Looking back at that December rally, Bitcoin's price breaks through $90K seemed pretty significant at the time, but the story turned out different than most expected. I remember watching those moves closely - the liquidity was super thin during the holidays, which meant even small buy orders could push prices up pretty quickly. The technical bounce off support levels got a lot of attention, but underneath it felt more like a relief rally than real conviction.

What's interesting now is how that optimism didn't last. Back then, analysts were talking about potential ETF flows and regulatory tailwinds heading into 2026, suggesting we might see a structural bull run. The fear and greed index had shifted to a more balanced level, and there was this cautious optimism in the air. But looking at where we are now - Bitcoin trading around $66.82K - it's clear those expectations didn't pan out the way people hoped.

The whole thing taught me something about low-liquidity rallies. When volume dries up during year-end holidays, price breaks can happen fast, but they don't always stick around. The divergence with traditional markets that was noted back then - crypto lagging while stocks hit records - probably should have been a bigger red flag. Anyway, it's a good reminder that not every technical level matters equally, and sentiment shifts pretty quickly in this market.