Staying informed about the latest developments in both traditional and digital financial markets is crucial for making informed decisions. This week has brought significant changes across various sectors. Let’s delve into the details and examine what has transpired in the cryptocurrency and global financial landscape.
US Market Weekly Update
This week, the US S&P 500 index experienced a noticeable drop, decreasing from $6,050.84 to $5,930.84, marking a decline of 2.02%. This trend was seen across all major markets, including Europe, China, Japan, India, South Africa, and Australia. Europe saw a decline of 2.04%, while China experienced a 0.65% drop.
In a significant move, the US Federal Reserve reduced its interest rate by 25 basis points, bringing borrowing costs down to a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. Meanwhile, the US GDP Growth Rate QoQ Final index showed a slight increase from 3% in Q2 to 3.1% in Q3. The US Initial Jobless Claims index dropped sharply to 220K in the second week of December from 224K in the first week. The US Core PCE Price MoM index decreased to 0.1% in November from 0.3% in October.
Additional data revealed that the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index fell significantly from 31.2 points to 0.2 points in December. Conversely, the US S&P Global Composite PMI Flash index saw a sharp rise from 54.9 to 56.6 in December. The S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Flash index declined from 49.7 to 48.3, while the US S&P Services PMI Flash index surged to 58.5 from 56.1.
The US Retail Sales MoM index experienced a slight fall from 0.5 in October to 0.7% in November. Industrial production improved marginally from -0.4% to -0.1%. Business investors saw a growth of around 0.1% in October. The US NAHB Housing Market Index remained stable at 46 points in December. The US API Crude Oil Stock Change decreased to 4.7 million barrels in the first week of December from 1.232 million barrels in the last week of November. The US Housing Starts index also slipped to 1.29 million units in November from 1.31 million in October, while the US Existing Home Sales index increased to 4.15 million in November from 3.96 million in October.
This week, the US dollar demonstrated strength against several major currencies, including the Euro, Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, and Indian Rupee. The Euro rose by 0.70%, the Yuan by 0.27%, the Yen by 1.78%, and the Rupee by 0.20% against the US dollar.
Crypto Market Scenario This Week
The cryptocurrency market faced a significant downturn, with the total crypto market capitalization dropping by 8.2%. The altcoin market cap declined from $1.55 trillion to $1.39 trillion. Excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, the total crypto market cap fell from $1.07 trillion to $969.31 billion. Additionally, the market cap excluding the top ten cryptocurrencies decreased from $406.93 billion to $348.32 billion.
Bitcoin Market Overview
Bitcoin’s performance this week was marked by volatility. On December 16, the price was $106,058.18. However, by Thursday, it had plummeted to $97,461.38, and at one point on Friday, the price reached a low of $92,198.03. By the end of the week, buyers managed to push the price back up to approximately $97,812.27. Overall, between December 16 and 20, the market saw a decline of at least 7.77%.
Ethereum Market Scenario Analysis
Ethereum also experienced a challenging week. Starting at $3,988.87 on December 16, the price fell sharply to a low of $3,415.69 by December 19, marking a severe correction of 14.36%. At its lowest point on December 20, the price dipped to $3,108.75. By the close of trading, buyers had pushed Ethereum’s price up to $3,471.16, resulting in a decrease of over 12.97% between December 16 and 20.
Top Ten Cryptos: Weekly Performance Review
The top ten cryptocurrencies mostly saw declines over the past week. Dogecoin suffered the largest drop, falling by 19.1%, followed by Cardano and Solana, which saw declines of 13.4% and 12.5%, respectively. Ethereum decreased by 10.8%, while Bitcoin, XRP, and BNB experienced drops of 3.9%, 6.0%, and 5.6%, respectively.
Trending This Week
Several categories and cryptocurrencies have trended prominently this week. Binance HODLer Airdrops, Circle Ventures Portfolio, Binance Launchpool, Binance Labs Portfolio, and Coinbase Ventures Portfolio were among the top trending categories. Binance HODLer Airdrops showed the most significant change, with a seven-day increase of 181.3%.
In terms of individual cryptocurrencies, Hyperliquid, LUKSO, Pudgy Penguins, Ethena, and Sui were the top five trending cryptos. Hyperliquid demonstrated the highest seven-day change, rising by 54.6%.
Crypto Category Overview
This week saw various movements within the crypto categories. The Smart Contract Platform category declined by approximately 6.7%, Layer 1 by 6.0%, Proof of Work by 4.4%, and Proof of Stake by 11.6%. Centralised Exchange Token dropped by 4.1%, while Decentralised Finance decreased by 9.9%. Meme tokens declined by 16.9%, Liquid Staking by 11.7%, Crypto-Backed Tokens by 8.7%, and Wrapped-Tokens by 8.6%. Additionally, Decentralised Exchange saw a drop of 3.8%, Artificial Intelligence by 14.5%, DePIN by 17.6%, NFT by 21.4%, Layer 2 by 13.1%, GameFi by 20.7%, Yield Farming by 17.4%, Real World Assets by 8.9%, Layer 0 by 19%, Metaverse by 20.7%, Internet of Things by 20.1%, Gaming Utility Tokens by 19.5%, Gaming Governance Tokens by 19.9%, Liquid Staking Governance Tokens by 22.2%, and Bridge Governance Tokens by 18.6%.
Conversely, Stablecoins grew by 0.8%, Perpetuals by 35.9%, Binance HODLer Airdrops by 181.3%, AI Agent Launchpad by 2.2%, and Virtuals Protocol Ecosystem by 13.9%.
Conclusion
This week has been challenging for both traditional and digital asset markets. Global markets, including the US, Europe, China, Japan, and India, have faced declines, alongside an 8.2% drop in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major cryptocurrencies have experienced losses. The US Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut by 25 basis points has further influenced market dynamics. Additionally, the US dollar has shown strength against major currencies. Overall, the week has highlighted significant shifts across financial landscapes.
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