Bitcoin Surges Past $90K as U.S. Buying Resumes – Is the Tax-Drag Finally Over?

Bitcoin has regained the significant $90,000 mark, trading at $90,742 (+3.2%) during the New York trading session on Friday. This rise halts a trend in Q4 2025 when U.S. trading hours experienced selling pressure.

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin has reclaimed the $90,000 level, trading at $90,742 (+3.2%).
The rise indicates an end to the year-end tax-loss harvesting that affected Q4 values.
MicroStrategy's investments are believed to have established a strong support level.
Futures open interest has increased by 2.16%, reflecting renewed interest in leveraging.
Market sentiment remains cautious, with only 26% odds for Bitcoin to exceed $150,000 in 2026.

Bitcoin Market Surge

This upward movement suggests that the period of tax-loss harvesting at year-end, which contributed to Bitcoin's 23% drop in Q4, has concluded.

Buying activity surged at 09:30 ET, breaking the pattern of sell-offs seen at 4 p.m. during December. Data from CoinGlass indicates that futures open interest rose 2.16% to $130 billion within the last day, a sign of renewed interest in leveraging.

Market Dynamics and Trends

MicroStrategy (MSTR) may have established a crucial support level by announcing on Dec. 29 that it purchased 1,229 BTC at an average price of $88,568, helping to stabilize prices as the New Year approached.

Miners are also responding to the shift towards risk-taking. Hut 8's shares outperformed the overall market, climbing nearly 15% to $50.73.

Riya Sehgal, a Research Analyst at Delta Exchange, highlighted that “The crypto market begins 2026 on a positive note, driven by a revival of institutional interest, clearer regulatory guidance, quicker ETF approvals by the SEC, and the stablecoin framework introduced by the GENIUS Act. This has elevated confidence levels, although most new investments are still focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum,” she remarked in an article from The Economic Times.

On Friday, U.S. spot ETFs and related assets, such as Coinbase, also saw buying pressure.

Future Market Sentiment

Despite the recent rally, sentiment in prediction markets is still cautious. According to Polymarket, bettors currently assign only a 26% probability that Bitcoin will surpass $150,000 in 2026, suggesting expectations for a year of consolidation.

Resistance levels are identified around the Q4 2025 breakdown point of $92,500.

The key point of interest goes beyond the price; it’s about the timing. In Q4 2025, U.S. liquidity acted as exit liquidity, characterized by constant selling during New York trading hours to realize losses.

Friday’s market movement signals the end of the “tax drag.” Traders should keep an eye on the ETH/BTC ratio ($0.034); if U.S. institutions are indeed entering a risk-on phase, we could see a shift towards higher-risk altcoins and miner equities, which may outpace the price of Bitcoin in the near term.