Bitcoin remains above $91,000 while on-chain data points to weakening momentum.
Sector-specific tokens such as RWAs and SocialFi outperform, even as major altcoins trade sideways.
Global cues, CME outages, ETF flows, and the Upbit hack continued to stoke market uncertainty.
Crypto prices today reflect a market caught between cautious sentiment and selective strength. Bitcoin price hovers above $91,000, and major altcoins trade with mild volatility. Investors are weighing mixed on-chain signals and changing global risk appetite. Meanwhile, sectoral tokens such as RWAs and SocialFi appear resilient. Moving forward, macro cues, ETF inflows, and fresh security incidents remain drivers for near-term momentum. Here’s the latest crypto news and real-time market data taken from CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin price was up 0.19% to $91,430.73 and remained above the key $91,000 level. The market capitalization of the leading cryptocurrency now stands at $1.82 trillion, with the trading volume reaching $50.3 billion in a day.
According to CoinSwitch Markets Desk, “BTC traded in a tight range between $90,800 and $91,800, with both buyers and sellers active throughout the session. An early push toward $91,700 met some resistance, but dips toward $90,800 continued to attract steady buying interest, keeping the overall structure firm. Momentum has cooled slightly, but the price action suggests healthy consolidation rather than weakness, as the market waits for the next catalyst. As long as BTC holds above $90,800, the setup remains stable, and a clean move above $91,800 could open the door for further upside.”
Ethereum price was down 0.77% to trade at $3,017.51, consolidating around the psychologically important $3,000 mark. The second-largest crypto holds a market cap of $364 billion, with $14.9 billion changing hands over the past day.
While ETH showed slight weakness, institutional interest remains strong. Tom Lee's Bitmine just added another $44.3 million worth of Ethereum to its holdings, bringing the firm's total ETH stash to $10.3 billion.
XRP price fell 0.98% to $2.19, while its market capitalization stood at $132.2 billion. Solana price dipped 1.96% to $140.06, making it one of the biggest losers of the day among top cryptos. At the same time, BNB was down 0.15%, changing hands at $894.80. Dogecoin price decreased 2.64% to $0.150,5 and Cardano fell 1.89% to $0.4255 amidst the selling pressure on meme and alternative Layer-1 tokens.
TRON defied the downturn, gaining 1.20% to climb to $0.28, one of a few top-10 winners. Meanwhile, USDT and USDC, two of the largest stablecoins, maintained their $1-pegged value as expected.
Also Read: Crypto Prices Today: Bitcoin Price Hits $91,174 as Ethereum Jumps 3.72% on Fed Rate Cut Expectations
Though crypto prices today moved sideways overall, some sectors did outshine the rest. Real World Assets (RWA) tokens surged higher by 0.97%, Keeta (KTA) rose 6.82%, and Sky (SKY) was up 4.60%. SocialFi was up 0.95% and centralized finance tokens rose 0.12%.
On the downside, Layer 2 solutions and meme tokens faced sharper declines, although outliers like SOON surged 5.93% and REKT rocketed nearly 45% higher. This mixed picture was reflected in the broader sector indices. The RWA sector index rose 1.16% while the Layer 1 index declined 0.70% and the DeFi index lost 1.95%.
Today, a number of far-reaching developments outside of technical trading are driving crypto prices.
South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, has been hacked for around $32 million. Investigators are looking at whether North Korea's notorious Lazarus Group was behind the attack, as the hackers used transaction mixing techniques commonly linked to the group. It is the second major breach at Upbit; the exchange previously lost $58 million in Ethereum during a 2019 hack that was also attributed to Lazarus.
CME Group briefly shut down all trading when a cooling system malfunctioned at its data centers. The outage impacted the futures and options contracts across currencies, stock indexes, and commodities on the Globex platform. The price quotes for S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 stopped updating to show how technical issues can ripple across traditional and crypto markets.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs continued to attract new money, albeit at a much slower pace than at the start of the year. Net inflows of roughly $21 million on November 26 bring cumulative inflows to approximately $57.6 billion.
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) remains the clear leader, adding $42.8 million and now holding nearly $70 billion in assets. Fidelity's FBTC saw $33.3 million in outflows, while Grayscale's converted GBTC vehicle recorded a small $5.6 million inflow but still shows total net outflows of about $25 billion since spot ETFs launched.
The ETF complex now accounts for roughly 6.6% of the total market value of Bitcoin, while IBIT solely accounts for 3.9% of such value.
Crypto prices today are trading against a backdrop of shifting Federal Reserve expectations, as futures markets now price in an 80% to 85% chance of a quarter-point rate cut in December, with traders expecting three total cuts by the end of 2026.
Comments from New York Fed President John Williams and other officials reinforced expectations for near-term easing as the labor market shows signs of softening. This dovish outlook has helped global stocks recover most of November's losses and provided support for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
US Treasury yields were steady around 4% after stronger-than-expected jobs data halted their recent slide. The 10-year yield had declined since late last week, when delayed employment figures painted a mixed picture of the labor market.
JPMorgan upgraded its recommendation on Chinese stocks to ‘overweight,’ saying potential gains next year now outweigh downside risks. This shift in sentiment toward the world's second-largest economy could support risk appetite broadly, benefiting crypto prices today and going forward.
These markets opened on a mixed note, with South Korea and Japan lower, while Australia rose, in thin holiday trading. Chinese shares remained in focus despite continued stress at property developers like China Vanke.
Also Read: Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin Leverage Surges as Perpetual Trading Hits New Highs
Bitcoin tests key support levels as the crypto market reaches a crossroads, while institutional flows remain positive. Anticipation of Federal Reserve rate cuts and improving risk sentiment give tailwinds to prices, but bearish on-chain signals and security incidents such as the Upbit hack continue to remind investors that volatility remains high heading into year-end.
1. Why are crypto prices today showing mixed movement?
Cryptocurrency is seeing mixed price action today due to the multitude of external indicators investors are trying to interpret. Bitcoin is providing support at approximately $91,000 based on the recent price movements. However, bearish market sentiment has also been driven by a major exchange hacking incident and negative on-chain data. Nevertheless, the overall success of the Social Finance Sector and specific tokens within the RWAs vertical have also led to some divergence in price action across markets.
2. Why is Bitcoin staying above the $91,000 level?
The continued price stability of Bitcoin above $91,000 can be attributed to multiple factors: the influx of institutional investment capital; investors' assessment of the risk associated with upcoming US Federal Reserve interest rate changes; and ongoing demand for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, analysts suggest that the growing bearish on-chain activity, combined with dwindling liquidity, could adversely affect Bitcoin's ability to remain above the $91,000 support level should current economic conditions worsen further.
3. Which crypto sectors are performing well today?
The RWAs and SocialFi sectors have maintained their ability to deliver positive price movements during this period, while the market has generally traded sideways on most weekends. These two sectors have seen increased investor interest in recent weeks, driven by positive developments within their respective ecosystems and the coordination of these many factors. Continued Coordination between the RWAs and SocialFi sectors has created an opportunity for both to establish a clear and dominant position in a generally conservative market.
4. How did the Upbit hack affect crypto market sentiment?
The $32 million Upbit hack raised security concerns after it was linked back to the Lazarus Group. Regardless of who was behind the hack, an event like this creates greater market volatility and a decline in investor confidence. In turn, this could cause some traders to limit their exposure to risk until they have more information or take action to recover.
5. How are Bitcoin ETFs influencing the market right now?
Bitcoin ETFs are currently seeing a decline in new capital. However, compared to the beginning of the year, Bitcoin has continued to see significant inflows into BlackRock's Bitcoin fund, providing price stability for the asset. The variability of signals across multiple Bitcoin ETF issuers continues to create uncertainty in the market and has led to cautious sentiment among investors overall.
Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp
_____________
Disclaimer: Analytics Insight does not provide financial advice or guidance on cryptocurrencies and stocks. Also note that the cryptocurrencies mentioned/listed on the website could potentially be scams, i.e. designed to induce you to invest financial resources that may be lost forever and not be recoverable once investments are made. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You are responsible for conducting your own research (DYOR) before making any investments. Read more about the financial risks involved here.