Bitcoin price: Maintain the increase
As of 5:13 p.m. today (December 18), Bitcoin - the world's largest cryptocurrency by market value continued to increase by 1.17%, reaching 87,367.78 USD.
This new price contributes to maintaining market capitalization at 1,744 billion USD, up 19 billion USD. Similarly, trading volume in the 24 hours was at 44.41 billion USD, up 5.44 billion USD.
Assessment and forecast
More than 2 months after reaching a historical peak of over 126,000 USD, Bitcoin has decreased by nearly 30% and is struggling to find a foothold. One of the main reasons is that investors who have held it for a long time have not stopped selling. New blockchain data shows that the amount of Bitcoin held for many years is being sold at the fastest rate in recent times - at a time when the market's absorption is weakening.
In 2025 alone, nearly $300 billion worth of Bitcoin, which had been "sleepping" for more than a year, returned to circulation. blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant said that the past 30 days have recorded one of the strongest long-term investor distributions in more than 5 years.
Mr. Chris Newhouse - Research Director at ergonia, a company specializing in decentralized finance - commented: "The market is going through a "slow bleeding" process, characterized by regular spot sales in the context of thin buying liquidity, creating more persistent and unlikely reversal momentum compared to the collapse caused by leverage".
For the majority of the year, this selling pressure has been absorbed by strong demand from newly launched Bitcoin ETFs and cryptocurrency investors. However, at present, that demand has weakened: ETF cash flow has turned negative, derivatives trading volume has decreased, and the participation of individual investors is increasingly sparse. The same supply, but now "pouring" into a weaker market with fewer buyers.
Mr. Vetle Lunde - Senior Analyst of K33 - said that unlike previous cycles, this " awakening" Bitcoin period does not come from alternative trading or protocol incentives, but thanks to deep liquidity from US ETFs and reserve demand, allowing OG investors (early participants) to realize profits at six-digit prices and significantly reduce their ownership concentration.
According to Mr. Lunde, the amount of Bitcoin activated this year and last year is the second and third largest in history, only behind 2017.
Data from Coinglass shows that the number of open interest contracts for both Bitcoin options and permanent futures contracts is still much lower than before the October crash. This reflects that the majority of traders are still out of the market, while these markets account for the majority of cryptocurrency trading volume.
However, Mr. Lunde believes that selling pressure from long-time Bitcoin investors may be coming to an end, as the amount of activated Bitcoin has approached historical levels.
In Vietnam, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have not been recognized as a legal payment method and are not protected by law. Investors need to be cautious, avoiding risks from strong price fluctuations and fraud related to cryptocurrency.
