Last Night’s Crypto Flash Points — 1-Minute Market Recap | Dec 18
TL;DR
Crypto markets experienced volatile price swings amid low liquidity, with key events like U.S. CPI and Japan's rate hike ahead. Bitcoin faces a potential fourth annual decline, while institutional participation grows and platforms like Coinbase expand offerings. Market sentiment reflects a cleansing phase with declining risk appetite and VC adjustments.
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🚨 Last Night’s Crypto Flash Points — 1-Minute Market Recap | Dec 18
1⃣ $BTC, $ETH, $SOL saw classic whipsaw price action as the market drifted in a liquidity vacuum.
U.S. tech stocks continued to correct, dragging down crypto-related equities.
Key dates: U.S. CPI on Thursday, Japan rate hike on Friday. Maybe wait until next Monday before making aggressive moves?
2⃣ Market view:
The real risk is no longer Japan’s rate hike itself, but whether the BOJ governor turns hawkish after a 25 bps hike—specifically whether rate hikes will continue next year, and how many.
3⃣ Preview:
Trump will address the nation on Thursday at 10:00 AM. Nearly one year into his term, he is expected to review past achievements and outline policy priorities for the next three years.
4⃣ Bloomberg:
$BTC is heading toward its fourth annual decline in history. This downturn comes amid expanding institutional participation, a more mature regulatory environment, and explicit public support for crypto from U.S. President Trump.
The move looks more like capital reallocation and declining risk appetite at elevated levels, rather than structural weakness.
5⃣ Coinbase rolled out multiple new products early in the day, signaling a push toward becoming a full-stack trading platform spanning crypto assets, equities, derivatives, and tokenized assets.
6⃣ Solana TVL has fallen to a six-month low, down 34% from its September peak.
7⃣ $WLFI has launched a governance proposal to deploy part of its unlocked treasury to promote USD1 adoption.
Translation: likely token selling.
$WLFI currently sits at a $13B market cap.
8⃣ KOL “Dai Dai Dai Bitcoin” revealed that this month’s referral rebates are only 20% of last month’s, and November was already significantly lower than October.
Quote: “Technical and fundamental factors make me restless, but every indicator I see feels like deep winter.”
9⃣ Investor “LaoBai” observed:
Some VCs are undeniably dead. However, VC as a whole will not disappear—it will continue to push the industry forward. The market has entered a cleansing phase.