Gate 2025 Year-End Community Gala #Bitcoin Six Consecutive Gains Bitcoin Reclaims $90,000 Level but Market Confidence Still Lacking

Bitcoin price has once again surpassed the $90,000 mark, but the foundation of this rebound remains fragile. Despite the price recovery, traders overall remain defensive, and the derivatives market has yet to show signs of sustained optimism.
This week, as Bitcoin rebounded, the cryptocurrency derivatives market almost showed no clear signals supporting a long-term upward trend. Even though last week Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) saw renewed inflows, the overall market structure has not improved in tandem.
The current price increase appears more like a brief respite rather than the start of a new upward cycle. In key areas reflecting market sentiment—Bitcoin perpetual contracts and futures contracts—most trading activity remains concentrated in short-term contracts. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), long regarded as an important indicator of institutional investor participation, still shows weak demand for forward contracts.
Vetle Lunde, Head of Research at K33 Research, noted in a report released on Tuesday that although there are signs of slight improvement in market sentiment, overall caution persists, with investors still adopting a wait-and-see attitude amid recent gains. The report shows that spot trading volume, volatility, and derivatives leverage levels remain near lows seen before December last year, with 86% of open interest concentrated in recently expired contracts.
Meanwhile, funding rates for perpetual contracts remain low, reflecting limited bullish positions and a risk appetite that has not yet significantly warmed.
However, the prolonged selling pressure into late 2024 has reversed in the first few trading days of 2025, driving Bitcoin prices higher. On January 5, Bitcoin ETF recorded its largest single-day net inflow since October 7 of last year, and it was also among the top ten largest daily capital inflows since January 1, 2025.
If Bitcoin continues to strengthen, it could reignite futures trading activity on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. As the spot price and futures price gap widens, basis trading—the strategy of profiting from the price difference—may once again become attractive.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s underperformance relative to gold and stock markets has sparked discussions about the long-term value of crypto assets. Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodities strategist Mike McGlone stated in a report released on Monday that Bitcoin’s volatility has been steadily declining, especially when compared to gold and risk assets, which may indicate that the most explosive phase of crypto assets is gradually passing.