Crypto Market Dips: BTC and ETH Slide, HYPE Token Unlock Sparks Volatility

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

Expectations for a US Federal Reserve rate cut in December have surged, fueling bullish sentiment in crypto. India's Q2 GDP growth of 8.2% boosts risk appetite, while Germany's persistent inflation may limit ECB easing. The UK and EU are tightening crypto regulations, increasing compliance costs and impacting exchange operations.

Crypto Market

The crypto market remains under pressure, with BTC down 4.4% to $97,474 and ETH dropping 9.3% to $3,144 amid weak sentiment and ETF outflows. Altcoins show mixed performance: Quant (QNT) rose 4.4%, while FET fell 12.6% and HYPE declined 3.6%. Institutional ETH accumulation and upcoming token unlocks drive volatility.

Today's Outlook

Today, Hyperliquid will unlock 9.92M HYPE tokens (~2.66% of supply, $314M+), potentially increasing market volatility. ETH Strategy launches a 2-month STRAT linear unlocking program, which may impact liquidity and short-term price dynamics.

Fear and Greed Index

98.00% Annual Percentile

20 Fear

Total Crypto Market Cap

$3.10T

0.31%

Total Market Trading Volume

$129.21B

11.27%

Altcoin Season Index

8.33%

Quarterly Percentile

21 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

3.65B

5.23%

Futures

764.16B

4.99%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

The probability of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December has surged to 88%, driving bullish sentiment across crypto markets and supporting BTC and DeFi liquidity.

India's Q2 GDP growth reached 8.2%, surpassing expectations and reinforcing its position as the fastest-growing major economy, which boosts risk appetite and capital inflows into digital assets.

Germany's November inflation held steady at 2.3%, while the EU-harmonized rate rose to 2.6%, signaling persistent price pressures that may limit ECB easing and impact EUR-denominated crypto trading pairs.

Canada's Q3 GDP grew at an annualized 2.6%, avoiding recession and strengthening the Canadian dollar, which could increase CAD-based crypto trading activity and cross-border flows.

The U.S. Dollar Index experienced a sharp decline this week as markets price in imminent Fed rate cuts, supporting a weaker USD and historically boosting BTC and altcoin valuations.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

The UK will require all crypto exchanges to collect and report detailed user transaction data to HMRC by 2027, aiming to curb tax evasion and increase compliance, which may impact user privacy and exchange operations.

Belarus has updated its crypto wallet registry and implemented new anti-money laundering and tax regulations ahead of a FATF assessment, signaling stricter oversight and potentially affecting cross-border crypto activity.

Uzbekistan announced that from January 2026, stablecoins will be allowed for payments and companies can issue tokenized securities, indicating a move toward regulated digital asset adoption and new investment opportunities.

CoinShares has withdrawn its plans for XRP, Solana, and Litecoin ETFs in the US due to regulatory challenges, highlighting ongoing difficulties for altcoin ETF approvals and affecting investor access to diversified crypto products.

The UK government plans to intensify its crackdown on crypto tax avoidance in 2026, introducing new regulations and enforcement measures that could increase compliance costs and affect investor behavior in the digital asset sector.

Quant (QNT): Quant surged 12.6% in 24h to $94.66, with $61.2M volume. The rally is driven by strong market demand and increased interoperability adoption, but no major news or exchange listing was found in the last 24 hours.

ether.fi (ETHFI): ether.fi rose 4.2% in 24h to $0.83, with $43.7M trading volume. The project benefits from growing interest in liquid restaking and DeFi utility, though no specific protocol upgrade or listing was reported in the last day.

Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET): FET gained 4.1% in 24h to $0.27, with $121.6M volume. The price action is supported by ongoing AI narrative and token consolidation plans, but no new partnership or event was confirmed in the past 24 hours.

Smart Money Movements

BitMine Immersion Technologies acquired 14,618 ETH for $44.34 million, increasing its total holdings to 3.63 million ETH, or 3% of supply, as part of its ongoing Ethereum accumulation strategy.

A wallet linked to Bitmain purchased 20,532 ETH worth $62.8 million, marking one of the largest recent institutional Ethereum acquisitions and signaling growing confidence in ETH.

A crypto whale accumulated $7.16 million in ENA tokens over the past 10 hours, purchasing 25.26 million ENA at an average price of $0.2845, indicating significant whale interest in the token.

Kaspa (KAS) surged 45% this week as whales accumulated over $35 million in November, with open interest in KAS derivatives surpassing $70 billion, reflecting strong leveraged smart money inflows.

A transfer of 1,730,090 SOL worth $239 million was made from an unknown wallet to Coinbase Institutional, sparking speculation about institutional accumulation or portfolio rebalancing in Solana.

Events to Watch

Nov 29 (Sat)

Hyperliquid will unlock 9.92M HYPE tokens (~2.66% of supply, $314M+), potentially increasing market volatility; ETH Strategy launches 2-month STRAT linear unlocking program.

Nov 30 (Sun)

Optimism (OP) will unlock 32.21M OP tokens, valued at $9.8M, as part of its scheduled vesting, possibly impacting OP price dynamics.

Dec 1 (Mon)

US ISM Manufacturing PMI for November and China NBS Manufacturing PMI will be released, providing key economic signals for global markets.

Dec 2 (Tue)

Eurozone preliminary HICP rate for November and ADP US employment report will be released, offering critical inflation and labor market data.

Dec 3 (Wed)

Ethereum Fusaka upgrade launches, boosting throughput and gas limits; Switzerland, Turkey, and Australia release CPI and GDP data, impacting macro and crypto markets.

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