Bitcoin Shows Relative Strength Amid Broad Crypto Market Decline
Bitcoin has experienced a decline of about 26% over the past three months and is roughly 30% below its all-time high near $126,200, trading around $85,000 as of December 16, 2025. According to Glassnode, Bitcoin has nevertheless outperformed nearly all major crypto sectors during this period, even as the total crypto market capitalization fell about 27.5%.
Other key crypto assets have seen steeper drops: Ether declined about 36% since mid-September and now trades below $3,000. AI-related tokens fell approximately 48%, meme coins by 56%, decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens dropped 38%, and real-world asset tokens decreased around 46%. Bitcoin dominance rose to around 65% earlier in the year before trending lower from mid-July and stabilizing roughly between 59% and 61% since October.
Market analysis indicates no rotation into new winners, with sector performance remaining below neutral since October and capital increasingly concentrated in Bitcoin. Mid-sized holders owning between 100 and 1,000 BTC have recently added about 54,000 BTC in the past week, bringing their total to approximately 3.575 million BTC, marking the fastest accumulation pace since 2012. Meanwhile, selling pressure has mainly come from long-term holders and 'OG whales' owning more than 10,000 BTC, which has offset institutional buying activity.
Overall, Bitcoin is regarded as a defensive anchor during market downturns, helping to preserve capital while altcoins suffer more significant drawdowns.
