#数字资产动态追踪 December market conditions took a sharp turn, is the crypto world really entering winter?

The data is in front of us—BTC current price $88,535, down over 5%; ETH plummeted 28.07% in Q4, falling even harder. The market sentiment index has already dropped to 21, which is a signal of "extreme fear." Since 2018, December has never been this cold.

The expected year-end rebound did not come; instead, institutions are starting to call it a "crypto winter." Repeated expectations of Fed rate cuts and lack of market confidence have cast a chilling atmosphere over the entire sector.

But is this all bad news? Not necessarily.

Underlying currents are surging with change. Smart money is quietly positioning in public chains like Ethereum, with net inflows reaching $4.2 billion this year. Regulatory efforts are also advancing—institutions like Grayscale and BlackRock are rushing to submit applications for AAVE, UNI spot ETFs, and TAO trust-to-ETF conversions, accelerating the compliance process. On the technical side, new players like Sui and BNB Chain have released roadmaps for 2026, with competition in high-performance and compliant tracks becoming more intense.

In the short term, BTC is oscillating between support at $86,000 and resistance at $89,000. Whether this range can hold will directly impact future market expectations.

The truth is, the market is currently in "extreme fear," but the industry's evolution has never stopped. By 2026, the market may bid farewell to the era of broad gains and shift into a more refined differentiation stage, where only truly valuable projects can survive the winter.

(As of December 31, 2025, market snapshot. Market changes rapidly, so investment should be cautious.)