Summary
- Crypto roundup for Monday shows mixed feelings among traders as they grapple with clarity over Fed’s December rate cut and geopolitical woes.
- Bitcoin retreats, Gold edges higher, even as the U.S. Dollar eases.
- Recent Fed talks challenge previous concerns of no rate cut in December, but lack major acceptance.
- Buzz around U.S. peace plan for Ukraine and Russia, as well as tensions about Venezuela and China-Japan, test optimism.
- Market’s positioning for this week’s top-tier data joins a light calendar for Monday to limit volatility across major assets.
- Risk news will be the key catalysts ahead of big data releases.
Crypto Roundup for Monday: Cautious optimism prevails
Market sentiment looks modestly upbeat early Monday morning in New York, as the Ukraine-Russia peace talks show progress and markets prepare for the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) key December policy meeting. However, fresh woes about Venezuela and the rift between China and Japan join a light calendar to test the optimism amid a lackluster day.
Over the weekend, Boston Federal Reserve (Fed) President Susan Collins said she’s undecided about supporting another rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting.
On the contrary, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said, “(He is) advocating for a rate cut at the December meeting.”
Notably, multiple Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members expressed caution about further rate cuts last week, which in turn raised the market’s uncertainty about the Fed’s next move and soured the sentiment. The FOMC’s meeting minutes were also slightly hawkish, while the U.S. data was mixed, which in turn reduced the probability of a December rate cut from 56% the last week to 33% early Monday, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
Talking about the geopolitical news, buzz around a potential U.S. peace plan for Ukraine and Russia failed to boost the market sentiment, even as Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin both expressed willingness to discuss it. Notably, major issues, including Ukraine’s long-term security, remain unresolved.
Meanwhile, the U.S. increasing its military presence in Venezuela joins flight cancellations between China and Japan to flag potential tensions ahead.
Elsewhere, U.S. President Donald Trump lauded the future economic benefits of his tariffs, claiming that the U.S. will soon experience unprecedented wealth from them. Trump’s comments could be linked to a likely hearing on his powers to issue tariffs. On the same line, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said if the court strikes down tariffs, there will be new actions imminently, citing political tensions in the U.S.
Crypto, Equity Update
Major cryptocurrency coins reverse the previous day’s corrective bounce, restoring the multi-week downtrend, despite lacking momentum.
That said, Bitcoin (BTC) and Binance Coin (BNB) both drop around 1.0% on the day, but Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) buck the trend with nearly 1.0% intraday gains by the press time.
Notably, Canton (CC) jumped over 10% in the last 24 hours to gain the buyer’s attention, whereas Starknet (STRK) slid 8.0% to gain the bear’s attention.
On a broader front, crypto market capitalization (market cap) drops 0.65% on the day to $2.94 trillion, while the Bitcoin Dominance remains static at 58.4% 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 News section.
Kyrgyzstan eyes to secure a leading position in the crypto race while issuing 50 million gold-backed and dollar-pegged tokens on the Tron network. The nation is pilot testing a second token tied to the som, KGSToken.
Also Read: Kyrgyzstan Launches Gold-Backed USDKG as XAU₮ Surpasses $2Bln; What’s Driving the Gold Rush?
Malaysian authorities have identified 13,827 premises involved in sophisticated power theft to run mining rigs, siphoning national utility over US$1.1 billion since 2020. Following the issue, a nationwide crackdown is underway, deploying smart meters and artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and dismantle these clandestine operations.
More Details: The Staggering Cost of Illegal Crypto Mining in Malaysia Creates a $1.1B Black Hole
JP Morgan’s research note suffered widespread criticism from the crypto community, as well as a boycott campaign against the banking giant, over its harsh decision. Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) planned to remove any firms that have more than 50% of their balance sheets in crypto from its indexes, beginning in 2026.
Read More: MSCI Decision Sparks Bitcoin Backlash and JP Morgan Boycott
Talking about equities, Wall Street begins Monday’s trading on a slightly positive note as Dow Jones rises 0.30%, the S&P 500 is up 1.0%, and the Nasdaq Composite rises 1.6% on the day as we write.
On Friday, Wall Street bucked the previous downtrend and ended the week on a positive note after U.S. data and Fed talks raised hopes that the U.S. central bank may announce another rate cut in December, despite the policymakers’ differences.
- Gold remains sidelined around $4,080, snapping a two-day losing streak, but lacking momentum.
- Bitcoin (BTC) posts mild losses near $86,000, reversing Sunday’s corrective bounce to restore the multi-week downtrend.
- Ethereum (ETH) rises 1.0%, extending the previous day’s rebound to $2,835 as we write.
- U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) remains lackluster for the second straight day, despite retreating from a six-month high to 100.15 by press time.
- Wall Street benchmarks remain slightly positive, with all three benchmark indices rising between 0.30% and 1.60% on the day as we write.
- WTI Crude Oil hits a fresh monthly low, down for the fourth consecutive day to $57.70 at the latest.
A slightly inactive day ahead
Given the light calendar and the market’s preparations for the key December FOMC, as well as mixed geopolitical and trade updates, the market players are likely to witness a slow start to the key week. This could allow the U.S. Dollar to remain sidelined, but weigh on the cryptocurrencies, even as equities could edge higher. That said, the Gold price may challenge the downside momentum, but the overall bullish trend could hold due to the bullion’s traditional haven status.
Also read: Cryptocurrency Weekly Price Prediction: BTC, ETH, and XRP Tumble on Fed Buzz; More Pain Ahead?
