Crypto Market Slides as BTC, ETH, and Altcoins Face Broad Sell-Offs

I. Crypto Market Overview

Key Takeaways

Macro Environment

The Federal Reserve's third consecutive rate cut to 3.5%-3.75% aims to support a slowing US labor market, potentially boosting crypto liquidity. The US SEC closed its four-year AAVE DeFi probe, signaling greater regulatory clarity for DeFi. The UK will finalize comprehensive crypto regulation by 2026, enforcing FCA oversight and aligning crypto with traditional finance from 2027.

Crypto Market

The crypto market saw broad declines over the past 12 hours, with BTC down 4.43% to $97,474 and ETH falling 9.27% to $3,144.86, pressured by ETF outflows and weak risk sentiment. Altcoins also dropped, with ARB down 11.73%, SOL down 8.75%, and XRP down 8.61%. SPX6900 led losses among meme coins, dropping 12.38%. Morpho Labs outperformed, limiting its loss to 1.51%, supported by DeFi sector optimism.

Today's Outlook

Key events today include the release of UK November CPI inflation data, which may impact GBP-denominated crypto demand. ASTER unlocks 320,000 tokens ($262,720), and SOLV Protocol unlocks 1.79% of its supply at 10 AM UTC, both potentially increasing short-term volatility. Valour Solana (VSOL) ETP begins trading on Brazil's B3 Exchange, expanding institutional access to Solana exposure.

Fear and Greed Index

98.00% Annual Percentile

22 Fear

Total Crypto Market Cap

$2.97T

1.24%

Total Market Trading Volume

$104.30B

10.71%

Altcoin Season Index

72.73%

Quarterly Percentile

21 / 100

Total Futures Market Open Interest

3.93B

0.05%

Futures

778.90B

7.95%

Perpetuals

II. Industry Updates

Macro-economic Policies

The Federal Reserve implemented its third consecutive interest rate cut, lowering the federal funds target range to 3.5%-3.75%. This move aims to support a slowing labor market and could boost risk appetite in crypto markets, potentially increasing BTC and DeFi liquidity.

US November nonfarm payrolls and CPI data are set for release this week after delays from the government shutdown. These key macro indicators will directly influence Fed policy expectations and may trigger volatility in BTC and altcoin prices.

The Bank of Japan's parliament approved an 18.3 trillion yen supplementary budget to stimulate the economy. Increased fiscal spending may weaken the yen, potentially driving capital flows into digital assets and impacting global crypto market sentiment.

The US dollar weakened ahead of the delayed jobs report, while Treasury yields slipped. Lower yields and a softer dollar typically support higher crypto valuations, as investors seek alternative assets like BTC and ETH.

UK inflation data for November will be released on December 17, with expectations of a slight decrease. Lower inflation could prompt the Bank of England to consider rate cuts, which may enhance GBP-denominated crypto demand and DeFi activity.

Cryptocurrency Regulatory Trends

The U.S. SEC has officially closed its four-year investigation into the AAVE DeFi protocol, signaling increased regulatory clarity for decentralized finance and boosting market confidence in compliant DeFi projects.

The FDIC has proposed a new rule for U.S. banks to apply for stablecoin issuance under the GENIUS Act, marking a significant step toward regulated, bank-issued stablecoins and potentially expanding institutional crypto adoption.

The UK government has announced that comprehensive crypto regulation will be finalized by 2026 and enforced from 2027, bringing crypto firms under Financial Conduct Authority oversight and aligning rules with traditional financial products to enhance consumer protection.

The Bank of Canada has outlined strict criteria for stablecoins to qualify as 'premium money,' requiring high-quality reserve backing and robust risk management, which could impact stablecoin issuer operations and investor trust in Canada.

The U.S. Senate has postponed the debate on the Crypto Market Structure Bill until early 2026, prolonging regulatory uncertainty for exchanges and token issuers and potentially affecting institutional participation in the U.S. crypto market.

SPX6900 (SPX): SPX6900 surged 25.85% in 24h with $18.6M volume, driven by strong speculative trading and increased meme coin sector activity.

42Pi (42PI): 42Pi jumped 5.49% in 24h with $20.1M volume, ranking among top gainers despite limited public news, likely due to short-term trading momentum.

MORPHO Labs (MORPHO): MORPHO Labs rose 4.93% in 24h with $36.1M volume, supported by DeFi sector optimism and recent user growth in lending vaults.

Smart Money Movements

Wall Street banks and hedge funds structured approximately $530 million in crypto-linked financial products, including notes tied to BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, providing institutional investors with controlled exposure to crypto volatility.

Bitmine acquired 48,049 ETH worth about $140.58 million, highlighting continued large-scale institutional accumulation of Ethereum in the past 24 hours.

A newly created wallet received 48,049 ETH, valued at $141.78 million, from FalconX, indicating significant on-chain movement of Ethereum associated with Bitmine.

Machi deposited $1.2 million USDC into HyperLiquid and opened a 25x leveraged long position on Ethereum, signaling aggressive smart money trading activity.

Short-term Bitcoin holders transferred 24,700 BTC to exchanges, with 86.8% of these transactions realized in profit, driving Bitcoin's recent dip to $85,000.

Events to Watch

Dec 17 (Wed)

UK November CPI inflation data release; Aster (ASTER) unlocks 320,000 tokens ($262,720); Solv Protocol unlocks 1.79% of supply at 10 AM UTC; Valour Solana (VSOL) ETP begins trading on Brazil's B3 Exchange.

Dec 18 (Thu)

US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Core CPI data for November released; Changelly hosts New Year Crypto StandUp event with Web3 leaders at 4 PM CET.

Dec 19 (Fri)

Bank of Japan announces rate decision, markets anticipate possible rate hike; Spur Protocol (SON) and Helios HLS Blockchain tokens launch; YZY MONEY unlocks 3.7% of supply at 3 AM UTC.

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