.
Bitcoin, by comparison, traded more like a high-beta asset. Even as the macroeconomic backdrop points to policy easing, bitcoin has struggled to hold on to gains without a broader risk offering.
A pattern became familiar in late 2025, where spikes were accompanied by quick profit-taking, leverage was reduced during the holidays, and US hours typically saw the most selling as funds cleared positions.
