$BTC has repeatedly tested but failed to sustain a breakout above the $90,000 resistance level in late December 2025, leading to a market retracement that has dragged the price back toward $87,000–$88,000 and inflicted heavy losses on altcoins. This rejection stems from a confluence of technical barriers, including the 50-day moving average convergence around $92,000 and psychological selling pressure at the round number, exacerbated by thin holiday trading volumes and profit-taking after the recent CPI-driven rally. The broader market has suffered as a result, with Ethereum dropping 4% and many altcoins like Solana and Cardano losing 5–10%, reflecting Bitcoin's dominance in dictating sentiment during consolidation phases.
✏ Technical Breakdown
The $90,000 zone has acted as a formidable ceiling, with multiple intraday spikes—such as the brief push on December 20—fading due to insufficient buying volume and cascading liquidations of overleveraged long positions. Chart patterns show Bitcoin trapped in a descending channel since November, with RSI levels around 45 indicating waning momentum and potential for further downside if support at $85,000 breaks. Altcoins, more sensitive to Bitcoin's moves, have seen their correlations spike to 0.85, amplifying the retrace and wiping out $150 billion from the total crypto market cap in the past week alone.
✏ Market-Wide Impact
The failure has reignited fears of a deeper Q4 correction, with retail-driven selling and reduced institutional inflows contributing to the pullback, as evidenced by ETF outflows exceeding $2 billion in December. Altcoins are hit hardest in this environment, often retracing 1.5–2x Bitcoin's percentage drop due to lower liquidity and speculative positioning. However, on-chain data suggests whale accumulation persists below $88,000, hinting at a potential floor formation amid year-end tax strategies.
