The crypto roundup for Monday portrays a reversal of early-day optimism as traders seek more clues about the Ukraine-Russia peace deal. Meanwhile, downbeat China industrial profits and hawkish concerns about the Bank of Japan (BoJ) also weigh on the market’s sentiment.
Also read: Bitcoin Outshines Gold and Silver This Decade; Is It Ready to Replace Them?
Against this backdrop, the Bitcoin price (BTC) reverses after hitting a 10-day high, mostly unchanged around $87,900, while the spot Gold (XAU/USD) faces the biggest daily slump in two months by falling to $4,370 early Monday morning in New York.
Let’s start with the positives that rolled out during the weekend and offer an upbeat week-start to the financial markets, as well as the cryptocurrencies.
U.S. President Donald Trump met his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and said that they (Trump, Zelenskyy, and Russian President Vladimir Putin) are in the “final stages” of talking. Trump also confirmed his belief that both Putin and Zelenskyy want a deal..
Subsequently, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, provided an update on her one-hour call with Trump, Zelenskyy, and several other European leaders. The EC leader also described the latest peace negotiations as constructive and marked “good progress.”
While some details remain unclear, the progress on the security guarantees appears to have given hope for an end to the four-year war as 2025 draws near.
Elsewhere, China fueled the geopolitical fears by conducting military drills around Taiwan, called “Justice Mission 2025.” Also from China was the slowest growth of industrial profit in 14 months, for November.
Furthermore, the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) Summary of Opinions for the December meeting showed that the policymakers are confident in raising the rates further. The Japanese policymakers’ hawkish mood contradicts the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (Fed) rate cut bias and fueled the Japanese Treasury bond yields, challenging the sentiment amid the year-end inaction.
Crypto, Equity Update
Major cryptocurrency coins post modest losses, despite jumping to a week’s high earlier in the day, as market players reassess the odds of a risk-on mood following progress on the Ukraine-Russia peace deal.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) remain lackluster, while Ripple (XRP) posts modest gains, but Solana (SOL) and Binance Coin (BNB) are down nearly 0.50%, whereas Cardano (ADA) loses over 1.0% at the latest.
On a broader front, the crypto market capitalization (market cap) drops 0.10% on the day to $2.97 trillion, while the Bitcoin Dominance remains mostly unchanged by reprinting the 59.0% mark during the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.
That said, some of the top crypto news are as follows, while more updates like this could be traced to our Coin Bytes.
South Korea’s Mirae Asset Group is negotiating a deal to acquire the crypto exchange Korbit for up to $100 million. The deal would provide the traditional finance giant with a prized, fully licensed on-ramp into South Korea’s crypto market.
Also read: Mirae Asset Group Pursues Major Crypto Foray with $100 Million Korbit Acquisition
A leading crypto exchange, Coinbase, came out with its 2026 outlook and forecasted a structural market shift, with price action driven more by institutional factors than retail hype. The crypto exchange identifies perpetual futures, prediction markets, and stablecoin payments as the three dominant growth areas for 2026.
Russia’s Sberbank issued the nation’s first Bitcoin-backed loan to one of the country’s largest Bitcoin miners in a pilot transaction. The loan was collateralized with bitcoin that was held through Sberbank’s own crypto custody solution, Rutoken, which also guaranteed the security of the collateral for the entire loan period, although the bank did not reveal the amount of the loan.
Elsewhere, the biggest corporate Ether holder, BitMine Immersion Technologies, staked 342,560 ETH valued at more than $1 billion in the two days preceding Sunday, according to blockchain analytics site Lookonchain. BitMine’s actions nearly doubled the admission queue over the exit queue for the first time in more than six months.
Talking about equities, Wall Street benchmarks trade with modest losses during the initial hour of Monday’s trading, lacking momentum of late. The Dow Jones drops 0.10% intraday, and the S&P 500 is down 0.20% intraday, but the Nasdaq Composite posts 0.30% losses on the day by press time.
- Gold drops over 3.0%, facing the biggest daily slump since late October, as bears approach $4,370 by press time.
- Bitcoin (BTC) remains lackluster, making rounds to $87,900 at the latest.
- Ethereum (ETH) traces BTC and remains sidelined around $2,950 as we write.
- The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) fades to bounce off an 11-week low, dropping for the first time in three days to 97.90 by press time.
- U.S. equity benchmarks post mild losses, as the Dow Jones drops 0.10% intraday, and the S&P 500 is down 0.20% intraday, but the Nasdaq Composite posts 0.30% losses on the day by press time.
- WTI Crude Oil edges up, eyeing the first daily gain in three by rising to $58.15, despite facing the yearly loss.
A Potentially Sluggish Day for Crypto, but Equities May Drift Lower
Market sentiment is likely to be a bit sour, mainly due to the absence of major events, which can exert downside pressure on risky assets like cryptocurrencies and equities. However, the latest price action among the crypto shows year-end inaction, and hence traders may keep the latest bias intact, at least ahead of this week’s top-tier data/events.
As a result, Tuesday’s release of the FOMC Minutes and Friday’s final December PMI readings from major economies will be key events. Thursday’s New Year holiday could further restrict market moves, with a light economic calendar adding to the lack of activity. If the Ukraine peace deal progresses, the U.S. dollar (USD) may face additional downside pressure, potentially boosting cryptocurrencies and equities.
Also read: Silver Hit Nearly $84 First Time Ever, Flips Past Nvidia into Second Spot
