By Anjali Kochhar
You must have noticed that the cryptocurrency market has been on a rollercoaster lately. One moment the community is excited with the spike in prices and the next moment market crashes.
Currently, Bitcoin prices are bouncing between $98,000 to $105,000 range with high resistance to break its recent ATH. With other cryptocurrencies following BTC’s trail bearish retests and market pullbacks are at play.
According to Ryan Lee, Chief Analyst at Bitget Research, the Lunar Year is a “fascinating period” for financial markets, and cryptocurrencies are no exception. “Historically, we’ve seen increased trading activity driven by cultural traditions like gift-giving and year-end bonuses, with some investors allocating a portion of their wealth into digital assets.”
“This influx of liquidity can lead to short-term price surges, though the sustainability of such movements depends on broader market conditions. At the same time, holiday celebrations in East Asia often bring a slowdown in institutional trading, which can create periods of lower liquidity and higher volatility,” Lee said.
Lunar New Year dates change annually but typically occur in late January or early February. According to Matrixport, Bitcoin has shown a remarkably consistent performance during this festive period. Historically, in the 10 days surrounding Lunar New Year, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization has averaged a 21.1% gain.
“Over the past 12 years, Bitcoin has posted positive returns during Chinese New Year in 11 instances, reflecting an impressive 83% success rate in generating gains,” the report highlights. However, on Jan. 27, Bitcoin dropped below $100,000 for the first time since U.S. President Donald Trump’s election.
Lee further said that another interesting development is DeepSeek, China’s latest AI-driven search engine, which has sparked discussions on the intersection of AI and blockchain.
On January 20, DeepSeek introduced its latest open-source AI model, Deepseek-R1, designed to compete with leading U.S. AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT in generating and understanding human-like text. The model has garnered significant praise, securing top positions on the U.S. Apple App Store.
“While its direct impact on Bitcoin remains uncertain, the growing focus on AI-powered financial tools could eventually strengthen digital asset adoption worldwide.”
Meanwhile, Lee believes that anticipation around US crypto regulations continues to be a key driver. “With expectations of clearer frameworks and institutional engagement, regulatory clarity—particularly around Bitcoin ETFs and compliance measures—could provide a major boost to market confidence,” Lee said.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin traded at $102k, 0.65% down as compared to the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. The global crypto market cap is $3.46T, a 1.19% decrease over the last day.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency and blockchain stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over three years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.