The NFT market is catching a fresh wave of momentum as Bitcoin staged a notable recovery on December 23, 2021, climbing above $51,000 for the first time in more than two weeks. The broader cryptocurrency market is experiencing what traders are calling a “Santa rally,” with positive sentiment spilling over into the non-fungible token space as the holiday season approaches.
TL;DR
- Bitcoin surged past $51,000 on December 23, marking its highest level in over two weeks
- BTC gained approximately 8% over the week, tracking toward its best weekly performance in two months
- The rally boosted broader crypto sentiment, with NFT marketplaces seeing renewed activity
- Approximately $684 million in Bitcoin options were set to expire on Deribit the following day
- NFT platforms like Rarible reported growing trading volumes amid the holiday cheer
Bitcoin Rally Sets the Tone for Digital Assets
Bitcoin’s climb to approximately $51,000 on December 23 was driven by wider positive sentiment across financial markets. The world’s largest cryptocurrency gained roughly 8% over the week, putting it on track for its strongest weekly performance in two months. According to CoinMarketCap data, BTC was trading at $50,784 with a market capitalization of approximately $960 billion.
Ethereum, the backbone of most NFT transactions, was also performing well at $4,108, while Binance Coin traded at $548.73. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at approximately $2.31 trillion, reflecting broad-based recovery across the sector.
Options Expiration Adds Intrigue
The rally came at a critical juncture for the derivatives market. Approximately $684 million worth of Bitcoin options contracts were scheduled to expire on Deribit Exchange on December 24. The maximum pain price — the strike price that would cause maximum losses for option buyers — was set at $48,000. With BTC trading well above that level, the put/call ratio of 0.67 suggested that bullish sentiment was prevailing among options traders.
Notably, calls for the $64,000 strike price carried the highest open interest, indicating that many traders were still positioning for a significant upside move before the end of the year. However, the $52,000 level was identified as a critical resistance zone, with call sellers for that strike treating it as the line in the sand for this expiry cycle.
NFT Platforms See Renewed Interest
The improving crypto sentiment has had a direct impact on the NFT ecosystem. Marketplaces built on Ethereum and other blockchains reported increased activity as collectors and creators returned to the space ahead of the holidays. Rarible, one of the leading multi-chain NFT marketplaces, continued to build on its impressive year, with over $274 million in cumulative trading volume, more than 400,000 NFTs created, and 1.6 million total users on the platform.
The NFT space had exploded throughout 2021, transforming from a niche curiosity into a multi-billion dollar market. Digital art, collectibles, virtual real estate, and gaming items all found eager buyers, with some high-profile NFT sales making headlines around the world. The holiday season appeared to be adding fuel to the fire, with several new NFT projects launching timed to Christmas celebrations.
DeFi and NFT Convergence Accelerates
The lines between decentralized finance and NFTs continued to blur in late December 2021. Several DeFi protocols were integrating NFT functionality into their platforms, using tokenized assets as collateral, rewards, and governance tools. This convergence was creating new use cases for NFTs beyond simple collectibles, driving additional interest from both retail users and institutional investors.
Kine Protocol, for instance, launched its “Trading Fun” Blind Box NFT Christmas event on December 23, combining decentralized derivatives trading with NFT rewards. The platform, which generated over $250 million in daily trading volume with more than 7,000 active users, offered participants the chance to earn NFT token cards featuring major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Binance Coin, DogeCoin, and SHIBA INU.
Leverage and Risk in a Festive Market
Despite the optimistic mood, analysts cautioned that the market was not without risks. The Estimated Leverage Ratio across all derivative exchanges was reaching a new all-time high, a metric that has historically preceded significant price volatility and cascading liquidations of overleveraged futures positions. Bitcoin remained below the Ichimoku cloud on the daily timeframe, with technical analysts noting that the old support level had become a new resistance zone.
For NFT traders and collectors, the lesson was clear: while the holiday rally was creating exciting opportunities, the broader crypto market’s leverage dynamics could introduce sudden volatility that might impact NFT valuations and marketplace activity.
Why This Matters
The convergence of Bitcoin’s Santa rally, a massive options expiration event, and the growing integration of NFTs with DeFi platforms represents a maturation of the digital asset ecosystem. What was once a fragmented landscape of separate crypto verticals is increasingly becoming interconnected, with developments in one area rippling through others. For NFT enthusiasts, Bitcoin’s recovery above $51,000 was more than just a price milestone — it was a signal that the broader market environment remained supportive of continued growth in digital collectibles, metaverse assets, and tokenized experiences. As 2021 drew to a close, the NFT market stood at the intersection of technological innovation, financial speculation, and cultural transformation, with no signs of slowing down heading into the new year.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency and NFT investments carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
everyone celebrating 51k at christmas and nobody mentioning BTC was at 69k less than a month earlier. -26% and people called it a rally lmao
xmas_eve_2021 exactly. everyone ignoring that BTC dropped from 69k to 51k and called it cheerful. NFTs at that point were just leverage on leverage
$684M in BTC options expiring the next day and BTC is pumping into it. market makers are something else
options_spy_ thats exactly how max gamma works. dealers hedge into expiry and it amplifies the move. seen it a hundred times on deribit
Nina Valkov max gamma squeeze into options expiry is one of the most reliable patterns in crypto. dealers are forced to buy into the pump creating a feedback loop
Nina Valkov is exactly right about max gamma squeeze. Dealers hedge into expiry creating a feedback loop that amplifies the move.
those options expiry dates always create fake volume. the real move happened in january and it was down
Rarible getting volume from the santa rally was nice but OpenSea was eating everyones lunch by december 2021
rari_degen_ nailed it, rarible was already losing to opensea by then. the santa rally just delayed the inevitable
rari_degen_ nailed it – Rarible was already losing to OpenSea by December 2021. The Santa rally just delayed the inevitable.
NFT volume spiking because BTC pumped 8% is the most 2021 sentence possible
Rarible getting volume from a BTC pump was the entire 2021 NFT thesis. zero independent value just leveraged beta to crypto sentiment
potatosalad every narrative in 2021 was just BTC pumped therefore NFTs. rarible volume was 100 percent correlation to BTC moves zero independent thesis
DecemberMaximalist BTC at 69k less than a month before 51k and people called it a rally. -26% drawdown reframed as christmas cheer lmao
potatosalad NFT volume spiking on BTC moves was the entire 2021 playbook. everything correlated to bitcoin back then
potatosalad 100 percent correlation to BTC was the entire NFT bull case. zero independent thesis just leveraged beta
BTC at 51k during the 2021 santa rally and NFT volume spiked with it. fast forward to 2025 and NFT floors are down 90% from peak. the correlation worked on the way up but not on the way down
Yuki M. exactly. everyone who aped into NFTs during the christmas rally thinking BTC pumps meant floor prices go up got absolutely destroyed. BAYC floors went from 150 ETH to under 10
BAYC floors went from 150 ETH to single digits later. the santa rally was the exit liquidity for anyone paying attention
$684M in BTC options expiring on Deribit the next day and nobody talks about how that gamma exposure dragged BTC below 46k within a week. max pain was brutal for call buyers
24 comments and nobody mentioning BTC was at 69k three weeks before this. calling 51k a rally when youre down 26% is peak copium
684M options expiring on Deribit the next day and BTC conveniently pumps into it. dealers were hedging gamma and everyone called it a santa rally lol
Liesel M. the gamma squeeze into opex is the only real explanation. NFT volume spiking was just collateral noise from BTC moving
BTC reclaiming $51k right before Christmas. Santa rally still alive after all these years
xmas_maxi_ is spot on – BTC reclaiming $51k right before Christmas proves the Santa rally is still alive after all these years.
that $684M options expiry was a rounding error compared to what deribit processes now. the market has grown massively since 2021
Ivan P. 684M options on deribit back then was massive for the market. now thats a tuesday. insane how liquidity scaled