Despite reaching $126,000, Bitcoin’s late-year sell-off led to its first post-halving annual loss.
Bitcoin closed out 2025 with a rare annual loss. This was the first time in history that the world’s largest cryptocurrency ended a post-halving year in the red.
After the April 2024 halving, which traditionally sets the stage for strong gains in the following 12-18 months, BTC rallied to a new all-time high above $126,000 in October before reversing sharply in the final months of the year.
ETFs, Macro Pressure, and a Broken Cycle
According to market data, Bitcoin finished 2025 lower than where it started, as the yearly candle closed below its January opening price. This scenario had never happened after any of the previous halvings in 2012, 2016, and 2020. This unusual performance has reignited debate over the fate of the so-called “four-year cycle” that many traders have relied on to predict post-halving bull runs.
Some analysts argue the cycle’s breakdown reflects Bitcoin’s growing role as a macro risk asset influenced more by broader financial markets, ETF flows, and regulation than by simple supply mechanics.
Meanwhile, others see it as a correction within a still-intact long-term trend. Throughout 2025, BTC faced mixed signals: strong institutional interest and growing ETF adoption, but also macroeconomic headwinds that weighed on risk assets across the world. Investor Armando Pantoja, for one, said that the market structure has fundamentally changed, and old assumptions no longer apply.
“The Market Has New Players – Crypto isn’t 2016 or 2020 anymore. ETFs, institutions, and corporate balance sheets don’t trade like hype-driven retail. Bitcoin Trades Macro Now – BTC reacts to liquidity, rates, regulation, and geopolitics – not a perfect halving calendar. Patterns break when everyone expects them. Halving ≠ Mechanical Pump – The halving still matters, but supply is increasingly locked, miners have financing options, and price dynamics aren’t as automatic as before.”
Deeper Downside Ahead
Bitcoin advocate and long-time industry voice Simon Dixon also shared a similar view while declaring the end of BTC’s traditional four-year market cycle, and argued that the asset is entering a “new era.”
As BTC slid over 30% in the final months since its October peak, several market watchers believe that the worst is yet to come. Doctor Profit, for one, has repeatedly warned that the bottom has not transpired and instead sees a new leg down towards the $60,000-$70,000 area in a matter of time.
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