2025-12-31 02:26:25

Year-end final trading day, the crypto market remains calm and uneventful.

The story of MicroStrategy best illustrates the current awkward situation. In December, this tech company sold a total of 15 million shares to raise $2.67 billion and increased its Bitcoin holdings. It sounds ambitious, but the market response was cold—MSTR's stock price dropped to $155, hitting a new low since September. This "stock-bond divergence" phenomenon is rare, and institutional investors are beginning to have differing opinions, even doubts, about this "infinite leverage" model.

Bitcoin itself is also having a tough time. With a tug-of-war around the $87,000 mark, if there are no surprises tonight, the full-year decline will be about 8%. This sharply contrasts with last year's bullish trend, making 2025 seem like a "digestive year"—wide-range volatility, lukewarm and uneventful.

But not all coins are in the same boat. XRP is defying the trend, stabilizing overnight above $1.80, performing significantly better than the broader market. Behind this is a defensive allocation of funds at year-end—investors tend to favor assets with clear regulatory positive signals (such as ETF approval expectations).

Tax considerations are also brewing. Today is the deadline for U.S. investors to harvest tax losses for the 2025 fiscal year, and some losing altcoins still face final liquidation pressure. Analysts expect that after the New Year’s Day hurdle, selling pressure will sharply decrease.

Interestingly, Meme coins on Solana and Base chains are lively. Leading projects like WIF and BONK are seeing increased trading volume, as retail investors bet on social media hype during the holidays to generate traffic dividends. Mainstream coins are sluggish, but on-chain speculative funds have not retreated—they are betting on the "New Year’s effect."

Influenced by this wave, leveraged ETFs are also pulling back. The 2x long MSTR ETF launched by Defiance has significantly shrunk in size, reflecting a short-term cooling of the narrative around "corporate Bitcoin allocation." How the story will unfold in early 2026 remains uncertain.

BTC1,14%

XRP0,37%

SOL1,42%

WIF-4,2%

View Original

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.

17 Likes

Reward
17
5
Repost
Share

Comment

0/400

DataChief

· 4h ago

MSTR's move this time is really outrageous; selling stocks and Bitcoin resulted in being counter-educated. This is what institutional "wisdom" looks like. Retail investors bottom-fishing meme coins is the real strategy anyway, since mainstream coins aren't showing much momentum, might as well gamble on the New Year's Day effect. XRP's defensive positioning this time is clever; having regulatory expectations makes a difference.

View OriginalReply0

AirdropHermit

· 4h ago

MSTR's recent move is really disappointing; selling stocks and increasing crypto holdings instead has led to market ridicule and sarcasm. Retail investors are still gambling on Meme coins for New Year's, while institutions are calmly observing, highlighting the gap in outlook. XRP surprisingly defied the trend; it seems that ETF expectations are indeed a moat.

View OriginalReply0

NotFinancialAdvice

· 4h ago

MSTR's move is really incredible; selling stocks to buy more BTC resulted in the stock price dropping... This is what they call losing both the wife and the soldiers, right? XRP is sneaking up quietly; it seems we still have to follow the regulatory trend. Retail investors are still having fun with meme coins; they really dare to gamble.

View OriginalReply0

AirdropHunterKing

· 4h ago

Hey, MSTR's move is really impressive. They invested 2.67 billion, yet the stock price actually dropped below 155... This is what they call the more they push, the more they get headshot, haha. XRP is surging. I've been lurking for a while, just waiting for the ETF approval to cash in. The meme coin hype is still going strong. The contract interactions between WIF and BONK haven't stopped, retail investors are still betting. This is the real on-chain activity... Much better than the dead water of BTC. After New Year's Day, the selling pressure should indeed decrease. Those who are clearing out for tax purposes at the end of the year should stop. Let's see who dares to take the buy...

View OriginalReply0

MysteryBoxBuster

· 4h ago

MSTR's move this time is really brilliant. Spending money to add positions but ending up getting slapped in the face, institutions are also starting to hesitate. Bitcoin is stuck at 87k, not moving at all, really like waiting for some signal. Why can XRP be so resilient? It seems someone is really betting on regulatory expectations. Waiting for New Year's Day, the selling pressure on altcoins should ease. Most of those clearing positions now are just for tax purposes. Meme coins are still going crazy. Retail investors really dare to gamble. Is it just relying on the New Year's Day bonus? The story with institutions can't go on, retail investors are still going all-in. This is the current situation, right?

View OriginalReply0