Bitcoin extends monthly decline, drops below $87,000

Bitcoin dropped below $90,000 on Monday, December 1, 2025, extending losses after its steepest monthly decline since the 2021 cryptocurrency crash.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, fell by as much as 6.1% at one point.

In the early hours of Monday, Bitcoin was down nearly 5% at $86,754, set for its biggest one-day fall in a month and hovering near last month’s eight-month low of $80,553.

It shed more than $18,000 in November, its largest dollar loss since May 2021, when a number of cryptocurrencies collapsed.

Given its relatively short lifespan, there is not much in the way of seasonality to guide traders’ expectations for how bitcoin usually behaves in December.

On average, since its inception in 2012, bitcoin tends to rise by around 9.7% in December, ranking it third in terms of performance, with October being the strongest month, with an average gain of 16.6%, and with September, the weakest month, with an average loss of 3.5%.

Of more relevance might be bitcoin’s tight correlation with the stock market at the moment, analysts said.

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XTB research director Kathleen Brooks, in a statement, said: “Bitcoin tends to be a leading indicator for overall risk sentiment right now, and its slide does not bode well for stocks at the start of this month.

“There is no obvious driver (on Monday), however, the sharp decline in volatility last week, the VIX fell back below the average for the last 12 months, may have unnerved some investors who remain concerned about an uncertain outlook into year-end.”

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value behind bitcoin, was down 6% at $2,840, having lost some 22% in value in November, the most since February’s 32% slide.

Since hitting a record of around $4.3 trillion in size, the entire crypto market has lost over $1 trillion in value, according to Reuters.

United States-listed exchange-traded funds backed by spot bitcoin witnessed record outflows of $3.43 billion in November, according to LSEG data. So far this year, a net $21 billion has flowed into these products.

The Star