Bitcoin Stalls Below $90,000 As Year-End Flows And Options Mechanics Set The Tone

Key Points

• Bitcoin failed again near $90,000 as thin holiday liquidity met steady overhead selling.
• U.S. crypto ETFs saw net outflows on Dec. 26, reinforcing a cautious, risk-off bias.
• Outside the majors, leverage and low depth drove outsized jumps in smaller tokens.

Bitcoin spent the past day and night drifting around the mid-$87,000s, a familiar zone that has become the market’s waiting room. The price action was not dramatic. It was revealing.

Each push toward $90,000 met sellers quickly, and the market slipped back into a tight range where traders appear more concerned with positioning than conviction.

The flow picture matched the mood. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of about $275.9–$276 million on Dec. 26, led by a $74.4 million withdrawal from Fidelity’s FBTC and a smaller $8.9 million outflow from GBTC.

Ethereum’s spot ETFs also registered a net outflow of $16.6 million, tied to outflows from ETHE. In year-end markets, where liquidity thins and price can be nudged by relatively modest trades, that kind of steady exit pressure matters.

Another mechanical factor loomed large: a major options expiry on Dec. 26 that was widely described as one of the biggest on record.

Bitcoin Stalls Below $90,000 As Year-End Flows And Options Mechanics Set The Tone

Reports pointed to more than $27 billion in notional expiring, including roughly $23.6 billion in Bitcoin and $3.8 billion in Ether, with “max pain” estimates clustered near $96,000 for Bitcoin and about $3,100 for Ether.

When that much open interest rolls off, dealer hedges can unwind abruptly. In quiet conditions, that can magnify chop or trigger short bursts of momentum without any new headline.

Technically, the charts told the same story across time frames. On the 4-hour view, Bitcoin hovered near $87,500 with resistance stacked from roughly $87,760 through the high-$88,000s and up toward $89,000.

Support sat near $87,470 and then around $86,600. Momentum was neutral-to-soft, with RSI near 48. The daily chart still looked heavy, with RSI around 43, consistent with a market trying to base but not yet repairing trend damage.

The weekly view remained weaker, with RSI near 37 and a visible risk zone down toward roughly $80,940 if support fails.

While Bitcoin and Ether edged lower (BTC about -1.17% and ETH about -0.82% on perpetual markets), the real fireworks were elsewhere.

Smaller tokens posted extreme moves: POWER jumped about 48%, AT rose roughly 35%, AVNT gained about 23%, and KAITO added around 21%, while BEAT fell about 9% and ZBT dropped nearly 8%.

That pattern—muted majors, explosive fringes—often signals a market where leverage hunts for opportunity, and fundamentals take a back seat to liquidity.

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