Crypto Market Drops as FOMC Meeting Begins; BTC, ETH Lead Declines

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points this week, boosting risk appetite. The SEC's closure of the Ondo Finance probe signals growing regulatory clarity for tokenized assets. The CFTC's pilot allowing BTC, ETH, and USDC as derivatives collateral may further increase institutional crypto participation.

Crypto Market

The crypto market saw broad declines over the past 12 hours, with Bitcoin down 4.4% to $97,474 and Ethereum dropping 9.3% to $3,144.86, pressured by risk-off sentiment ahead of the FOMC. Altcoins also fell, with Zcash down 4.0%, DASH down 6.7%, and PEPE losing 11.2%. Privacy coins led sector activity, but overall momentum remains negative.

Today's Outlook

Key events today include the start of the FOMC meeting, which will set the tone for global risk assets, and the closing window for the Linea airdrop claim. Avantis and Movement token unlocks are also scheduled, potentially impacting liquidity and volatility in related markets.

Fear and Greed Index

72.00% Annual Percentile

24 Fear

Total Crypto Market Cap

$3.08T

0.43%

Total Market Trading Volume

$121.64B

15.00%

Altcoin Season Index

0.00%

Quarterly Percentile

18 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

3.89B

10.57%

Futures

787.32B

2.09%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its December 10 meeting, with a 94% probability priced in by markets. This anticipated monetary easing is seen as bullish for Bitcoin and other risk assets, potentially increasing DeFi liquidity and supporting crypto valuations.

Standard Chartered forecasts a Fed rate cut this week due to a weakening U.S. labor market and global economic headwinds. Lower rates are likely to boost market liquidity and investor risk appetite, which could drive capital inflows into Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The CFTC has launched a pilot program allowing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC to be used as collateral in derivatives markets. This move is expected to enhance capital efficiency and could increase institutional participation in crypto derivatives, supporting overall market depth.

President Trump is set to announce a new Federal Reserve Chair, with Kevin Hassett as a leading candidate. Market participants are watching for potential shifts in monetary policy that could impact crypto market volatility and long-term BTC price trends.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

The U.S. CFTC has launched a pilot program allowing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC to be used as collateral in derivatives markets, signaling increased regulatory acceptance and potentially boosting institutional participation.

The SEC has officially closed its multi-year investigation into Ondo Finance with no charges, providing regulatory clarity for tokenized real-world assets and strengthening confidence in compliant blockchain finance.

Canada has published a draft Stablecoin Act requiring fiat-backed stablecoin issuers to register with the Bank of Canada and maintain 1:1 reserves, aiming to enhance consumer protection and regulatory oversight.

The Canadian Revenue Agency has flagged 40% of crypto platform users as tax evasion risks, highlighting increased enforcement and the need for stronger compliance in the digital asset sector.

South Korea is considering new regulations to bring crypto exchanges under bank-level oversight, including mandatory compensation for user losses and stricter IT standards, which could raise compliance costs and improve user protection.

Zcash (ZEC): ZEC surged over 19% in 24h, driven by renewed privacy coin demand and sector rotation, with trading volume exceeding $1.3B and market cap at $6.8B.

DASH (DASH): DASH rose nearly 8% in 24h, benefiting from the privacy coin narrative and technical momentum, with 24h volume at $218M and market cap above $611M.

PEPE (PEPE): PEPE gained 5.3% in 24h, supported by $496M trading volume and strong memecoin sector activity, pushing its market cap close to $2B.

Smart Money Movements

Strategy acquired 10,624 BTC for $962.7 million last week, raising its total Bitcoin holdings to 660,624 BTC, with an average purchase price of $90,615 per coin.

BitMine purchased 138,452 ETH worth $435 million, increasing its total Ethereum holdings to 3,864,951 ETH, now valued at $12.13 billion and representing 3.2% of total ETH supply.

A whale known as '1011 Insider' sold 4,513 ETH for $14.06 million, realizing a $304,000 profit, while retaining a long position of 50,001 ETH valued at $156 million.

Galaxy Digital transferred 24,432,700 SOL, valued at $24.43 million, to Fireblocks Custody, with a portion subsequently moved to an anonymous address.

A significant transfer of 99,999,900 MOVE tokens, worth $4.21 million, was executed from Movement Network to an anonymous address, drawing attention due to the transaction's size and anonymity.

Events to Watch

Dec 9 (Tue)

FOMC meeting begins; Linea airdrop claim window closes; Avantis and Movement token unlocks scheduled.

Dec 10 (Wed)

FOMC concludes with interest rate decision and SEP release at 2:00 p.m. ET; Chair Powell's press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET; $10M EigenLayer and Linea token unlocks; Celo Final Jello hardfork launches.

Dec 11 (Thu)

US PPI and International Trade data released; SNB monetary policy decision; Do Kwon sentencing in New York.

Dec 12 (Fri)

UK monthly GDP, German and French final CPI data releases—key economic indicators for global markets.

Table of Contents