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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) tumbled to hover around $86,000 on Monday as strategists remained skeptical of a year-end crypto rally.
The world's largest cryptocurrency is currently down around 8% year to date. Last week, it was unable to punch above $94,000.
Strategists note that flows into bitcoin exchange-traded funds have been weak in recent weeks, capping upward movement after the token tumbled from a record high of about $126,000 in October to nearly $80,000 last month.
"Bitcoin is more likely to continue trading in a consolidation phase with a relatively wide range between $80,000 and $100,000, rather than entering a strong bullish trend," Linh Tran, senior market analyst at XS.com, said.
Meanwhile, 10X Research said in a Sunday note that trading volumes "are very depressed," down 20% week over week. 10X went on to say that this highlights "a lack of conviction and reduced speculative participation versus last week."
In addition to bitcoin, ether (ETH-USD) also fell, sliding below $3,000 per token and unwinding recent upward breakouts.
Prices last week moved above $94,000 after the Federal Reserve cut rates for a third time this year while speculation grew over who President Trump might select as a replacement for current Fed Chair Jerome Powell when his term ends next May.
Last week, Compass Point analyst Ed Engel cautioned investors against chasing bitcoin rallies.
The analyst noted buyers who purchased bitcoin within the past six months did so at a cost basis of around $103,000 per token.
"When BTC trades below this cost basis, investors are more likely to 'sell the rip' than 'buy the dip,'" Engel said.
The token is on pace for its first significant decoupling from stocks since 2014 as the S&P 500 (^GSPC) has rallied nearly 16% this year.
Wall Street has been scaling back its expectations for the crypto sector.
Standard Chartered has cut its year-end bitcoin price target to $100,000 from $200,000.
The firm's head of digital assets, Geoff Kendrick, also slashed his 2026 target to $150,000 from $300,000.
