Overview
- The Federal Reserve delivered a 25-basis-point reduction on Dec. 10, and the initial crypto rebound faded as Chair Jerome Powell signaled a limited near-term easing path.
- Bitcoin briefly pushed above $94,000 before sliding back to around or below $90,000, with risk appetite also dented by weakness in AI-linked tech stocks following Oracle’s outlook miss.
- Derivatives stress intensified, with roughly $500 million in 24-hour crypto liquidations skewed toward long positions and a pullback in open interest.
- U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF flows remained mixed, with $223.5 million in net inflows concentrated in BlackRock’s IBIT as Grayscale’s GBTC and several peers recorded outflows.
- Standard Chartered cut its 2025 Bitcoin target to $100,000, citing softer ETF demand and reduced corporate accumulation, while on-chain metrics flagged rising realized losses and distribution by larger holders.