Data from analytics firm CryptoQuant reveals a concerning trend of weak buying power and persistent selling pressure across major cryptocurrency exchanges throughout December 2025, despite Bitcoin's price stabilizing near the $90,000 mark and subsequently rising above $93,000. The data indicates professional traders are reducing exposure rather than accumulating positions.
Out of the top ten exchanges, only three—OKX, Kraken, and Upbit—closed December with positive buying power ratios. The remaining seven platforms operated under constant selling pressure. Bitget posted the worst figures with a buying power ratio of -1.2083. Upbit led the positive side with a ratio of 0.062, though CryptoQuant notes this level still falls short of signaling firm accumulation. Coinbase remained slightly negative, while Kraken showed a moderate balance near neutral.
The buying power ratio compares the speed of Bitcoin (BTC) outflows to stablecoin capital inflows. A negative value indicates capital is leaving exchanges faster than it is arriving, a dynamic that dominated the month. In December, stablecoins recorded $436 million in net inflows against a massive $3.7 billion in outflows.
Binance showed a marginal recovery toward the very end of the period. Its buying power ratio moved from negative territory to a barely positive level of 0.064 by January 3, 2026, following a sharp drop where the indicator hit a low of -0.200 on December 21. Despite this modest improvement, the broader 30-, 90-, and 365-day trend windows remain weak without a clear inflection point.
Concurrently, Bitcoin reserves on exchanges declined significantly. Seven of the top ten exchanges recorded net BTC outflows over a one-week period, totaling approximately 6,650 BTC (worth roughly $612 million). While Coinbase recorded inflows of 1,648 BTC, Binance and Kraken saw the largest reductions, with reserves dropping by 4,684 BTC and 3,872 BTC, respectively.
The concentration of Bitcoin on major exchanges is stark: Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken together account for more than 82% of total Bitcoin held on exchanges, with Binance and Coinbase alone representing 65.4% of that structural dominance. The data also points to increased whale activity, with the average size of BTC deposits on Binance soaring to 21.7 BTC per transaction—a more than 30-fold increase compared to January 2024 levels—though this activity lacks the strength to generate broad-based demand.
