During the final week of December 2025, the global cryptocurrency market entered a phase of significant consolidation and caution, establishing the momentum for the start of 2026. Bitcoin (BTC), the leading digital asset, struggled to decisively breach the critical psychological level near $90,000. This resistance point indicated strong selling pressure or a lack of sustained buyer conviction necessary for a breakout. Technical analysis suggests that the failure to hold this recently reached level reinforces the influence of a short-term head-and-shoulders pattern identified by analysts such as Peter Brandt on current price dynamics.
Market sentiment broadly reflected this uncertainty, with the Fear and Greed Index registering a score of 17, placing it firmly in the 'extreme fear' territory. This cautious environment was further underscored by net outflows from spot Bitcoin ETF providers, signaling that short-term institutional investors were adopting a defensive posture amid global macroeconomic uncertainty. Despite this, some prior forecasting models still project the potential for BTC to reach between $100,000 and $110,000 by the close of 2025, contingent upon a stabilization of global macroeconomic conditions. Should the current momentum stall, analysts consider a retracement toward the $81,000 range a plausible scenario.
Concurrently, Ethereum (ETH) demonstrated signs of restricted movement, trading within a tight volatility compression range between $2,800 and $3,345. This range, described by some observers as a 'purgatory' for the ETH/USD pair, shows buyers lacking the conviction to push past $3,345, while sellers have been unable to drive the price substantially below $2,800. Data from options on Deribit supports this, placing the 'max pain' threshold for Ethereum option expirations near $3,100, which acts as a central pivot point for short-term price action. Elliott Wave analysis suggests that ETH prices are currently within a Wave (B) correction, with a potential downside target near $2,613.72.
In the meme coin sector, Shiba Inu (SHIB) continued its downward trajectory, trading near a multi-month low around $0.00000723, with a critical support level identified at $0.0000075563. While the bearish price trend persists, on-chain data indicates quiet accumulation by large holders, or 'whales,' who may be positioning for a potential recovery in 2026, supported by ecosystem developments such as the Shib Alpha Layer-2 upgrade. Conversely, Dogecoin (DOGE) presented more contradictory technical signals after successfully reclaiming the important support level at $0.13, a zone that has historically acted as a rebound area. Analysts noted the formation of an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern around this $0.13 support, a technical configuration that theoretically signals potential selling exhaustion and a trend reversal toward targets of $0.15 or $0.16.
However, counter-arguments suggest DOGE remains vulnerable as a 'falling knife' and could retrace to the $0.10 to $0.11 range if the $0.12 level fails to hold. Overall, the crypto market at the end of 2025 exhibits a divergence between the short-term caution—reflected in extreme fear sentiment and ETF outflows—and long-term optimism suggested by corporate accumulation and technical reversal signals in certain altcoins like Dogecoin. The primary outstanding question remains whether Bitcoin can gather sufficient momentum to convincingly surpass $90,000, thereby confirming an end-of-year rally into the start of 2026.
