Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin's Death Cross and Geopolitical Tensions Spark Bear Fears, But Institutional Moves Fuel Hope

Bitcoin's recent price action has sparked fresh concerns of a mini bear market, with analysts and market observers pointing to technical indicators, geopolitical tensions, and shifting investor behavior. Matrixport's latest analysis suggests the cryptocurrency has entered a corrective phase, raising questions about the durability of the 2025 bull market.

The price of Bitcoin fell to $105,000 in late November after failing to break above critical resistance levels, triggering fears of a deeper downturn. This decline coincided with the formation of a "death cross" pattern, where the 50-day moving average dipped below the 200-day average-a bearish signal historically associated with prolonged declines according to analysis. While past death crosses in 2023 and 2024 proved to be false signals, the current environment is compounded by waning institutional and retail demand.

Analysts at Bitfinex argue that the correction aligns with historical mid-cycle retracements, typically reaching 22% from all-time highs before reversing. However, they caution that renewed inflows from institutional and retail investors are needed to sustain the broader bull market. Despite this, ETF data paints a mixed picture. While U.S. Bitcoin ETFs have seen record inflows in 2025, with assets surpassing $1.1 trillion year-to-date, Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF has faced outflows of $2.5 billion in 2025. Emory University, one of the few U.S. institutions increasing its Bitcoin ETF holdings, boosted its stake to $51.8 million, reflecting cautious optimism.

Geopolitical tensions further cloud the outlook. China's accusation that the U.S. stole 127,000 Bitcoin-valued at $13 billion-from a 2020 mining pool hack has intensified crypto-related diplomatic friction. The U.S. Justice Department defends the seizure as lawful, but the dispute has frozen 0.65% of Bitcoin's total supply, reducing circulating liquidity and stoking market anxiety. Meanwhile, the U.S.-China trade truce, while promising for soybean exports, highlights broader uncertainties in global trade dynamics, indirectly affecting risk-on sentiment.

The bearish narrative is tempered by structural factors. Bitcoin's integration into DeFi ecosystems, such as the recent expansion of wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) to Hedera, signals growing utility beyond speculative trading. Additionally, institutional players like TeraWulf, a major Bitcoin miner, are pivoting toward high-performance computing to mitigate revenue declines from crypto operations according to analysis.

Market participants remain divided. While some view the current pullback as a healthy consolidation phase, others warn of a potential cascading sell-off. The $100,000 support level will be critical in determining the near-term trajectory. For now, the interplay of technical pressures, geopolitical risks, and evolving institutional strategies underscores Bitcoin's volatility-and the challenges ahead for a market still grappling with its identity as both an asset and infrastructure according to analysis.