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Crypto markets remained under pressure as bitcoin hovered near $87,000, with options positioning and analyst commentary pointing to rising risks of a deeper downturn into early 2026. The recent rebound appears to be losing momentum, with price action increasingly defined by short-lived bounces followed by renewed selling, as CoinDesk reported on Wednesday. Bitcoin briefly climbed to $90,000 late on Wednesday before slipping back below $87,000, underperforming equity markets during the latest bout of macro uncertainty. Traders are increasingly positioning for further downside, particularly around the Dec. 26 options expiry. Data from derivatives markets show a heavy build-up of put options at the $85,000 strike, suggesting expectations that bitcoin could dip below that level in the near term. Thirty-day implied volatility has climbed toward 45%, Derive.xyz said in an email to CoinDesk, while skew remains firmly negative, reflecting demand for downside protection. Longer-dated skew is also anchored near -5%, indicating that bearish sentiment extends well into the first half of next year. “There’s clear defensive positioning going into year-end,” Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, said. “The uptrend that formed in late November has been broken, and the market is now trading more like it did during the October sell-off, with sharp rebounds failing to gain traction.” Ether is showing a slightly more balanced profile. While short-dated ETH skew remains negative, longer-dated skew is closer to neutral, suggesting less conviction around a sustained downturn. Still, traders have accumulated a sizable cluster of puts around the $2,500 level for the Dec. 26 expiry, highlighting a key area of concern. Beyond near-term positioning, some analysts are warning that bitcoin’s long-term cycle may be turning. Bloomberg Intelligence commodities strategist Mike McGlone said the rally above $100,000 earlier this year may have planted the seeds for a much deeper retracement. “Bitcoin’s surge toward six…

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Filed under: News - @ December 18, 2025 11:27 am