Crypto “Winter” Might Not Come? More Traders Turn Optimistic

As 2025 enters its final month, the cryptocurrency market has experienced a volatile ride. After the sharp plunge on the first day of December, the market stabilized and warmed up on December 2 and 3, leading many traders to shift toward more optimistic price predictions for crypto.

 

According to a Myriad on-chain prediction platform poll on “whether a crypto winter will occur,” only 7.5% of users held a bearish view – a drop from 30% on Friday (November 28).

 

 

This sentiment improvement aligns with the crypto price rebound on Tuesday (December 2). As of press time, Bitcoin’s trading price has exceeded $93,000, up 6% in the past 24 hours.

 

However, this price is still about 27% below the all-time high of over $126,000 set in early October.

 

Meanwhile, Ethereum’s trading price is at $2,990, up 7.3% since Monday’s plunge. But over the past month, Ether has also fallen more than 20%.

No Winter in Sight

On the Myriad platform, a “crypto winter” requires meeting at least three of the following four conditions:  

1. Bitcoin price drops to $35,000;  
2. Ethereum price drops to $1,000;  
3. “Bitcoin whale” Strategy Inc.’s stock falls to $50/share;  
4. Total crypto market cap on TradingView drops to $350 billion.

 

More broadly, a “crypto winter” refers to a sustained market downturn, including price declines, slowing trading activity, waning investor interest, and conditions that last for months or even years.

 

The most recent “crypto winter” began in late 2021 and lasted until the second half of 2023. It was triggered by the bursting of the pandemic-era bull market, compounded by the 2022 Terra/Luna collapse and its ripple effects, leading to the bankruptcy of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital in June 2022 and crypto exchange FTX in November of the same year.

 

During that period, Bitcoin’s price fell from its near $69,000 all-time high in November 2021 all the way to around $16,000 – a drop of about 75% – while venture capital funding and trading volumes also plunged dramatically.

 

But from the current situation, although Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have also declined recently, a “crypto winter” does not seem to be on the horizon.

 

Many analysts point out that the Fed’s interest-rate decision next week will be one of the key factors determining Bitcoin’s trajectory this year.

 

Tim Sun, senior researcher at digital asset financial services group HashKey, previously said: “As long as expectations for the Fed’s easing cycle in 2026 don’t completely fall apart… this phase is more likely to be a bottom-forming consolidation rather than a new long-term bear market.”