Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader cryptocurrency market turned lower afterward in the day on Dec. 31, erasing intraday gains to cap off a highly successful twelvemonth on a weaker note.

Market Update

BTC price brutal beneath $46,000 on Dec. 31 and was last seen hovering below that level, co-ordinate to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView. The flagship cryptocurrency is down over 5% from its intraday peak and 2.nine% on the 24-hour interval to trade at $45,933.

Bitcoin's price is back on the defensive every bit the year draws to a close. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro

Altcoins faced a similar downwardly trajectory as Bitcoin, with the likes of Ether (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB) and Solana's SOL each falling more than ii%. Cardano's ADA declined over 4% on the day.

The combined market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies shed over $100 billion from its intraday summit, falling from a high of $2.4 trillion to $2.27 trillion, according to CoinGecko.

The crypto market place cap was downward more than than $100 billion from its intraday acme. Source: CoinGecko

The sudden reversal followed a modest relief rally for BTC and other cryptocurrencies that took place early on on December. 31. As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin's price appreciated by more than $1,500 in less than an hour — a rally that may accept been aided by a Dec options expiry event worth roughly $6 billion.

Related: Toll analysis 12/31: BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, ADA, XRP, LUNA, AVAX, DOT, DOGE

Crypto OGs keep on accumulating

Bitcoin is bracing for a year-to-appointment return of less than 60%, which is well below what many, if not most, prognosticators were calling for at the start of 2022. Although BTC never came close to achieving lofty six-figure valuations, the leading cryptocurrency continues to attract investors with a low time preference. (Investors with a depression time preference place more emphasis on their financial well-being in the far time to come as opposed to the present.)

BTC'southward contempo price correction has been largely driven by so-called crypto tourists who entered the market in the summer. As Cointelegraph recently reported, veteran holders are notwithstanding selling tape-depression amounts of BTC as of late Dec. Meanwhile, ownership activity on Coinbase appears to have picked upwardly substantially toward the end of the twelvemonth.

Earlier this week, UTXO Management analyst Dylan LeClair said "The true OGs are belongings tight," in reference to Bitcoin's long-term holders having a much lower on-concatenation cost basis than those who are currently selling. The average on-chain cost footing for long-term BTC holders is $17,825 compared with $33,890 for those currently spending their coins.

Related: Acme five bullish Bitcoin stories of 2022

In addition to the retail-oriented course of long-term hodlers, the crypto market saw an influx of sophisticated institutional investors in 2022. Net gain into crypto funds exceeded $ix.3 billion in 2022, with Bitcoin accounting for over two-thirds of that total, co-ordinate to CoinShares information. These funds registered 16 sequent weeks of inflows through Dec. 13.