Bitcoin breaks above $90,000 as traders bet on new year rebound

Bitcoin was largely unmoved as the S&P 500 surged to a record close in the build-up to Christmas.

Bitcoin rose in Asia trading to top $90,000, hinting at a potential breakout after the token missed out on a Santa rally that sent stocks to record highs.

The original cryptocurrency rose as much as 3.1% to above $90,200 in Singapore on Monday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Other cryptocurrencies also jumped, with Ether up as much as 4% to surpass $3,000.

Bitcoin was largely unmoved as the S&P 500 surged to a record close in the build-up to Christmas. The wider crypto space has yet to recover from a weeks-long selloff that began in October with the liquidation of some $19 billion worth of leveraged positions.

That episode hollowed out the market, with traders reluctant to bet big on a comeback since. Now, there are early signs of a shift in mood.

Monday’s uptick “appears somewhat driven by short term retail traders taking on growing positions in futures,” said Sebastian Bea, chief investment officer of ReserveOne Inc., a crypto treasury firm.

The Bitcoin funding rate — a key barometer of crypto sentiment — is at its highest level since Oct. 18, according to CryptoQuant data, signaling growing demand for bullish bets in the perpetual futures market.

Open interest in futures positions for Bitcoin has also bounced from recent lows, but remains “well below recent peaks that coincided with Bitcoin recent highs in October,” Bea added. The token reached a record of $126,251 on Oct. 6.

Despite mounting institutional adoption and a series of policy wins under pro-crypto US President Donald Trump, Bitcoin is down about 4% in 2025.