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CNN recently published an analysis suggesting that crypto’s current slump “may be a cultural problem as much as a financial one.”
That line stopped me in my tracks. Not because it was sensational, but because it perfectly captured what I’ve been feeling while covering this industry for the first time.
Bitcoin peaked at roughly $126,000 in October 2025, before sliding to around $88,000 by December, a drop of nearly 30% in just weeks, wiping out all of its gains for the year and leaving it down roughly 7% year-to-date, according to CoinDesk’s market data:
As someone relatively new to crypto journalism, I came into this space with an open mind. I wanted to understand the technology, the financial innovation, and the promise of decentralization.
On paper, 2025 should have been crypto’s victory lap. The industry had everything it had spent years demanding: a self-described “crypto president” in Donald Trump, federal legislation like the GENIUS Act, multiple Federal Reserve rate cuts, spot Bitcoin ETFs holding more than $120 billion, and unprecedented regulatory clarity.
Instead of thriving, Bitcoin collapsed harder than many traditional assets rallied.
That CNN analysis crystallized what I’ve slowly come to realize: the biggest problem facing crypto isn’t external pressure—it’s internal culture.
Here are five reasons why Bitcoin’s 2025 collapse looks far more like a cultural crisis than a normal market correction.
One of the first things I heard when I started covering crypto was a familiar refrain: “Just wait until regulation comes.”
Then it was “Wait for institutions.”
Then “Wait for rate cuts.”
Then “Wait for Trump.”
In 2025, all of those things happened.
Donald Trump embraced the “crypto president” label and signed the GENIUS Act, creating the first federal stablecoin framework and signaling Washington’s willingness to legitimize digital assets.
The Federal Reserve delivered six rate cuts, pushing benchmark rates down toward the 3.5%–3.75% range, an environment that historically favors risk assets:
Institutional adoption exploded. BlackRock’s IBIT became the sixth-largest ETF by inflows, according to Euronews.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively held around $120 billion in assets, while the network absorbed an estimated $732 billion in net new capital, more than all previous cycles combined. And yet, Bitcoin still ended the year down, while the S&P 500 gained roughly 15% over the same period.
Even Fidelity’s longtime Bitcoin bull Jurien Timmer warned that crypto could be facing a year-long winter in 2026.
If the most favorable macro, political, and regulatory alignment crypto has ever seen couldn’t keep Bitcoin above $100,000, it raises an uncomfortable question:
What exactly is supposed to save it?
As I dug deeper into the industry, one issue kept surfacing no matter where I looked: crime.
The FBI reported more than 11,000 crypto ATM fraud complaints in 2024, totaling $247 million in losses.
Investigations by state authorities found that 50% to 90% of transactions on major crypto ATM networks were scam-related, and an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists investigation quoted a former Bitcoin Depot employee saying that eliminating scams would hurt the business:
Crypto-related kidnappings—often called “wrench attacks”—surpassed 30 incidents globally in 2025, according to CNN reporting, with Spain arresting five as the latest reported by The Bit Gazette.
Romance scams and “pig-butchering” schemes cost victims billions annually, with crypto as the primary settlement rail, according to global fraud reports
Ransomware operators still overwhelmingly demand payment in crypto, as documented by cybersecurity firms.
“Cash is used for crime too.” – The Industries response whenever these issues comes up.
That argument falls apart under scrutiny. Traditional finance has strict compliance rules, chargebacks, consumer protections, and real penalties. In crypto, high fees are collected while responsibility is shrugged off.
Cornell economist Eswar Prasad told CNN that retail investors are torn between fear of missing out and fear of crypto’s criminal associations and that tension explains why mainstream adoption keeps stalling.
This isn’t a public relations problem. It’s a moral and cultural one.
One of the first narratives I learned in crypto was that Bitcoin is “digital gold”—a hedge against inflation and uncertainty.
2025 put that claim to the test.
Gold largely held onto its gains during market volatility, behaving like a traditional store of value. Bitcoin, meanwhile, lost 30% from its October highs, according to market comparison:
Jurien Timmer noted that gold was acting exactly as expected in a bull market, while Bitcoin wasn’t, according to CCN.
Timmer also warned that Bitcoin’s next major support could sit between $65,000 and $75,000, implying another 25% downside. This doubts continues to be fueled as news broke out today read
“Leaked Fundstrat report predicts Bitcoin crash to $60K, contradicting Tom Lee’s $250K forecast”
Bitcoin is now 16 years old and has $120 billion in institutional ETF exposure:
At what point do we stop calling this “early”?
If an asset can swing 30% in two months, it isn’t a store of value—it’s a speculative instrument. The industry’s refusal to admit that truth has damaged its credibility.
When I first heard about institutional adoption, I assumed it meant crypto was maturing.
What I found instead looked more like front-running.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold roughly $120 billion, but reports that 7.1 million Bitcoin are currently held at a loss, a level comparable to early 2022 bear market conditions:
Meanwhile, analysts report that crypto whales are accumulating, while retail participation has dried up:
BlackRock’s IBIT may be a success story for Wall Street, but many retail investors bought near six-figure prices and are now underwater.
Crypto promised to democratize finance. In 2025, it mostly demonstrated that Wall Street learned how to extract value from a new asset class.
Retail noticed—and they left.
As a new journalist, one thing has genuinely shocked me: nobody seems to know what state the crypto market is in.
Bitcoin is down more than 20% from its November high, and analysts like Kyle Rodda warn that crypto winters last far longer than a few weeks:
On-chain metrics resemble the early stages of the 2022 bear market, according to analytics firms:
Yet there is still arguesments that $732 billion in new capital means this isn’t a true winter:
Fidelity’s Timmer suggests taking a year off, while Citi still projects $143,000 Bitcoin within 12 months, according to reports.
My take; Both narratives cannot be right. Markets without shared reality don’t function—they gamble.
I started covering crypto because I wanted to understand innovation. What I found was an industry struggling with itself.
CNN was right: this is a cultural problem:
Culture won’t be fixed by ETF approvals or rate cuts.
It will change only if crypto chooses to change it.
That means stopping the defense of criminal exploitation, being honest about Bitcoin’s risk profile, demanding accountability from institutions, building real-world utility, and listening when longtime bulls turn cautious.
Bitcoin fell from $126,000 to $88,000 despite having every possible advantage.
That isn’t a market correction.
That’s the market saying no.
