The decline in the value of Bitcoin has made investors worldwide more reluctant to participate in the market as they react to the increase in geopolitical tensions and changes in the macroeconomic scenario. The crypto market underwent a steep decline in the last trading days of December due to the fading of risk appetite and the movement of money toward the traditional safe havens.Bitcoin dropped to below US$87,000, which led to the fall of other major digital tokens and made year-end volatility stronger. The fluctuations in the prices of cryptocurrencies are mainly driven by global factors, rather than by developments in the internal blockchain technologies.The broader financial markets mirrored this nervousness, with traders reducing their holdings in speculative assets. The decline in the crypto market occurred when there was limited liquidity during the holidays, which increased the volatility and accelerated the selling of assets through trading desks in the crypto market.The decline in crypto assets happened simultaneously with a strong rise in precious metals, which indicated a change in the investor’s attitude. The price of gold went up above US$4,500 per ounce, while the price of silver went up to more than US$75; both met the historic highs.The increases in the prices of metals are indicative of the investors’ preference for physical assets when the situation is geopolitically uncertain and when the monetary policy is not clear. As risk aversion increased, investors tended to choose assets that are regarded as stable.The difference in the price trend of cryptocurrencies and metals during times of global stress events is a clear indication that digital currencies still have a long way to go in terms of acceptance when compared to traditional safe havens.The fall in Bitcoin prices strengthens the opinion that cryptocurrencies still belong to the group of higher-risk assets. There have been earlier narratives that Bitcoin could be classified as digital gold, but now the action in price indicates that it is still susceptible to the changes in macroeconomic sentiment.Traders observed that Bitcoin was unable to maintain its steady price of US$85,000 to US$90,000, which resulted in further downward pressure. This trend of weakness affected altcoins, DeFi tokens, and blockchain-related assets. The miners and products that were heavily leveraged suffered more as the traders cut their positions.