Bitcoin Dips Below Its 2025 Price After Weekend Sell-Off

Bitcoin slipped under its opening price of $93,507 for 2025 after a sharp weekend downturn across the crypto markets — a surprising reversal given the series of positive industry developments this year.

After a Weekend Sell-Off, Bitcoin Dips Below Its 2025 Price

BTC briefly fell to $93,029, roughly 25% below its October peak. It has since recovered slightly and is now trading around $90,153.49, based on CoinMarketCap data.

A Promising Year Interrupted by Policy Turbulence

Many expected 2025 to be a strong year for crypto after Donald Trump assumed office on Jan. 20, assembling what many consider the most crypto-forward administration to date.

Supportive regulatory steps, rising corporate Bitcoin treasury positions, and continued inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs helped fuel early optimism.

However, Trump’s aggressive tariff policies and the historic 43-day government shutdown — which just ended — repeatedly disrupted market sentiment and sparked several double-digit declines throughout the year.

Whale Activity Adds More Pressure

Selling from long-time holders has also been a contributor to recent weakness. Early adopters and large BTC wallets have taken profits, dampening BTC’s upward momentum even as adoption trends remain strong.

Even so, analysts at Glassnode noted that this selling pattern aligns with typical late-stage bull market behavior, rather than signaling a large-scale exit by whales.

Altcoins Take a Hit Too

Bitcoin’s slump is mirrored across the market.

• Ether has dropped nearly 8% since January.

• Solana is down more than 28%.

• Many smaller altcoins have seen even steeper losses.

  
  

Is the Four-Year Cycle Still Relevant?

With institutional participation at an all-time high, analysts are questioning whether the classic four-year crypto cycle still holds. Some believe today’s more mature market structure could break old patterns.

Others, like Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise, argue that the strongest part of the cycle is yet to come. He predicts a major surge in 2026, driven by monetary debasement themes, growing stablecoin adoption, tokenization expansion, and continued DeFi growth.

“The fundamentals remain incredibly strong,” Hougan said last week.