Santiment reports Bitcoin saw a sharp weekend surge in social media discussions as traders weighed its performance against gold and silver. CoinCodex shows gold at a $4,486 all‑time high, while silver crossed $75 with 158% YTD. Despite lagging, Bitcoin's scarcity and rotation role keep it in focus.

Bitcoin has been consolidating between about $86,500 and $90,000 after a pullback of nearly 30% from its October peak above $125,000. Analysts such as Lyn Alden and Michaël van de Poppe see this as a structural reset, with $86,500 acting as key downside support and a reclaim of $90,000 potentially opening a path toward the $100,000–$105,000 area. While gold and silver have rallied to new highs in 2025, Bitcoin is showing compressed volatility and steady dip buying, suggesting a base may be forming without needing a correction in precious metals.

Bitcoin is trading around $87,800 with $13.6 billion in daily volume and a $1.75 trillion market cap. According to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, sentiment has stayed in "extreme fear" since mid-December as price consolidates after a 30% pullback from October's $126,080 peak. Key levels include $88,600 for upside toward $90,500–$92,500 and $86,300 for downside exposure to $84,450.

Bitcoin traded around $88,000 with only modest weekend volatility while traders watched the final days of the 2025 yearly candle. Analysts highlighted a three‑day bullish RSI divergence and a possible retest of the $93,500 yearly open, but noted that BTC is about 6% lower year‑to‑date and could post its first red post‑halving year, challenging the four‑year cycle view.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan and ReserveOne CIO Sebastian Bea expect Bitcoin to post solid but not exceptional returns over the next ten years. Hougan argues that post‑2024 ETF flows, regulation, tokenization and stablecoins are reshaping the market into a lower‑volatility ten‑year grind and eroding the traditional four‑year cycle. Bea and other analysts say it is still unclear whether that historic pattern is finished, while a planned $99 trillion DTCC tokenization push may help define a new phase in Bitcoin's ownership and price behavior.

Speaking on CNBC on Friday, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said Bitcoin is entering a 10-year "grind up" featuring strong yet steadier, lower-volatility returns. He maintained a bullish 2026 outlook after October's all-time high of $125,100, while Bitcoin trades around $87,800 and is down about 3.8% over the past 30 days, according to CoinMarketCap.

On 28 December 2025, Bitcoin traded around $87,800 after dropping below $90,000 and pulling back roughly 30% from its October high above $125,000. Matt Hougan argues this pattern reflects a shift toward slower, structurally driven growth supported by long-term institutional holders, rather than the explosive four-year boom-and-bust cycles of the past. Some analysts, including Sebastian Beau, still see the traditional cycle as relevant, but both note that growing market maturity may mean steadier gains and reduced sensitivity to political headlines.

On December 27, market analyst KillaXBT argued that Bitcoin's true super cycle will not begin until capital clearly shifts out of precious metals and into BTC. The analyst compares Bitcoin's setup heading into 2027 to gold in the early 1970s, projecting a major outperformance even if BTC reaches $200,000 and a roughly $5 trillion market cap, still far below gold's estimated $31.7 trillion. They also believe 2026 could be a bearish phase and the last prolonged bear market with Bitcoin trading under $100,000 before a stronger cycle takes hold.