Bitcoin struggles as bull market grinds to a halt: Where is crypto headed?

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly slipped below $95,000 on Wednesday before recovering above that level. Bitcoin’s crash ushered a market-wide correction in crypto, sending altcoins in the top 5 lower except XRP that held on to recent gains and added nearly 2% on the day. 

Ethereum (ETH), Binance coin (BNB) and Solana (SOL) correct slightly on the day, while BTC loses nearly 2% value. 

Is this the end of the Bitcoin bull market?

Bitcoin’s gains in 2024 were attributed to institutional investment inflow and approval of US-based Spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). While institutional interest is slowly returning, macroeconomic factors and the strength of the United States (US) dollar are influencing the BTC price trend in 2025. 

David Morrison, Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation, told FXStreet: 

“Bitcoin is proving to be a bit of a disappointment. Having surged above $100,000 on Monday afternoon, it crashed back down through it again just a scant 24 hours later. It has continued to come under selling pressure this morning and is currently back to levels last seen on Thursday as it built up momentum for its push higher.” 

“The daily MACD has certainly dropped back sharply from ‘overbought’ levels seen through November and December. But it may need to find a floor and consolidate further before buyers return. Unless, of course, there’s a significant boost in overall market ‘risk appetite’,” he added.

While Morrison awaits a return in demand in the crypto market to spot a silver lining, Ilya Volkov, CEO of YouHodler, believes that traders may not see the same growth in crypto as seen in 2024.

“The primary driver of cryptocurrency growth last year was the launch of ETFs, which spurred significant demand for crypto assets among retail investors. In 2025, we anticipate a correction in global stock indexes, which could also impact cryptocurrency ETFs and lead to a decline in crypto valuations. It is difficult to predict the depth and duration of this correction, but a key indicator will be the performance of the S&P 500 index, which often sets the tone for other global stock markets," said Volkov.

Volkov has a bearish outlook on crypto in 2025, which is confirmed by the underwhelming Bitcoin ETF flow on Tuesday after two days of significant inflows on Friday and Monday. 

Crypto market cap shrinks by 7% in 24 hours, where is crypto headed?

With crypto market capitalization down to $3.49 trillion as of Wednesday, traders are concerned about the state of the ecosystem and what to expect from altcoins in 2025. Bitcoin’s dominance reduced on the weekly and the daily timeframe, hovering around 57%. 

The total altcoin market capitalization shows signs of recovery on the daily chart in TradingView. 

The market cap of all cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin remains far below its 2021 bull run peak of $1.71 trillion. Until there is a recovery in this metric, the future of the Bitcoin bull run likely remains unclear in 2025. 

Total 2 market capitalization (excluding Bitcoin)

The average volume of Bitcoin traded across spot exchanges reduced by 15% week-on-week, according to a K33 Research report published on Tuesday. While traders await the return of demand and buying pressure to crypto, liquidations in either direction are likely to occur in Bitcoin and top altcoins on derivative exchanges.