Bitcoin climbed to around $68,500 overnight before reversing during the U.S. afternoon and falling below $66,000, a move that coincided with a stronger dollar and hawkish Federal Reserve minutes, Bitfinex analysts told CoinDesk. The firm described the market as one that tends to move in waves rather than clear breakouts, noting that durable gains would need clearer confirmation from macro disinflation trends and sustained spot demand. Market sentiment remains fragile, with a crypto fear gauge printing single digits on nine of the past fourteen days and Glassnode observing stablecoin outflows from major exchanges and long-term holder stress similar to late bear-market phases in 2022.

Around 3.5–4 million BTC, or 18% of Bitcoin's 21 million supply cap, are considered lost or dormant, while recent quantum computing concerns center on legacy P2PK wallets that could theoretically be cracked and release so-called "zombie" coins, Bull Theory data show. Bitcoin's circulating supply stands at about 20.34 million BTC with 0.66 million yet to be mined, distributed across retail and other investors (8.63 million BTC, 42%), lost and dormant coins (3.50 million BTC, 17%), exchanges (2.30 million BTC, 11%), miners (1.80 million BTC, 9%), public and private companies (1.40 million BTC, 7%), ETFs and funds (1.30 million BTC, 6%), and governments (0.13 million BTC, 1%). Developers merged BIP 360 into Bitcoin's codebase, introducing Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR) to bolster Taproot addresses against long-exposure quantum attacks, while institutions such as ETFs, funds and corporates have accumulated about 2.53 million BTC since 2020 and absorbed 1.314 million BTC of redistribution in the current cycle, a pattern some analysts say suggests the market may be overestimating quantum-related risks.

Bitcoin showed signs of a potential bullish reversal in its $65,000 to $70,000 range this week, with a bullish divergence appearing on the one-hour RSI while price remained range-bound, Cointelegraph reports. Derivatives data pointed to strengthening risk appetite, with total open interest at $24.8 billion (up 18% over 30 days), funding rate at 0.008%, put-call ratio at 0.68, and 24-hour liquidations at $85 million; open interest growth was particularly strong on regulated venues such as CME Group, and options flows showed rising demand for calls with strike prices between $70,000 and $75,000. Analysts highlighted $68,000 as immediate resistance and $66,000 as key support, adding that a decisive move above $68,000 with sustained volume could open a path toward $71,500, with approximately $2.3 billion in liquidations estimated between $68,000 and $71,500; a breakdown below $66,000 or decisive break below $65,000 on high volume would invalidate the divergence and could accelerate losses toward $60,000.

Bitcoin volatility is hovering near record lows and could precede a sharp move, analyst Michaël van de Poppe said. Bitcoin traded around $67,318 at press time, down 0.64%. Van de Poppe said he would buy on further dips and take partial profits if the price tests $80,000–$85,000.

Ledn completed a $188 million securitized bond offering backed by Bitcoin, Odaily Planet Daily reports. The deal features two tranches, with the investment-grade portion priced at 335 basis points over the benchmark rate. Collateral totals about 4,078.87 Bitcoin, valued near $357 million. S&P Global rated most of the bonds BBB, and Jefferies Financial Group structured and bookran the issuance.

Altcoin trading volume has declined by 50% while capital flows back into Bitcoin, CryptoQuant reports. The firm noted this pattern resembles previous corrective phases in the crypto market.

Gemini transferred 1,133 BTC worth $75,316,061 to an unknown address in a single outbound transaction. The destination address has not been publicly identified.

Short-Term Holders continue accumulating Bitcoin, but their Net Position Change over 90 days is declining, signaling weakening near-term demand momentum that Alphractal said has historically preceded market consolidation, increased volatility, or broader regime transitions. BTC climbed above $126,000 in early October, dropped to $60,000 recently, and has recovered near $68,000, while Alphractal founder Joao Wedson said recent institutional buying has not translated into stronger Short-Term Holder demand. Large holders show a contrasting pattern, with whale accumulation up by more than 200,000 BTC and overall holdings continuing to grow even as whale inflows to exchanges have risen, CryptoQuant data show. The metric fell sharply to nearly 7% on December 15, then holdings increased by 3.4% over the past month as whale-held supply rose from around 2.9 million BTC to over 3.1 million BTC, at a time when Bitcoin is consolidating almost 46% below its most recent all-time high.

Crypto lending firm Ledn sold $188 million of securitized bonds backed by Bitcoin, Bloomberg reported. The transaction marks the first Bitcoin deal in the asset-backed debt market.