Thursday’s crypto roundup portrays the market’s optimism, following a downbeat Wednesday, as traders react to the mixed U.S. data and a positive performance of the U.S. equities.
Amid these plays, the Bitcoin price (BTC) reverses the previous day’s losses by rising to $88K, while the gold price (XAU/USD) posts modest losses near $4,310 within a four-day trading range. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) posts mild losses near 98.30, following the first daily gains in three.
Talking about the U.S. data, the headline inflation gauge, namely the Consumer Price Index (CPI), for November hit a three-month low of 2.7% on a Year-over-Year (YoY) basis, versus 3.1% expected and 3.0% prior. That said, the CPI ex Food & Energy, also known as the Core CPI, slumped to the lowest level since April 2021, while posting a 2.6% YoY figure compared to the market estimation and prior release of 3.0%.
Meanwhile, the U.S. weekly Initial Jobless Claims eased to 224K from 237K (revised), versus 225K expected, while the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for December dropped to -10.7, compared to 3.0 expected and the previous monthly release of -1.7.
Elsewhere, the European Central Bank (ECB) matched market forecasts of keeping the current monetary policy unchanged, while the Bank of England (BoE) proved the analysts right by cutting the benchmark rate by 0.25%. Following the results, the euro (EUR) and the British pound (GBP) faced short-lived gains as traders were well-prepared for these actions from the ECB and the BoE. The U.S. dollar, however, remained under pressure during the initial hour of the ECB and the BoE announcements, which in turn might have favored the cryptocurrencies to defend early-day gains.
That said, the market sentiment dwindled after German news suggesting the government’s readiness for bigger-than-pandemic debt issuance of around €512 billion in securities in 2026.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a one-time “warrior dividend” of $1,776 for more than one million active-duty U.S. service members. Even if the news has very little macroeconomic impact, it could be considered positive for the risk appetite. Meanwhile, Trump also said that he would soon appoint a new Federal Reserve (Fed) chair who favors lower interest rates, which in turn raised concerns about Fed independence.
Notably, long-dated Treasury bond yields in the U.S., the UK, and Germany face downside pressure, while bond coupons from Japan remain firm, which in turn keeps the market’s optimism in check.
Crypto, Equity Update
Major cryptocurrency coins stay firmer while reversing the previous day’s loss but stay within a four-day trading range as Thursday’s trading bell rings in New York.
Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL) each rise between 2.0% and 5.0% intraday, but Binance Coin (BNB) lags the run-up with less than 1.0% daily upside by press time.
Notably, Audiera (BEAT) marked a 20% jump in the last 24 hours to gain the buyer’s attention, whereas UNUS SED LEO (LEO) slumped 25.0% to attract the sellers.
On a broader front, crypto market capitalization (market cap) dropped 0.30% on the day to $2.95 trillion, while the Bitcoin Dominance rose to 59.4% from 58.8% during the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.
That said, some of the top crypto news is as follows, while more updates like this could be traced to our Coin Bytes.
A U.S. securities clearing and settlement firm, Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), announced the tokenization of some U.S. Treasury securities held at its Depository Trust Company unit on the Canton Network. The digitalization of the core financial assets will start in 2026 and aims for an initial minimum viable product (MVP) in a controlled production setting during the first half of the year.
More Details: DTCC to Tokenize U.S. Treasuries on Canton Network After SEC Nod
China’s fresh crackdown on illegal crypto mining in Xinjiang caused 400,000 mining machines to turn offline, resulting in an 8–10% decrease in Bitcoin’s network hashrate. Notably, the Asian major’s new laws forced miners to sell at a record-low hash price.
A business venture of U.S. President Donald Trump’s family, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), proposed investing 5% of the project’s treasury to promote the USD1 stablecoin supplies through strategic partnerships and ecosystem incentives.
Elsewhere, a crypto exchange, Coinbase, introduced a new bespoke stablecoin product, which enables partners to create their own branded stablecoins with customizable collateral arrangements. Details suggest that the tokens can be backed by assets such as USDC, which in turn will offer businesses more choice over how their stablecoins are organized while remaining on a trusted and regulated network.
Furthermore, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) defied a 2023 guidance that restricted how Fed-supervised banks, including uninsured ones, dealt with cryptocurrency. The 2023 guidance required uninsured banks to follow the same standards as federally insured institutions, based on the premise that similar activities pose similar risks and should be subject to the same regulation.
Talking about the equities, Wall Street benchmarks begin Thursday’s trading on a positive note, following a downbeat day, as mixed U.S. inflation and employment clues favored the dovish Fed bias. That said, the Dow Jones rises 0.70%, the S&P500 is up nearly 1.0%, while the Nasdaq rallies 1.4% at the latest.
Notably, news that Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, announced a merger deal of over $6.0 billion with TAE Technologies, a fusion power company, and offered initial optimism to the U.S. equity markets.
On Wednesday, the market sentiment turned sour, and the technology shares were affected the most, despite a mixed start to the day. Oracle was hit hardest, losing nearly 50% since September, while Micron Technology’s strong after-market earnings could have offered some support to the tech sector. By the end of Wednesday’s trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.51%, the S&P 500 (SPX) dropped 1.15%, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.78%.
- Gold retreats within a five-day trading range, posting mild losses around $4,320 by press time.
- Bitcoin (BTC) reverses Wednesday’s losses, up more than 2.0% intraday to $88,000 at the latest.
- Ethereum (ETH) rises 4.0%, snapping a four-day losing streak to $2,940 as we write.
- U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) fades to bounce off a 10-week low, posting modest daily losses around 98.30 as we write.
- U.S. equity benchmarks are positive, after a downbeat day, as the Dow Jones rises 0.70%, the S&P500 is up nearly 1.0%, while the Nasdaq rallies 1.4% at the latest.
- WTI Crude Oil drops back, reversing the previous day’s recovery from the four-year low, while falling to $56.30 by press time.
Crypto and Equities Poised for Further Gains
With the U.S. dollar’s fresh fall and mixed data, coupled with the upbeat performance of the technology shares, the risk assets, like cryptocurrencies and equities, can extend the latest recovery moves unless any risk-negative news from U.S. President Donald Trump, the Middle East, Ukraine, and/or Russia erupts. Still, the U.S. shares and major crypto coins are facing a weekly loss and hence will need a strong positive push to secure a place on the green side.
Also read: Coin Compass: A Beginner’s Guide on How to Use Key On-Chain Metric
