Bitcoin Slides Nearly 26% In 3 Months While Social Tokens Sector Buck The Bear Market Trend

Memecoin sectors fell over 27% while the currency sector fell 23%, as per Cryptorank data.

• Social tokens gained about 20% over the last three months, outperforming all major crypto sectors.
• Bitcoin fell nearly 26%, while NFTs, GameFi, and infrastructure tokens dropped even more.
• Analysts see higher Bitcoin volatility after Dec. 26 options expiry and ahead of the BoJ rate meeting.
  

Over the past three months, social tokens have been one of the best-performing sectors in the cryptocurrency market, topping even Bitcoin’s (BTC) price appreciation.

According to CryptoRank data, the social token sector had the best performance over the past three months, with an average increase of nearly 20%, as of Wednesday morning. The appreciation took place even though the crypto market as a whole has been in a downtrend since October, when risk assets have been under pressure. 

Bitcoin fell by almost 26% during the same three-month period. Bitcoin’s price was trading at $86,449.95, down 0.2% over the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around BTC remained in the ‘extremely bearish’ zone, accompanied by ‘low’ levels of chatter over the past day.

Sectors Which Had Steeper Price Dips

Data further showed that Bitcoin's drop was still higher than several other crypto sectors, which saw steeper drops. Tokens tied to NFTs decreased by about 55%, while the GameFi sector fell by more than 44%, and the blockchain infrastructure sector fell by over 43%. Notably, the meme coin sector fell by almost 27% in the same time frame. Interestingly, the DeFi sector bucked the trend of decline, rising 0.25% over the last three months.

Bitcoin’s Volatility 

Bitcoin’s drop came after its market cap peaked in late October and has been volatile throughout November and December. One market watcher said on X that Bitcoin's steady price around between $89,000 to $90,000 is due to options market mechanics, with significant call and put positioning fixing the price and dampening volatility. That dynamic could change following the massive December 26 options expiry, when dealer hedges will unravel, and volatility is expected to rise.

Some analysts believe that the downturn may not be over yet, and traders are keeping a tight eye on the Bank of Japan's policy meeting scheduled for December 19. A possible policy change might cause more volatility, and market observers are warning that Bitcoin prices could drop much more if global liquidity tightens.

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