Opinion: The "Trump rally" failed to support crypto assets, with the market retreating and erasing gains made earlier this year

BlockBeats News, December 30 — As 2025 draws to a close, the cryptocurrency market has almost completely given back its gains for the year. Although bitcoin once hit a historic high of $126,000 on October 6, the market then plummeted, with the total digital asset market capitalization evaporating by about $1 trillion over the past few months.

The turning point came in mid-October, when Trump announced an escalation of the tariff war, causing $19 billion in liquidations in the crypto market within 24 hours—a record high. Ethereum subsequently fell by about 40% within a month, and the market value of Eric Trump’s crypto company also shrank significantly in December.

Analysts pointed out that although the Trump administration’s overall stance is “pro-crypto,” the tariff conflict, a tightening macro environment, and high-leverage liquidations have had a greater impact on the market. In November, bitcoin once fell below $81,000, marking the largest single-month drop since 2021, and is currently fluctuating around $90,000.

Industry insiders warn that the market may be entering a new round of “crypto winter,” but some institutions believe this is more like a typical four-year bitcoin cycle correction. Both BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and a certain exchange CEO Brian Armstrong have stated that, in the long run, institutional funds are still steadily flowing in, and crypto assets are moving from the “gray area” into the mainstream financial system.