Crypto Market Update: Bitcoin Stagnates, Altcoin Slump Deepens - Crypto Economy

TL;DR:

• Bitcoin hovers near $92,500 after the third 25 basis point cut of 2025, trapped in a $88,000-$93,000 range despite recovering from lows.
• Derivatives positioning clusters around that band as investors favour large caps and treat supportive signals as reasons to rebalance, not chase upside.
• Altcoins stay soft, with Ethereum, XRP, Polygon and meme tokens posting still modest gains while Solana’s 6% jump appears an outlier rather than a broad rotation.

Bitcoin is ending the week in a holding pattern rather than a breakout, with prices hovering near $92,500 after the latest Federal Reserve rate cut while traders increasingly view the move as a sideways, rangebound pause instead of the start of a new rally. The largest cryptocurrency has recovered from its post meeting dip, but remains confined between roughly $88,000 and $93,000 as markets digest the third 25 basis point cut of 2025 for digital assets.

Rangebound Bitcoin underscores cautious post-Fed sentiment

That tight band belies a month of heavy speculation around monetary policy, as traders who once hoped cheaper money would ignite a powerful risk on move are now confronting a cooler reality in which Bitcoin is up only about 4% on the week after a bruising November slide. The Fed’s cautious tone on future cuts, coupled with projections for slower growth in 2026, has limited follow through from macro driven bullish narratives across major venues.


Derivatives and positioning data reflect the same hesitation, with options markets clustered around the current range and spot flows skewed toward large caps as investors prioritize liquidity over aggressive upside bets in thinner year end conditions. Many desks describe this phase as a “wait and see” environment in which even supportive macro news is being met with only incremental reallocations rather than momentum driven chasing across major exchanges.

Altcoins, meanwhile, offer little sign of leadership. Ethereum trades around $3,255, up roughly 1.7% in the last 24 hours, and XRP edges near $2.04 with a gain of just over 1%, underscoring how major smart contract and payments tokens are stabilizing but still lagging the broader market after deeper drawdowns earlier in the quarter. Polygon adds about 1.5%, while Solana’s 6% pop stands out more as an isolated bright spot than the start of a synchronized rotation in recent sessions.

Further down the risk curve, meme tokens such as Dogecoin and politically themed plays like the $TRUMP token are only about 1.6% higher on the day, reinforcing the impression that speculative excess remains subdued and that the current phase is better described as a grinding reset than a euphoric melt up in digital assets. For now, Bitcoin’s post Fed range and the altcoin slump appear locked together, leaving both bulls and bears waiting for a decisive macro or on chain catalyst.