Bitcoin Climbs to End Terrible Month for Cryptos. What History Says Happens Next.

Bitcoin has had a terrible November but history suggests December could bring a bit more cheer. (AFP via Getty Images)

Key Points

• Bitcoin’s Thanksgiving rally saw it climb above $90,000, reaching $91,879, before settling at $91,500 early Friday.
• Bitcoin is down 16.5% in November, its worst monthly performance since February, and 28% off its October record high.
• Historically, December has been a strong month for Bitcoin, with an average gain of 9.2% since 2014.

Bitcoin’s Thanksgiving rally stalled early Friday but the world’s largest cryptocurrency still looked set to end a terrible month with a good week.

Bitcoin climbed back above $90,000 late Wednesday and hit as high as $91,879 over Thanksgiving, according to CoinDesk data. However, the rebound was fizzling out slightly as Bitcoin fell to $91,500 early Friday, up around 0.6% over the past 24 hours.

XRP and Ethereum were both around 1% higher over the past 24 hours, while Solana was flat.

Bitcoin is down 16.5% in November, on pace for its worth month since February when it declined 17.2%. It remains 28% off its record high of $126,272.76 reached in early October.

On the bright side, December has historically been a strong month for the cryptocurrency—with an average gain of 9.2% according to Dow Jones Market Data going back to 2014. It’s the fifth best month in terms of average performance.

However, a monthly drop like the one suffered in November tends to take a bit longer to recover from. Bitcoin has fallen 15% or more in 20 months dating back to 2014—and has only risen an average of 0.8% in the month after, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Though, after three months Bitcoin is up an average 4.4% and after six months it’s just short of 8% up.

But crypto investors will be hoping the rebound comes a bit sooner this time around. And with Bitcoin a long way off its record high and the prospect of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month—which tends to support cryptos—those hopes may be realized.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com