Hyundai Group's headquarters in Seoul received an email demanding 13 Bitcoins and threatening detonations at 11:30 AM if unpaid, according to South Korea's police. The message cited sites in Jongno-gu and Seocho-gu; 13 BTC is worth $1.1 million (KRW 16.4 billion) at current prices. Police searched facilities and said no explosive devices were found.

On December 19, Bitcoin rose 0.11% over the last day and was quoted at $88,260. A brief push above $88,500 on the hourly chart reversed, implying risk of a move toward $86,000 and reinforcing a likely $87,000-$90,000 consolidation. The broader crypto market was described as neutral at the end of the week, according to CoinStats.

In the past week, Aptos proposed opt-in post-quantum signatures and Solana ran a quantum-resistant testnet, while parts of the Bitcoin community urged faster work on quantum safety. Several major networks treat quantum risk as a long-term engineering challenge, even as Bitcoin debates how prominently and urgently to address it.

On December 19, 2025, mixed market signals suggested Bitcoin may be nearing a late‑cycle transition after slipping below $85,000 earlier in the week. According to Fidelity's Jurrien Timmer, the October move above $125,000 could have marked the cycle's peak, with potential downside toward $65,000–$75,000. Miner stress and defensive positioning reinforce cautious sentiment.

On December 19, 2025, CryptoQuant's sentiment analysis indicated Bitcoin's demand has cooled since early October, with U.S. spot ETFs turning net sellers in Q4 2025 and offloading about 24,000 BTC. Derivatives data show reduced risk appetite, while short-term holders face average losses of -14.9% with BTC near $86,700 and a cost basis around $101,800.

Bitcoin has dropped 36% from its $126,000 all-time high to $80,500 on Nov. 21, pushing the weekly relative strength index to levels last seen in January 2023 around $15,500–$17,000. Analysts highlight that Bitcoin's RSI and NVT Golden Cross, which has recently fallen near -0.6 and remains negative, both suggest a structurally undervalued market that could be approaching a key turning point.

Between November 3 and December 2, 2025, researchers examined over 400 Reddit posts that mentioned both Donald Trump and crypto to see how sentiment moved with Bitcoin’s market swings. The analysis found that although post counts were roughly split between positive and negative, engagement-weighted sentiment turned mildly negative, driven by a highly viral meltdown thread during the crash. When Trump was excluded and only general crypto posts were measured, overall sentiment shifted into positive territory even though the Bitcoin sell-off still pulled scores down in one week.

At its December meeting, the Bank of Japan lifted its short-term policy rate from 0.5% to about 0.75%, while Bitcoin traded under pressure near key technical levels. BTC has fallen roughly 7% over the past week as traders watch whether a break above the $88,200–$89,200 zone can open the way toward $90,000 and beyond. Analysts also highlight support around $84,500 and $80,600 as Bitcoin forms what looks like a consolidation base amid shifting global liquidity conditions.