Crypto Market Drops: BTC and ETH Lead Declines Amid Token Unlocks

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

The US has enacted new crypto legislation with strict stablecoin rules, aiming to attract institutional capital. The Trump administration reduced SEC enforcement actions, boosting industry confidence and innovation. Global liquidity remains in focus as central banks adjust policies, with macroeconomic shifts impacting crypto market flows.

Crypto Market

The crypto market saw broad declines over the past 12 hours, with BTC down 4.43% to $97,474 and ETH dropping 9.27% to $3,144.86, pressured by weak risk sentiment and ETF outflows. Altcoins also fell, with Canton (CC) down 15.06%, Toncoin (TON) down 6.52%, and Midnight (NIGHT) down 4.51%. Speculative momentum and ecosystem news drove volatility.

Today's Outlook

Major token unlocks today include Kamino (KMNO) with a -5.93% impact and Treehouse (TREE) at -4.07%, which may increase volatility and selling pressure in affected tokens. Monitor market reactions to these unlocks for potential short-term price swings.

Fear and Greed Index

50.00% Annual Percentile

29 Fear

Total Crypto Market Cap

$2.99T

0.58%

Total Market Trading Volume

$54.39B

13.03%

Altcoin Season Index

81.82%

Quarterly Percentile

19 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

2.89B

3.62%

Futures

704.85B

1.22%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

The U.S. Q3 GDP exceeded expectations last week, supporting a stronger dollar and potentially delaying further Fed rate cuts, which may dampen BTC and DeFi risk appetite in the short term.

Minutes from the Bank of Japan's October meeting indicate a possible interest rate hike, signaling a shift from ultra-loose policy. This could impact global liquidity and crypto market flows, especially for BTC and JPY-based trading pairs.

The People's Bank of China will launch a new digital RMB action plan on January 1, 2026, aiming to enhance digital currency infrastructure. This move may accelerate digital asset adoption and influence stablecoin and CBDC narratives in the crypto sector.

Spot gold and silver prices declined sharply as year-end trading approaches, reflecting shifting macro sentiment. Lower precious metals prices may redirect capital flows into digital assets, potentially increasing BTC and ETH volatility.

Crypto trading volumes have dropped 30% below average, with total market cap at $2.96 trillion. Reduced liquidity and lower risk appetite are linked to recent macroeconomic data, increasing the likelihood of short-term volatility in BTC and DeFi markets.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

The Trump administration has reduced SEC enforcement actions against crypto firms by 60% in 2025, closing or pausing major cases and launching a new Crypto Task Force to clarify regulations, boosting industry confidence and innovation.

The United States enacted new crypto legislation in 2025, introducing strict stablecoin reserve requirements and market structure rules, aiming to enhance liquidity, stability, and user privacy, which is expected to attract more institutional investors.

The upcoming review of the Lummis Market Structure Act in January 2026 signals further regulatory clarity for U.S. crypto markets, with bipartisan support and SEC initiatives like Project Crypto and FDIC crypto bank insurance strengthening market oversight.

Canton (CC): Canton surged 22.12% in 24h with $51.3M volume, driven by strong speculative momentum and increased trading activity, making it the top gainer among altcoins.

Toncoin (TON): Toncoin rose 3.8% in 24h to $1.66 with $110.7M volume, supported by ongoing Telegram Web3 integration and growing ecosystem adoption, boosting user and developer interest.

Midnight (NIGHT): Midnight gained 13.49% in 24h with $73.4M volume, fueled by renewed investor attention and high on-chain activity, positioning it as a leading short-term performer.

Smart Money Movements

A whale sold 50,623 ETH for $147.88 million at an average price of $2,921, realizing a profit of $15 million through loop borrowing and strategic sales.

A whale withdrew 2,218 ETH worth $6.52 million, 37.1 million SKY tokens valued at $2.36 million, and 4,772 AAVE worth $730,360 from Kraken, increasing its ETH holdings to $8.07 million.

A whale deposited $1.8 million USDC into HyperLiquid, opened a 3x leveraged long in LIT, and maintained a $17 million 50x leveraged short in BITCOIN, reflecting aggressive trading activity.

Ethereum whales accumulated 300,000 ETH, valued at over $850 million, since December 26, while the price remained stagnant near $2,940.

A whale known as 'pension-USDT.eth' expanded ETH short positions to 26,048 ETH, totaling $76.64 million, achieving $13.87 million in profits over the past 30 days with low leverage swing trades.

Events to Watch

Dec 29 (Mon)

Major token unlocks: Kamino (KMNO) -5.93%; Treehouse (TREE) -4.07%; Quack AI (Q) +0.36%; Clearpool (CPOOL) unlocks 2.86M tokens ($87,973).

Dec 30 (Tue)

Federal Reserve December FOMC meeting minutes to be released, likely impacting market volatility and direction.

Dec 31 (Wed)

Solana (SOL) Alpenglow testnet deployment; Injective (INJ) token burn; RatingDog China Manufacturing PMI release; Litecoin Litewallet sunsets.

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