Bitcoin is spending Christmas Day in “quiet-but-not-boring” mode.
As of December 25, 2025, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading around $87,000–$88,000, with most major price feeds showing it modestly higher over the last 24 hours. [1]
But behind that calm headline price, today’s Bitcoin news cycle has been dominated by three themes:
- Thin holiday liquidity (fewer traders, wider spreads, jumpier moves)
- Persistent spot Bitcoin ETF outflows and a massive options expiry looming on Dec. 26
- A genuinely bizarre “flash wick” on Binance that briefly printed ~$24,111—not across the whole market, but on one specific trading pair [2]
Bitcoin price today: the quick market snapshot
Here’s the Christmas Day scoreboard, using widely followed pricing sources:
- BTC price: about $87,400–$87,500 [3]
- 24-hour range: roughly $86,400 to $87,950 (varies slightly by exchange/feed) [4]
- Market cap: about $1.74–$1.75 trillion [5]
- 24-hour trading volume (spot + broader venues): around $21.8B on major trackers [6]
- Context: BTC remains about 30% below its early October all‑time high near $126,000 [7]
Meanwhile, several outlets are highlighting that broader crypto sentiment still looks cautious, with “fear” readings persisting in popular sentiment gauges. [8]
The biggest Bitcoin headlines on Dec. 25, 2025
1) Bitcoin briefly printed ~$24,111 on Binance—then snapped back above $87,000
The most eye‑catching event today wasn’t a true market crash—it was a single‑pair dislocation.
According to reporting based on exchange data, Bitcoin briefly plunged to around $24,111 on Binance’s BTC/USD1 pair, before rebounding back around $87,000 within seconds. [9]
Two details matter here:
- The move was isolated to the USD1 pair, not reflected across the major BTC/USDT or BTC/USD markets. [10]
- The episode fits the classic “flash wick” pattern: when order books thin out, a single aggressive order (or bot behavior, or a temporary pricing issue) can sweep through levels that normally have more depth. [11]
What is USD1? Reporting described it as a stablecoin connected to Trump family‑backed World Liberty Financial, which made the pair itself a point of extra attention today. [12]
Why this matters for the Bitcoin price today:
Even when BTC looks stable on the surface, micro‑liquidity can still be fragile—especially on a holiday. That fragility shows up first in odd corners of the market (like a newer stablecoin pair), but it’s a reminder that “price” in crypto can be more plural than people like to admit.
2) BTC is still stuck below $90,000—and the market is watching that level like a hawk
Multiple reports today frame Bitcoin as trapped in a familiar band: roughly $85,000–$90,000, with $90K acting as stubborn resistance. [13]
That range‑bound behavior is being linked to:
- Holiday trading conditions (less participation, more pinning near key levels) [14]
- Institutional “marginal demand” cooling, particularly via U.S. spot BTC ETFs [15]
- Derivatives positioning into year‑end (options expiry effects can “magnetize” price toward certain strikes) [16]
One widely cited view today is essentially: Bitcoin isn’t dead—it’s pinned, and it may take a catalyst (or simply the removal of year‑end derivatives positioning) for BTC to break meaningfully in either direction.
3) Spot Bitcoin ETF outflows continue ahead of a huge Dec. 26 options expiry
A key “institutional flow” headline today: spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. recorded another day of net outflows—about $175.29 million (per SoSoValue data cited in reports), marking multiple consecutive down days. [17]
At the same time, traders are staring at Friday’s (Dec. 26) large Bitcoin options expiry, with reporting citing roughly $23.47 billion in BTC options set to roll off. [18]
Why the options expiry matters:
- Large expiries can reduce “pinning” effects once the contracts roll off
- They can also increase short‑term volatility if hedging flows flip quickly (a “gamma” effect—basically, dealers adjusting hedges as price moves) [19]
Several analyses also highlight that options markets are positioned with calls outweighing puts (low put/call ratios), and that the “max pain” level (where option sellers lose least) is higher than spot—suggesting a market structure that could enable sharp moves if liquidity returns. [20]
Zooming out beyond the daily print, another Dec. 25 piece noted that mid‑December saw about $1.13B in net outflows across U.S.-listed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs over a short stretch, underscoring that flows have become a headwind into year‑end. [21]
4) Bitcoin is missing the “Santa rally” vibe in stocks and gold
A striking cross‑market contrast shows up in today’s coverage:
- U.S. equities have been pushing to records in the holiday period
- Gold has been making headlines for fresh highs around $4,500/oz and an outsized 2025 run
- Bitcoin, despite its “digital gold” branding, is being portrayed as the asset that’s… not really joining either party [22]
One widely shared framing today: BTC is ending 2025 quieter than expected, with enthusiasm fading after a bruising autumn drawdown, even while other “risk-on” and “safe haven” narratives are finding bids elsewhere. [23]
Why Bitcoin’s price is so sensitive today: holiday liquidity is a real thing
In traditional markets, Christmas comes with shortened sessions and closures; in crypto, trading is 24/7—but liquidity still follows human calendars.
When major desks and market makers reduce activity:
- Order books thin
- Spreads widen
- “Normal” sized orders can move price more than usual
- Weird prints (like the Binance USD1 wick) become more likely [24]
So even if the Bitcoin price today looks steady around $87K, the quality of that price discovery can be lower than on a normal weekday in mid‑October.
The Binance USD1 flash-wick: what traders can learn without panicking
Let’s demystify what happened without turning it into crypto folklore:
- It wasn’t a market-wide Bitcoin crash. Major pairs didn’t follow it. [25]
- It looked like a pair-specific liquidity event, potentially amplified by automated trading and/or temporary pricing issues. [26]
- The speed of the reversal suggests there was no broad “new information” repricing BTC to $24K—it was more like a momentary air pocket. [27]
This kind of event is also why seasoned traders obsess over details that sound boring until they save you: which venue, which pair, what size, what time, what liquidity, what protections.
Where Bitcoin stands heading into the final week of 2025
Even on a quiet day, price context matters—and today’s reporting keeps returning to the same map:
- Resistance: the psychological $90,000 zone [28]
- Support in focus: the mid‑$80,000s (many analysts point to ~$85K as a level that could matter if BTC slips) [29]
- Catalyst timing:Dec. 26 options expiry + post‑holiday liquidity normalization [30]
One analysis also highlighted the narrative tension that’s been hanging over BTC for weeks: if stocks are rallying and gold is rallying, why is Bitcoin stuck? The answer offered is essentially that BTC is being treated as a hybrid asset—part risk-on liquidity proxy, part hard-asset story—and it’s not fully “winning” either trade right now. [31]
What to watch next for Bitcoin price action
If you’re tracking Bitcoin price today because you care about what happens next (and not just because you enjoy staring into the orange abyss), the next 24–72 hours have a few obvious tripwires:
- ETF flow prints: Do outflows persist, slow, or reverse after the holiday lull? [32]
- Options expiry dynamics (Dec. 26): Does BTC stay pinned, or does the market finally pick a direction? [33]
- Liquidity returning: The same price level can behave very differently when depth comes back. [34]
- Exchange-specific volatility: After today’s USD1 episode, traders will be extra sensitive to sudden dislocations on niche pairs. [35]
Bottom line: Bitcoin is steady near $87K, but the market structure is doing the talking
Bitcoin’s Christmas Day price around $87,500 tells a story of surface calm. But the day’s news tells a more interesting story:
- A flash-wick to $24,111 on one Binance pair showed how strange markets get when liquidity thins. [36]
- ETF outflows and a giant options expiry are shaping near-term positioning more than fresh fundamentals. [37]
- BTC remains boxed under $90,000, even as other assets soak up year‑end optimism. [38]
That’s crypto in late December: the price looks sleepy, the plumbing is dramatic, and the next big move might arrive not with a bang—but with the removal of a mechanical constraint.
References
1. coinmarketcap.com, 2. www.fxstreet.com, 3. coinmarketcap.com, 4. coinmarketcap.com, 5. coinmarketcap.com, 6. coinmarketcap.com, 7. coinmarketcap.com, 8. news.abplive.com, 9. cryptonews.com, 10. cryptonews.com, 11. cryptonews.com, 12. cryptonews.com, 13. m.economictimes.com, 14. www.investing.com, 15. www.fxstreet.com, 16. www.fxstreet.com, 17. www.fxstreet.com, 18. www.fxstreet.com, 19. www.fxstreet.com, 20. www.fxstreet.com, 21. www.investing.com, 22. m.economictimes.com, 23. m.economictimes.com, 24. cryptonews.com, 25. cryptonews.com, 26. cryptonews.com, 27. cryptonews.com, 28. www.fxstreet.com, 29. www.investing.com, 30. www.fxstreet.com, 31. www.investing.com, 32. www.fxstreet.com, 33. www.fxstreet.com, 34. cryptonews.com, 35. cryptonews.com, 36. cryptonews.com, 37. www.fxstreet.com, 38. m.economictimes.com
