Bitcoin continued to slide as 2025 drew to a close, falling 4% in December and ending the year below its opening price.
The decline came despite continued institutional accumulation and growing mainstream adoption across parts of the crypto industry.
At the same time, regulators, hackers and new asset categories played an increasingly influential role in shaping the market narrative.
Strategy ramps up Bitcoin accumulation
Strategy, the Bitcoin-focused investment vehicle associated with Michael Saylor, capped off the year with another wave of aggressive purchases.
In December alone, the company acquired 22,628 Bitcoin, according to its disclosures.
That buying spree lifted Strategy’s total holdings to 672,497 BTC.
The figure represents roughly 3.3% of the nearly 19.9 million Bitcoin currently in circulation.
Throughout 2025, Strategy disclosed Bitcoin purchases in 41 separate weeks, a sharp increase from previous years.
Its debt-funded approach has inspired a growing number of firms to adopt Bitcoin treasury strategies.
Bitcoin price slips despite institutional support
Bitcoin was trading near $88,000 at the end of December after falling more than 4% during the month.
The asset is set to finish the year below its starting level of around $94,000.
That remains far below the all-time high of $124,000 reached in October.
Some traders warn that further downside is possible if historical boom-and-bust cycles repeat.
Others argue that ETFs and corporate balance-sheet adoption have softened the impact of broader market weakness.
“While the bull market may face near-term consolidation amid macroeconomic pressures, we anticipate it will extend into 2026 with support from ongoing structural inflows and evolving market dynamics,” said Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research.
Prediction markets face legal resistance
Prediction markets made notable progress in the U.S. during December, securing high-profile media partnerships.
However, regulators in 11 states have moved to block platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
Authorities argue that these services constitute unlicensed gambling operations.
Kalshi has rejected that characterization, insisting its event contracts differ fundamentally from traditional sportsbooks.
In Massachusetts, prosecutors accused the company of disguising sports betting.
Kalshi responded that the state is “trying to block Kalshi’s innovations by relying on outdated laws and ideas.”
Hacks and scams remain persistent threat
Crypto-related theft continued in December, with hackers stealing $22.5 million across 10 incidents.
While modest compared with other months, the figure adds to a troubling annual total.
Chainalysis reported that crypto thefts reached $3.4 billion in 2025.
Personal wallet attacks have grown significantly in recent years, accounting for a much larger share of stolen value.
State-sponsored actors, particularly those linked to North Korea, were responsible for an estimated $2.02 billion in stolen cryptocurrency this year.
RWAs overtake decentralized exchanges
Real-world assets emerged as a standout growth area in decentralized finance.
The total distributed asset value of RWAs surpassed $19 billion in December after a 3% monthly increase.
Tokenized U.S. Treasurys led the category, followed by commodities.
RWAs now rank as the fifth-largest DeFi asset category, overtaking decentralized exchanges.
Industry participants say future growth will depend less on tokenization technology and more on liquidity and integration with traditional finance systems.
