The Crypto roundup for Friday shows the market’s risk-on sentiment amid downbeat U.S. data, hopes of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) further rate cuts, and upbeat US equities.
Amid these plays, the Bitcoin price (BTC) snaps a two-day losing streak, up more than 3.0% to $88,200, while the gold price (XAU/USD) edges higher to $4,345. That said, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) rose for the third consecutive day to 98.72 at the latest.
The U.S. economic calendar was light for Friday as it included Existing Home Sales for November and a second revision of the University of Michigan’s (UoM) Consumer Sentiment, as well as Inflation Expectations, for December. That said, the U.S. Existing Home Sales came in as 4.13 million Month-over-Month (MoM) compared to the market forecasts of 4.15 million and the prior readings of 4.11 million (revised).
Further, the UoM Consumer Sentiment Index eased to 52.9 versus the initial forecasts of 53.5 and 53.3 prior, while the Consumer Inflation Expectations inched up to 4.2% from the 4.1% preliminary estimations for the one-year timeframe.
Earlier in the day, New York Fed President John C. Williams said that the Fed policy is ‘mildly restrictive,’ while adding that it has some room to get back to neutral. Williams is a permanent voter of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and surprised markets by supporting the December rate cut. His latest comments are also slightly dovish and hence tested the U.S. dollar buyers.
As per the latest interest rate futures data, the market players are betting big on the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts in 2026, making it the most dovish central bank among the top-tier ones. That said, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) Interest Rate Futures, the Fed is likely to offer 0.65% of rate cuts in 2026.
Elsewhere, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.25%, matching market forecasts, to mark the highest rates in 30 years. Following the decision, the 10-year Japanese Government Bond (JGB) yields hit the highest level since May 2006.
Crypto, Equity Update
Major cryptocurrency coins stay firmer while paring the weekly losses as Friday’s trading bell rings in New York.
Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Binance Coin (BNB) each rise between 2.0% and 5.0% intraday, while Solana (SOL) leads the run-up with over 5.0% daily upside by press time.
On a broader front, crypto market capitalization (market cap) fell 0.40% on the day to $2.97 trillion, while the Bitcoin Dominance ticked up to 59.2% from 59.1% 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.
The latest report from a research platform Chainalysis, signaled that more than $3.4 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen globally so far during 2025. Out of the heavy figure, a single compromise at the trading platform Bybit in February accounted for around $1.5 billion and gained the market’s attention. Additionally, North Korean cyber operators drained about $2.02 billion in digital assets in 2025, a rise of roughly 51% from the previous year, making it the most lucrative period yet for the Korean groups.
Read More: Crypto Thieves Have Stolen Over $3.4 Billion So Far in 2025, Chainalysis Says
A blockchain linked to messaging app Telegram, The Open Network (TON), allows access to tokenized US shares through a new product called xStocks. The official statement mentioned that users of TON Wallet, Tonkeeper, and MyTONWallet can now buy and sell tokens that mirror shares in companies such as Apple, Tesla, and Microsoft directly inside their existing wallets, without opening a separate brokerage account or switching to a different trading platform.
Also Read: TON Brings US Stocks Into Telegram-linked Wallets with xStocks Launch
Elsewhere, Coinbase sues regulators in Connecticut, Illinois, and Michigan to secure federal protection for its planned prediction markets. The firm’s lawsuit caused a new debate over whether event contracts are financial or gambling.
Talking about the equities, Wall Street benchmarks ended Friday’s trading on a positive note, extending the previous day’s recovery moves. That said, the Dow Jones rose 0.57%, the S&P500 was up nearly 0.81%, while the Nasdaq rallied 1.09% at the latest.
On Thursday, the market sentiment was upbeat, and the technology shares rallied, despite a softer start to the day. Tesla’s long-awaited Cybercab was reportedly spotted testing on public roads in Austin, Texas, fueling speculation about the company’s progress on autonomous ride-hailing vehicles, and keeping buyers on the lookout. That said, Wall Street’s benchmarks posted a positive day, with the Dow Jones (+0.14%), S&P 500 (+0.79%), and Nasdaq (+1.38%), all ending Thursday in the green zone.
- Gold edges higher, posting mild gains around $4,345 by press time.
- Bitcoin (BTC) snaps a two-day downtrend, up more than 3.0% intraday to $88,200 at the latest.
- Ethereum (ETH) rises 5.0%, snapping a five-day losing streak to $2,985 as we write.
- U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) posts three-day uptrend, posting modest daily gains around 98.70 as we write.
- U.S. equity benchmarks are positive, up for the second straight day, as the Dow Jones rises 0.57%, the S&P500 is up nearly 0.81%, while the Nasdaq rallies 1.09% at the latest.
- WTI Crude Oil rebounds, reversing the previous day’s loss while jumping back to $56.50 by press time.
Crypto and Equities Can Keep the Gains
Given the lack of major data/events and the market’s dovish bias surrounding the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), the latest gains of the equities and cryptocurrencies are likely to prevail, unless any surprise risk-negative news erupts.
