Why Is Crypto Up Today? – December 19, 2025

What Happened

Meanwhile, in the US, a delayed report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was cooler than expected. More precisely, consumer prices increased less than expected in November. This encourages hope among investors that inflationary pressures may cool to the degree that would result in the higher-than-expected easing of US monetary policy.

Market Context

The crypto market is up today, with the cryptocurrency market capitalisation increasing by 1.6% to $3.05 trillion. Also, 90 of the top 100 coins have gone up over the past 24 hours. At the same time, the total crypto trading volume is at $164 billion.

At the time of writing, all top 10 coins per market capitalization have seen their prices increase over the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin (BTC) is up by 1.4% since this time yesterday, currently trading at $87,906.

It’s followed by Dogecoin (DOGE)’s 2.4% to the price of $0.128.

Provenance Blockchain (HASH) is up 10.1% to the price of $0.03094, while Bitcoin Cash (BCH) went up by 10%, currently changing hands at $587.

Among the red coins, MemeCore (M) posted the highest fall in the category. It’s down 8.2%, now trading at $1.54.

Mantle (MNT) is next, having decreased by 3.7% to the price of $1.17.

Also, Binance is reportedly considering a return to the US market, with potential structural changes to its American operations. A possible recapitalization of Binance.US could reduce Changpeng Zhao’s controlling stake.

Gabe Selby, Head of Research at Kraken company CF Benchmark, commented that Bitcoin’s erratic price action reflects the seller-dominated crypto market, as well as elevated uncertainty around the broader macro trajectory.

Therefore, the report captured November’s latter portion only, which was heavily distorted by Black Friday product discounting.

Per Selby, “this created temporary disinflationary noise that limits the report’s reliability as a true inflation gauge. Markets seem to recognize this, treating the print as an aberration rather than confirmation of any sustained cooling trend.”

“What’s particularly telling is that Bitcoin’s price action mirrored this skepticism in real time. The asset rallied immediately after the release but quickly lost steam as traders reassessed the data quality.”

Bitcoin pushed toward Wednesday’s highs but failed to break through, fully retracing its gains. That rejection is significant, says Selby. It shows that “sellers remain firmly in control and reinforces the view that Bitcoin is still trading within a broader downtrend, despite the brief optimism sparked by the headline CPI number.”

At the time of writing on Friday morning, BTC stood at $87,906. After a sideways trading period early in the day, BTC jumped to the intraday high of $89,219, before plummeting to $84,581 and then recovering to the current level.

Why It Matters

Yesterday’s US CPI release initially appeared supportive for risk assets. However, “the underlying reality is more complex.” Notably, “the data was compiled under highly atypical conditions,” most notably the government shutdown.

The key takeaway, Selby concludes is that, “until we get several months of clean, uninterrupted inflation data, the [US Federal Reserve’s] path remains murky. And in that environment of uncertainty, Bitcoin—despite its recent institutional adoption narrative—continues to behave like the risk asset it is, struggling to find sustained buying conviction.”

Details

Crypto Winners & Losers

Ethereum (ETH) is up by 4.1%, now changing hands at $2,953. This is the highest increase in this category.

At the same time, Tron (TRX) saw the lowest rise, with a change of 0.8%, now standing at $0.2794.

When it comes to the top 100 coins, 90 coins saw increases. Of these, two are double-digit.

‘US CPI Was Noisy, Not Bullish’

Levels & Events to Watch Next

Moreover, BTC is down 5% in a week, 3.4% in a month, 13.2% in a year, and 30% from the October all-time high of $126,080.