Bitcoin (BTC) Dips Below $104K Ahead of Fed's Rate Decision
The price of Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, dropped to an intraday low of $103,353 earlier today, causing some concerns about a potentially steeper correction.
It is currently trading at $103,735, down 2.7%. This comes after it soared to a new record high of $108,135 on Tuesday.  The cryptocurrency is seeing increasing volatility ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate hike.
Polymarket bettors see a 97% chance of the Fed implementing a 25-basis-point rate cut. Hence, a potential decision to keep rates unchanged will likely send shockwaves across the markets, causing a significant Bitcoin price correction.
Earlier today, prominent trader Josh Olszewicz opined that $100,000 would be the key level to defend for bulls. According to the chartist, Bitcoin's daily close was rather underwhelming following the new record peak.
He believes that the largest cryptocurrency is now in risk-off mode ahead of the Fed's rate decision and Jerome Powell's speech.
However, the trader has said that Bitcoin is unlikely to collapse all the way to the $86,000 level, as of now.
Bitcoin is struggling to move higher despite impressive flows recorded by U.S.-based Bitcoin ETFs. On Tuesday, they managed to attract $733 million worth of inflows.  The cryptocurrency has also been boosted on the regulatory front.
Anti-crypto SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, who voted against the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, is highly likely to leave the agency next year after the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs failed to vote on her renomination.
#FedRateDecisions #FederalReserve #Bitcoin #cryptomarket #CryptoNews

Bitcoin Falls by $4,000
After several consecutive days of steady gains and new record highs, Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced a sharp decline. In the last 12 hours, its price has fallen by over $4,000.
The leading cryptocurrency rebounded from its weekly low of $94,400 and began a strong rally that peaked on Thursday, when it surpassed the $100,000 mark. Over the weekend, BTC remained stable, trading around $101,500.
As the new week began, Bitcoin made another push, climbing to $106,500 on Monday and reaching its latest all-time high above $108,000 on Tuesday.
However, after gaining approximately $14,000 over the past week, a correction seemed inevitable. Over the last several hours, BTC has dropped by more than $4,000 and is now trading just above $104,000. Its market capitalization has settled at $2.060 trillion, while its dominance over altcoins has climbed to 54%.

Altcoins Follow the Downtrend
As is often the case when Bitcoin moves sharply, altcoins follow suit. Ethereum (ETH) has dropped by 4% and is now trading just above $3,850. XRP fell 2.5% to $2.52, while Solana (SOL) is struggling at around $216.
Other altcoins showing significant losses include:
Cardano (ADA), TRON (TRX), Avalanche (AVAX), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Toncoin (TON), SUI, Stellar (XLM), Polkadot (DOT), and Aptos (APT), which have dropped by up to 9%.PEPE also saw a sharp decline and is now battling to stay above $0.0000215.
Crypto Market Cap Loses $150 Billion
The total market capitalization of all crypto assets was nearing $4 trillion yesterday. However, following the recent downturn, it has shed approximately $150 billion, bringing the current total to just under $3.85 trillion.

This drop highlights how quickly corrections can occur even after several days of impressive growth in the crypto market.

#cryptomarket , #Bitcoin❗ , #CryptoNewss , #Cryptocurrencies , #Altcoins👀🚀

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Metaplanet Establishes Bitcoin Treasury Operations as Official Business Line
By merging BTC operations with hotel management, Metaplanet envisions dual growth pillars driving its long-term business strategy in Japan.
Japanese-listed company Metaplanet announced on December 18 that it will formally run Bitcoin Treasury Operations as a new business line.
This move, approved by the firm’s board of directors, is part of its broader strategy to integrate Bitcoin into its financial framework.
Details of the New Venture
The announcement, shared in a post on X, follows a series of shareholder approvals and strategic moves aimed at positioning the company as a leader in Bitcoin adoption and management.
In it, Metaplanet stated that its new business line will focus on purchasing, holding, and managing the crypto asset through various financial instruments, including loans, equity issuances, and convertible bonds.
The document also reveals Bitcoin purchases and accumulation will be conducted with BTC Yield as the primary performance metric.
Metaplanet will also continue generating premium income from Bitcoin put option sales, which capitalize on the asset’s volatility to drive revenue.
Furthermore, its exclusive license for Bitcoin Magazine Japan will be used to create new revenue streams through BTC-related marketing activities and educational initiatives.
By combining these efforts, the investment firm is seeking to solidify its role as Japan’s leading Bitcoin treasury company and a pioneer in the country’s crypto ecosystem.
It emphasized that the new business model will complement its existing hotel operations, with both areas serving as core pillars of the firm’s growth strategy.
Financial Achievements
The Tokyo-based company is on track to achieve its first consolidated operating profit in seven years, just months after adding BTC to its balance sheet.
In a separate disclosure on December 18, it projected revenue of 890 million yen ($5.8 million) for the fiscal year ending December 31, a significant jump from the 261 million yen reported the previous year.
A major portion of this revenue, 520 million yen ($3.4 million), came from selling Bitcoin put options. Additionally, the investment firm reported unrealized gains of approximately 7.446 billion yen ($48.6 million) on its BTC holdings.
Since pivoting to the number one cryptocurrency as a treasury asset in April 2024 to hedge against the weakening yen, Metaplanet has actively pursued several capital-raising efforts to support its acquisition strategy.
These include securing $66 million through its 11th stock acquisition rights exercise in October, raising $11.3 million via bond issuance in early November, and obtaining $62 million through its 12th stock acquisition rights later that month.
Most recently, on December 16, it issued a fourth bond worth nearly 4.5 billion yen ($30 million) and announced plans for an additional 5 billion yen in private placement bonds.
As of today, Metaplanet holds 1,018 BTC, valued at approximately $118 million, according to BitcoinTreasuries.
#Metaplanet #Bitcoin #cryptocurrencies #cryptomarket #CryptoNews

Ohio lawmaker proposes bill to create a state-backed bitcoin reserve
Ohio State Representative Derek Merrin introduced a new bill on Tuesday to establish a state-backed bitcoin reserve.
“As the US dollar undergoes devaluation, bitcoin provides a vehicle to supplement our state's portfolio and preserve public funds from losing value,” Merrin wrote in his X post.
HB 703, named the Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Act, seeks to create a designated bitcoin reserve fund within the state treasury and authorize the treasurer to invest interim money of the state in bitcoin.
“A strategic bitcoin reserve fund aligns with the state's commitment to fostering innovation in digital assets and providing Ohioans with enhanced financial security,” the bill said.
In a separate statement, the Republican Ohio lawmaker said that he anticipates the incoming administration under Donald Trump to establish a national bitcoin reserve, also mentioning Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ draft bill to have the U.S. purchase 1 million BTC in five years.
Representatives from other U.S. states, including Texas and Pennsylvania, have also recently pushed to build bitcoin reserves in their respective states.
Bitcoin has seen substantial gains throughout this year, especially after the reelection of crypto proponent Trump as U.S. President.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose 155% in the past year, currently trading at $104,680 according to The Block’s bitcoin price page.
#Ohio #OhioState #Bitcoin #cryptomarket #CryptoNews

6 Signs Ripple (XRP) Is About to Make Another Colossal Splash
Bitcoin is shooting for the moon again on the current macro market cycle. But since the start of November, Ripple nearly went parabolic. XRP prices rose from under $0.50 to above $2.70 by Dec. 3.
So, will Ripple token prices fizzle out and consolidate with long-term support at a lower level? Or will XRP continue to skyrocket over the next 60 days?
Here are 6 of the most current signals regarding XRP’s price. But real quick first:
As for more focused long-term accumulation holders and altcoin investors who make cyclical adjustments with the occasional swing trade to optimize their strategy: Is XRP the right place to park it for a while?
Is it too Late to Buy XRP in 2024-2025?
That’s an important question for many cryptocurrency investors looking at the top coins by market cap for opportunities to achieve their financial goals over their relevant timeframes.
Using Bitcoin as a point of comparison, RippleNet does not appear to have reached as much of its TAM (total addressable market) along its product adoption curve. For example, Bitcoin is already on Wall Street as a number of ETF products, and XRP is not.
But, Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse says his company considers an XRP ETF inevitable. 
Meanwhile, Ripple Labs has actively explored IPO options for some time, but outside the United States, because of the costly battle against the SEC.
In addition to that gauge of XRP’s market adoption curve, the Belgium-based SWIFT cooperative is a directly relevant point of comparison.
While SWIFT processes international payment volume on the order of USD $5 trillion daily, RippleNet appears to be just getting started.
XRP tokens on the decentralized financial platform XRP Ledger facilitate something like USD $1.5 billion worth of similar transactions each day, according to data from XRP Scan.
1. XRP Stablecoin Gets Nod From NY Regulator
Last week the New York state financial regulator, the Department of Financial Services, approved a new Ripple stablecoin—RLUSD.
The issuer of XRP tokens for RippleNet launched the new product on Dec. 17. XRP token prices on crypto exchanges soared by 11% in market valuation following the regulator’s approval.
They jumped from $2.38 to over $2.47 within minutes after the company’s announcement of a launch date.
Once the product was released, XRP’s price went even further by tapping a multi-week peak of over $2.7.
2. Ripple Token Technicals
Technical signals for Ripple were strong in mid-December.
From Dec. 3 – 10, XRP retraced from a high above $2.70 and consolidated above the $1.90 level. XRP’s price then fired back up to above $2.70 on Tuesday, Dec. 17. So the tokens for RippleNet appeared to have found their long-term support level for another leg up in December.
That’s impressive price performance and shows great buoyancy after what Jeff Park, chief strategist at crypto asset manager Bitwise, called, in an interview with Fortune, “one of the most violent liquidations we’ve had in the altcoin universe.”
The way Park sees it, this retracement looks like a market just stopping briefly to catch its breath: “It looks severe. But the gains were even more astronomical preceding it, and this is a little bit of an exhaustion.”
On Tuesday, Ripple’s simple and exponential moving averages across the 10-day, 20-day, 30-day, 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day periods indicated a Strong Buy recommendation, according to data from TradingView.
One potential hazard for the XRP army is a large amount of whale-sized transfers to exchanges. That makes the potentially available supply more liquid and could signal selling intent by big players.
A November surge of whale transfers doubled Binance’s XRP whale inflows since late October. The last time this metric was this high in Mar. 2024, it preceded a 3-month slide for the asset.
3. Strong Business Model, America’s ‘Secret’ Weapon?
This fundamental evaluation of Ripple’s long-term future prospects as a payments business cannot be understated. 
Ripple maintains a SaaS product that is so good with a business and team around it that are so capable that RippleNet could be the US’s secret weapon to maintain global financial hegemony in the face of a fading dollar.
That’s why popular digital asset researcher X Anderson, in a recent post, called XRP “a strategic weapon for the US.”
4. XRP Ledger Daily TXs Trending Up
For another fundamental analysis, the daily transaction volume on the XRP Ledger for decentralized finance may be cause for trader/investor bullishness into January.
Total payments from one account to another increased from 0.73 million daily on Sept. 17 to 1.4 million daily on Dec. 16, nearly doubling in three months’ time.
Accordingly, payment volume in XRP tokens using the XRP Ledger increased over the same period, from 762 million to 1.99 billion.
Daily active accounts on XRP Ledger have also kept pace with the appreciating crypto spot exchange price for the Ripple token. Daily unique senders rose to over 105K on Dec. 2.
The previous record was just a touch over 50K each of the three times this metric ever came anything close to this month’s all-time high. Daily new account activation figures are also bullish.
5. Trump Effect, Ripple SEC Lawsuit Dust Settles
The outgoing Biden administration’s war on cryptocurrency via a very aggressive SEC is at an end with the incoming second one for New York City and cable television’s Donald Trump.
The president-elect’s appointment of Peter Thiel’s PayPal apprentice, David Sacks, to be his crypto and AI czar is more proof the new White House will be friendly and supportive of cryptocurrencies like XRP.
In a November tweet, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty stated that Ripple’s defense against the SEC in US court “provided the blueprint to defeat Gary Gensler’s inexplicable war on crypto.”
During a recent 60 Minutes interview, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said his company recently launched a new crypto-focused US super PAC named Fairshake because of the SEC’s “war on crypto.”
Its influence on policymakers will come with the gravitas of its legal victories, its international business partnerships with foreign governments and financial institutions, and its vast honeypot of financial resources and clearly no shortage of cash—not even through a prolonged and expensive SEC battle happening at the same time as a severe cyclical bear market for the crypto industry.
6. Dollar and Bitcoin Macro Cycles
The dollar is in an inflationary, low-interest rate cycle for the time being. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is in its historical 12 – 18-month bullish price adjustment phase following a 50% supply cut every four years. This quadrennial’s “halving” occurred on April 20, 2024.
As a result, XRP’s price is caught up in a very broad, macro-cycle, multi-month financial updraft that, in many previous cycles, has dramatically increased the daily market exchange rate for altcoins like XRP.
An AI startup founder and Ripple investor who goes by Vincent Van Code on X recently pointed to a $5 target level for XRP’s price by February.
Just as Ripple’s price began to retrace in early December, Van Code wrote, “Fundamentals are very strong for XRP, if you’re a holder, my gut is telling me it will hit $5 by Feb 2025. All this is noise.”
#XRP #Ripple #cryptomarket #cryptocurrencies #CryptoNews

Donald Trump’s Executive Order to Establish Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Drafted
The Bitcoin Policy Institute has drafted the executive order to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve under the United States Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF).
The draft aims to position Bitcoin as a national strategic asset for the U.S. under President Donald Trump.
The proposed order outlines measures to ensure the United States remains competitive in the evolving global digital economy.
Notably, this policy requires approval and signing after Donald Trump’s inauguration to take effect.
Details of The Bitcoin Reserve and Policy ObjectivesThe executive order emphasizes integrating Bitcoin into the U.S. financial system to strengthen economic security and global leadership.
According to the draft, Bitcoin’s decentralized and limited supply characteristics make it a valuable asset comparable to digital gold.
The proposal recommends designating Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset within the ESF to diversify holdings, attract innovation, and promote domestic industry growth.
Under the draft’s provisions, the Treasury Secretary would oversee the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), with an allocation of $521 billion for Bitcoin acquisition.
The proposal mandates that all Bitcoin held by federal agencies, such as the U.S. Marshals Service, be consolidated into the SBR within seven days of the order’s issuance. Notably, it prohibits the sale of any Bitcoin from this period.
Additionally, the draft directs the Treasury to implement a detailed acquisition plan within 60 days to establish the United States as a global leader in Bitcoin holdings and innovation.
Safeguarding Bitcoin Holdings
The draft order includes stringent measures to ensure the security of Bitcoin reserves. Initial custody of Bitcoin would rely on reputable third-party custodial service providers while the Treasury develops a robust self-custody framework.
The proposed self-custody measures involve collaboration with agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to implement multi-signature controls, geographic distribution, and cryptographic reserve proof verification.
Additionally, the Treasury would be responsible for regular audits and transparency measures, including quarterly public proofs of reserve and detailed annual reports.
These reports would assess the strategic advantages of Bitcoin holdings, acquisition strategies, and economic impacts. The plan aims to maintain public trust while safeguarding national economic interests.
Global Context
The draft order arrives amid growing global interest in Bitcoin. Sarah Knafo, a French member of the European Parliament, has urged the European Union to establish its own strategic Bitcoin reserve.
She opposes the proposed digital euro, describing it as a potential tool for central control, and instead supports Bitcoin as a decentralized alternative.
Citing El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender in 2021, Knafo pointed to its success in boosting economic returns and national sovereignty.
#DonaldTrump #StrategicBitcoinReserve #USACryptoLaw #cryptomarket #CryptoNews

Potential for Cardano’s ADA to Rally Amid Whale Accumulation and Positive Market Sentiment
Cardano’s ADA is positioning itself for a potential rally as investor interest peaks, although challenges remain for the cryptocurrency.
The increase in accumulation by significant holders, coupled with positive trading sentiment, could pave the way for renewed price action in ADA.
According to crypto analyst Ali Chart, “the surge in whale transactions indicates a bullish outlook for ADA’s price movement.”
Cardano (ADA) experiences heightened whale activity and growing demand, signaling potential positive price movements despite recent challenges.
Whales buy ADA in bulk
According to crypto analyst Ali Chart, citing data from Santiment, there has been significant buying activity from ADA whales—large investors capable of influencing market movements. These whales control over 1% of ADA’s circulating supply.
In the past 24 hours, whales conducted 687 transactions involving over $1 million worth of ADA. This spike in activity suggests increased accumulation by major holders, a positive indicator for the asset’s outlook.
To verify this trend, COINOTAG examined additional market metrics to determine whether this accumulation aligns with broader bullish signals for ADA.
Balance between bulls and bears
COINOTAG has confirmed a significant surge in buying activity across various trader cohorts, categorized by their holdings.
Over the past 30 days, addresses holding between $1 million and $10 million worth of ADA have increased by 67.29%, marking the most notable rise compared to other addresses.
This further validates the heightened buying activity from whales in the market.
Despite this uptick, the market currently reflects a balance between bulls and bears, leaving ADA in a state of equilibrium.
Data from IntoTheBlock highlights an equal distribution of activity among major traders, with 95 bulls and 95 bears among the top 1% of participants.
This balance indicates a lack of decisive momentum, suggesting the drive to push ADA’s price higher may need to come from other trader cohorts.
Demand surge for ADA builds
Press-time data indicates a rising demand for ADA over the past 24 hours. Open Interest has increased by 5.43%, pushing its value to $908.24 million.
This uptick in Open Interest shows a surge in unsettled derivative contracts, driven primarily by long traders—a bullish signal for ADA’s short-term outlook.
Additionally, ADA recorded its largest single-day Exchange Netflow in six days, with a substantial netflow of $21.25 million.
Such major withdrawals often suggest that traders are moving assets off exchanges to hold for long-term gains, rather than selling.
If this trend continues—marked by rising Open Interest and long positions, coupled with sustained accumulation from large investors—ADA could experience a notable turnaround. The altcoin could, as a result, surge to higher levels.
#ADA #Cardano #Altcoin #cryptomarket #CryptoNews

BlackRock Rules Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF Game With Historic $860 Million Spike
As recently became known, the amount of inflows to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) exchange traded funds (ETFs) hosted by BlackRock in the last 24 hours totaled $860 million.
Digging deeper into the details, we learn that most of this sum still belongs to IBIT, a Bitcoin ETF from BlackRock, which saw inflows of $733.6 million, according to Bloomberg data.
Meanwhile, ETHA, an Ethereum ETF from BlackRock, saw inflows of $132.3 million over the course of the previous day.
The numbers are impressive, and more importantly, they are in line with current trends on the crypto market. Bitcoin continues to reign supreme, with its price hitting new all-time highs almost every week.
Ethereum as a major altcoin is lagging behind, stumbling periodically with its price experiencing high volatility, but still aiming close to the previous price high of around $4,800, which was set back in 2021.
The rest of the market? There was a brief period in recent weeks when every market participant believed that the altcoin season had begun, but the current picture is starting to look extremely ugly, and Bitcoin's relentless rise is making things look even worse for altcoins. So, it is still a BTC market.
As Nate Geraci, the president of ETF Store, points out, there have now been 13 straight days of inflows into the iShares Ethereum ETF, which now totals $1.5 billion, and $2.5 billion in total into spot Ethereum ETFs since the July launch. 
However, there are still net outflows of $3.5 billion from the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, which could slow ETH's price appreciation.
At the same time, Geraci is so amused by IBIT's performance that he 'doesn't even know what to say anymore'. Yesterday's inflows alone would put BlackRock's Bitcoin ETH in the top 20 ETF launches for 2024, says the ETF Store president. And that is out of 700 new ETFs.
#BlackRock #Bitcoin #ETFs #cryptomarket #CryptoNews