Bitcoin is currently struggling to sustain a recovery, having fallen back into the $88,000 range after failing to hold above $90,000. This comes after the digital asset reached an all-time high of over $126,000 in October.
Reasons for Bitcoin's Current Struggles
Data from CryptoQuant indicates a significant drop in ERC-20 stablecoin inflows into exchanges. These inflows have decreased from approximately $158 billion in August to around $76 billion currently. The 90-day average also shows a decline, moving from $130 billion to $118 billion, suggesting that fresh capital is not entering the market at the same pace as in previous months.
CryptoQuant analyst, Darkfrost, commented that the current trend is downward. He noted that the minor rebounds observed are primarily due to reduced selling pressure rather than a renewed surge in buying interest. Stablecoins are considered a key indicator of buying interest, serving as the main entry point for both institutional and retail liquidity in the cryptocurrency markets.
Slowing Corporate Investment in Bitcoin
The trend of corporate treasury accumulation, which was a significant driver for Bitcoin throughout much of 2025, has also seen a marked slowdown. While 117 new companies added Bitcoin to their balance sheets this year, only nine firms have done so in the fourth quarter to date. This is a considerable decrease from the 53 companies in the third quarter and 39 in the second quarter.
A large portion of these corporate treasury holders maintain relatively small Bitcoin positions, with 147 companies holding fewer than 500 Bitcoins.
MicroStrategy continues to be a dominant player in Bitcoin accumulation. The company recently purchased an additional 10,624 Bitcoins for $962.7 million between December 1 and 7, bringing its total holdings to 660,624 Bitcoins.
MicroStrategy has added $21.48 billion worth of Bitcoin this year and is nearing its 2024 total of $21.97 billion, needing only an additional $500 million. However, recent market weakness has led MicroStrategy to establish a $1.44 billion cash reserve to cover dividend obligations, a defensive measure that signals increasing caution within the sector.
Bitmine ranks second among treasury companies actively acquiring Bitcoin, although its purchases are significantly smaller than MicroStrategy's recent buys. In November, Bitmine acquired $892 million worth of Bitcoin, and so far this month, it has spent $296 million on BTC, according to CryptoQuant.
Other prominent corporate holders have noticeably scaled back their activities. Japan's Metaplanet, which held 30,823 Bitcoins as of September, has not increased its holdings in over two months. Similarly, Evernorth has significantly reduced its Bitcoin acquisitions in the last six weeks after investing $950 million in BTC this year.
Market Structure Under Pressure
Adding to the market's uncertainty, MicroStrategy faces a potential challenge from MSCI's proposal to exclude digital asset treasury companies from its indexes. Such a move could compel institutional investors to divest their holdings, potentially diminishing the stock's appeal as a Bitcoin proxy.
Despite these near-term challenges, some analysts maintain a positive outlook for Bitcoin's future. CryptoQuant posted that "BTC could climb toward $99K, the lower band of the Trader Realized Price, a key resistance. Above that, the next hurdles sit at $102K and $112K."
According to Darkfrost and other market observers, a sustained bullish trend for Bitcoin will likely require a significant return of liquidity to the market.