Bitcoin briefly soared to $92,000 on December 8, but has since fallen to $90,000, despite Michael Saylor’s company Strategy announcing the purchase of 10,624 Bitcoins. Analysts and influencers remain divided, with some pointing to market manipulation and others arguing that the crypto economy is entering a bearish phase.
Diminishing impact of Saylor’s Monday announcement
Bitcoin jumped 4% to start the new week at $92,000, but ended up trading lower at around $90,000. Volatility is nothing new for BTC, but the price action on December 8 seemed unusual as it coincided with the announcement that Michael Saylor’s company Strategy had purchased an additional 10,624 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 660,624 BTC.
Read more: 660,624 BTC and counting: Strategy’s latest megabuy excites crypto watchers
During Bitcoin’s surge in the second half of this year, Michael Saylor’s regular Monday announcements about new BTC acquisitions by Strategy Inc. often coincided with new momentum in the market. The effect was most pronounced when the company pursued an aggressive debt accumulation strategy, amplifying investor sentiment. However, the impact of Saylor’s remarks diminished as Strategy scaled back its leveraged purchases and proved insufficient to counter Bitcoin’s subsequent downward trend.
Furthermore, the market crash on October 10th resulted in over $19 billion in leveraged positions being wiped out in 24 hours, creating a bearish sentiment that has plagued BTC ever since. Suggestions that the macro structure that supported Bitcoin’s rise for much of 2025 has broken down sent the cryptocurrency down to $80,500, down more than 30% from its October 6 high of more than $126,000.
Analysts discuss strategy motivations
Bitcoin has been slowly rising since it appeared to bottom on Nov. 21, renewing hopes that 2025 could still end on a modest rally. However, the top cryptocurrencies have struggled to maintain their upward momentum, with each rally seemingly short-lived for several days. Strategy’s purchase of nearly $1 billion in BTC, which many expected would give the cryptocurrency a boost, similarly failed to spark a bull run that would eventually take it back $100,000.
In fact, around the time Saylor disclosed his purchase, BTC was trending lower, dropping below $90,000. This price movement perplexed analysts and some influencers like Andrew Tate, who publicly questioned why the announcement did not lead to a rally in the cryptocurrency.
“I’m very interested in Bitcoin, but MicroStrat buys 10,000 Bitcoin in a day and the price doesn’t change. Please explain that,” Tate asked in a post on X.
While some social media analysts have attributed BTC’s underwhelming performance to alleged market manipulation by one large trader, financial analyst and contrarian investor Jacob King argued that Saylor’s “step pump” will not bring the expected relief as the crypto economy is in the early stages of a bear market. Mr. King suggested investors were unlikely to be reassured by someone whose previous dealings had been “behind the scenes.”
“His recent purchases were incremental pumps in the hope that the market would rise enough to offload higher prices. Saylor was once openly anti-BTC. His current ‘conversion’ behavior is purely a trick to get naive investors chasing down stocks. Get out while you still can,” King said in a response to Tate.
Frequently asked questions ❓
- What happened to Bitcoin on December 8th? BTC briefly reached $92,000, but has since returned to around $90,000.
- How much BTC did Strategy buy? Michael Saylor’s company added 10,624 BTC, increasing its total holdings to 660,624 BTC.
- Why didn’t the price increase with the acquisition? Analysts said bearish sentiment and less leveraged buying dampened the impact of Saylor’s announcement.
- What regional factors shaped the economic downturn? The October 10 crash wiped out $19 billion in leveraged positions and reinforced a broader bearish trend across global markets.
