Cryptocurrencies: “Market remains nervous and volatile in the short term”

Despite the recovery, Bitcoin still costs a good quarter less than it did in October. Is this just a healthy correction, or is crypto winter coming? Some see positive signs.

11 December 2025. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). Cryptocurrencies remain under pressure. “The easing of the trade conflict between the US and China, the Fed's interest rate cut, and the announcement of the end of quantitative tightening did not provide any support for price development,” notes André Dragosch of crypto ETN issuer Bitwise.

After reaching an all-time high of almost $126,000 at the beginning of October, Bitcoin fell to $80,000 in November. Social media was already talking about the next “crypto winter.” After a slight recovery, the most important cryptocurrency has now stabilized at a lower level, trading at $90,150 on Thursday morning. However, this means that all gains since the beginning of the year have been wiped out. In euros, this even represents a loss of 14 percent. The situation is similar for other currencies: Ethereum, for example, is now trading at just $3,195 after reaching a high of $4,951 in August.

Reasons unclear

Such a slump is not entirely new for cryptocurrencies: between January and April of this year, Bitcoin had already fallen by more than 20 percent, and between November 2021 and the end of 2022, it had fallen by more than 70 percent. Until now, however, such price declines were often triggered by fraud scandals, such as those surrounding the FTX crypto exchange. However, there is no clear explanation for the current decline. Concerns about an AI bubble are said to be playing a role, as is the fact that US interest rates are not falling as quickly and significantly as hoped, despite the recent interest rate cut. In addition, the Clarity Act, the law regulating the crypto market, is not making progress in the US.

Crypto ETN trading: High outflows in the US

According to WisdomTree, physically backed Bitcoin ETNs in Europe recorded net inflows of $300 million in November, bringing the total since the beginning of the year to $1.8 billion. In the US, however, $4.6 billion flowed out of Bitcoin trackers in November. This reduces the gain since the beginning of the year to $22.3 billion. The situation is similar for Ethereum: inflows in Europe are offset by outflows worldwide.

Despite the turbulence, trading in crypto ETNs has been rather quiet. Jonas Völker from Lang & Schwarz reports low turnover – in both purchases and sales. “The focus is clearly on the major currencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Solana,” he notes. Small currencies played no role. “There's not much going on,” explains Ivo Orlemann from ICF Bank. He sees WisdomTree Physical Bitcoin (GB00BJYDH287) in the lead in terms of turnover.