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Crypto in December: average return and history by year

December has been a negative month for crypto on average: across the 17 largest coins, the typical coin in the average December since 2019 returned −9.3%, and the market closed December higher in 1 of 7 years. Pick the coins you care about to see the year-by-year record, or hover any bar and cell for the detail.

What stands out

  • December ranks 11th of the 12 months by average return (−9.3%). That puts it among the weakest months in the data.
  • One year carries a lot of this: take out December 2023 and the average falls from −9.3% to −13%.
  • Bitcoin alone closed December higher in 2 of 7 years, averaging +3.7%; its best was 2020 (+47%) and its worst 2021 (−19%).
  • The spread between years is wide: December 2023 was the best year (the median coin returned +12%) and December 2021 the worst (−21%).
  • TRON has done best in December (median +1.1%, up in 3 of 5 years) and Stellar worst (median −21%, up in 1 of 7).
  • December is known as the “Santa rally”: a rise into the end of the year. In our data the typical coin was up in 1 of 7 years, so the nickname has not held up.

Counted from 7 years of daily closes (105 coin-months). The coins move together, so each year is one observation, not one per coin: too few to call a pattern.

December year by year

Each bar is one year: the median coin among those chosen below, so one runaway coin cannot set the figure. Change the coins and everything on this page recalculates.

Typical December
−9.3%

average of the years; median year −9.9%

Years up
1 of 7

14% of years

Best year
+12%

2023

Worst year
−21%

2021

December, year by year (median of 17 coins)

Each bar is the median coin that year; the dashed line averages the years. Hover or tap a bar for every coin behind it.

-20%-10%0%10%−15%2019−7.9%2020−21%2021−17%2022+12%2023−9.9%2024−6.7%2025average −9.3%
BTC−4.6+47−19−3.6+12−2.9−3.0+3.7%2/7
ETH−15+19−21−7.6+11−9.9−0.7−3.3%2/7
BNB−13+19−18−18+37+7.5−1.3+1.9%3/7
XRP−14−67−17−17+1.5+6.8−15−17%2/7
SOL–−23−18−30+72−20−6.6−4.5%1/6
TRX––−22−0.2+4.0+24+1.1+1.5%3/5
ZEC––−33−14−8.9−5.0+20−8.3%1/5
DOGE−12+31−21−34+7.3−25−20−10%2/7
LINK−21−21−23−27+3.7+5.3−5.7−13%2/7
ADA−19+5.4−16−23+58−22−20−5.0%2/7
XLM−21−37−21−21+9.0−37−19−21%1/7
NEAR––+67−27+94−30−16+18%2/5
BCH––−25−15+17−17+11−5.7%2/5
LTC––−30−11+4.9+0.5−6.7−8.5%2/5
AVAX–−14−9.1−17+80−20−10+1.6%1/6
HBAR−59−7.9−17−28+43+58−25−5.0%2/7
SHIB––−30−14+25−21−17−11%1/5
Median coin−15−7.9−21−17+12−9.9−6.7−9.3%1/7
Coins up0/95/111/170/1716/176/173/1730%–

Percent. In order of market cap; select a column heading to sort by it.

History, not a forecast. December has 7 years of data behind it, from a few big bull and bear runs. Coins move together, so a year is one observation however many coins you select.

How December compares with the other months

All coins, the same method for every month. Select a month for its own page.

January+11%4/8+7.2%1
February+4.1%4/8+7.7%6
March+5.3%5/8+7.2%5
April+3.3%5/8+7.3%7
May+0.8%4/8+3.9%8
June−12%0/8−4.1%12
July+9.7%6/8+8.3%2
August−0.4%4/8−0.5%10
September+0.4%4/8−1.0%9
October+6.2%5/7+17%4
November+7.0%3/7+4.4%3
December−9.3%1/7+3.7%11

In calendar order. Select a column heading to sort by it.

Questions

Is December a good month for crypto?
Across the 7 years in our data, the typical (median) coin among the largest returned −9.3% in December in the average year, and the market closed higher in 1 of them. That makes December the 11th strongest of the 12 months. With only 7 years of data behind it, treat it as a record of what happened, not a forecast.
Is December a good month for Bitcoin?
Bitcoin closed December higher in 2 of 7 years in our data, with an average return of +3.7% and a median of −3.0%. Its best December was 2020 (+47%) and its worst 2021 (−19%).
What was the best December for crypto?
December 2023, when the median coin returned +12% (16 of 17 coins up). The worst was December 2021, when the median coin returned −21%.
Which crypto does best in December?
Of the 17 coins with enough Decembers in our data, TRON has the highest median December (+1.1%) and Stellar the lowest (−21%). A coin's record in one month is a handful of observations, so a ranking this short can reorder in a single year.
Does the December nickname hold up in the data?
December is known as the “Santa rally”: a rise into the end of the year. In our data the typical coin was up in 1 of 7 years, so the nickname has not held up.
Can I time my purchases by the month?
Not reliably. Each calendar month has at most 7 years of data behind it, from a few market cycles, and a pattern that held in those years has often vanished in the next. Prices to October 6, 2026. If you buy on a schedule instead, the DCA calculator shows what that would have returned.
NovemberJanuary

Disclaimer: This page is educational and does not constitute financial advice. It describes past price moves from daily closes on Binance and leaves out fees, taxes and staking rewards. Past performance does not predict future results. Cryptocurrency prices are volatile; never invest more than you can afford to lose.