Bitcoin Heads For Its Weakest Q4 Since 2018 Crypto Winter

• The current quarter has already underperformed the fourth quarter of 2022, when the FTX collapse weighed on markets.
• The decline marks only the second time on record that Bitcoin has posted such a severe Q4 drawdown.
• Bitcoin’s price fell below $88,000 this week, extending losses after a modest third-quarter rebound failed to carry into year-end.

Bitcoin (BTC) is on pace for its worst fourth-quarter performance in seven years and the second-weakest fourth quarter on record, extending a year marked by uneven momentum.

Bitcoin’s price has fallen more than 23% so far this quarter, according to Coinglass data, putting 2025 on track to record its first negative fourth quarter in three years. The decline marks Bitcoin’s steepest Q4 drop since 2018, when prices plunged more than 42% during the depths of the “crypto winter,” falling from roughly $6,400 in October to near $3,700 by year-end.

Bitcoin was trading at around $87,500 on Tuesday morning, down 2.5% in the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency remained in ‘extremely bearish’ territory over the past day as chatter rose to ‘normal’ from ‘low’ levels. 

A Rare Weak Fourth Quarter For Bitcoin

Since 2015, Bitcoin has typically delivered gains in the final quarter of the year, often rebounding from summer weakness.

The 2018 collapse remains Bitcoin’s worst quarterly performance on record, with prices sliding from roughly $6,400 in October to about $3,700 by year-end. Meanwhile, the current downturn has already exceeded the fourth-quarter decline seen in 2022, when the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange triggered widespread selling across digital asset markets.

Coinglass data showed Bitcoin began the year with an 11.8% decline in the first quarter, followed by a sharp rebound of nearly 30% in the second quarter. Gains then moderated to just over 6% in Q3 before reversing in the final quarter.

Read also: Bitcoin’s Price Dip Sparks Biggest Corporate Buying Spree Since July As ETP Investors Pulled Back

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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