NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 17:43 ET — After-hours
- Bitcoin rose about 1.1% to around $88,243 in late U.S. trading, after swinging between roughly $86,782 and $89,250 over the past 24 hours.
- U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs posted a net outflow of about $19.3 million on Monday, led by withdrawals from BlackRock’s IBIT and Invesco’s BTCO, Farside Investors data showed.
- Strategy disclosed it bought 1,229 bitcoin for $108.8 million last week, funded by proceeds from share sales under its at-the-market program, a filing showed.
Bitcoin edged higher on Tuesday as investors weighed U.S. interest-rate signals and year-end positioning, with crypto-linked stocks trading mixed after Wall Street’s regular session ended.
The modest move matters now because liquidity is thin into the final days of the year, which can exaggerate price swings across risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. Analysts have cautioned against over-reading late-December moves.
Markets were also digesting the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes, which underscored debate inside the central bank about the path for policy in 2026 after a quarter-point rate cut earlier this month.
“We don’t have any direction in Fed policy,” Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FX Street in New York, said, adding that markets will likely need fresh economic data in the new year to drive the next big move. Reuters
Flows in exchange-traded funds were another focus. Spot bitcoin ETFs — funds that hold bitcoin and trade like a stock — recorded a net outflow of about $19.3 million on Dec. 29, Farside Investors’ daily tally showed.
Corporate buying provided an offset for some investors. Strategy said it acquired 1,229 bitcoin between Dec. 22 and Dec. 28 for $108.8 million at an average price of $88,568, funded by net proceeds from selling 663,450 shares under its at-the-market program, the filing showed.
In after-hours stock trading, Coinbase slipped about 0.9% and Strategy was little changed, while crypto miners Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms fell about 1.8% and 3.8%, respectively.
Broader risk sentiment was subdued. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed fractionally lower in choppy, holiday-thin trade, Reuters reported, after minutes from the Fed’s December meeting showed policymakers split on what comes next.
In macro markets, the dollar held gains after the minutes, while investors continued to price roughly 50 basis points — half a percentage point — of cuts next year, Reuters reported. A firmer dollar and higher yields can weigh on bitcoin by raising the appeal of interest-bearing assets.
Bitcoin has been range-bound below the highs seen earlier in the year, after hitting a record above $125,000 in October before sliding back toward the high-$80,000 area, according to Reuters’ market recap.
Traders are watching whether fresh U.S. labor and inflation reports in early January reset rate expectations and prompt bigger reallocations in crypto and crypto-linked equities. Jobs data for December is due Jan. 9 and consumer price data is due Jan. 13, Reuters reported, with the Fed’s next policy meeting scheduled for Jan. 27–28.
