The cryptocurrency market had a major collapse, wiping off almost $850 million due to liquidations. This occurred following the Federal Reserve’s announcement of a 25 basis point cut in its benchmark interest rate.
Although the markets had expected a minor rate drop, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s warnings of a cautious approach to future rate changes in 2025 sparked market confusion and massive sell-off.
Bitcoin dip liquidates nearly 300,000 crypto traders
During a news conference, Powell stated that while inflation has been “steadily” declining, it has been “slower than hoped.” As a result, the Fed raised its inflation prediction for 2025 to 2.5%, indicating a potential tightening of economic circumstances that might limit liquidity in financial markets, including cryptocurrency.
“Inflation has made progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent objective but remains somewhat elevated. The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate,” Federal Reserve said in a press release.
This adjustment in monetary policy caused a dramatic decrease in Bitcoin, which plummeted below $99,000, a more than 8% loss from its all-time high of $108. Similarly, the larger crypto market, which includes major currencies such as Ethereum (ETH), saw huge losses.
According to Coinglass, liquidations have wiped away a remarkable $869.39 million in the last 24 hours, with $749.59 million from long holdings and $119.80 million from shorts. Notably, cryptocurrencies absorbed the brunt of the hit, accounting for more over $222 million in liquidated assets.
During these market moves, 299,335 traders were taken off guard. The greatest single liquidation order on Binance was for an Ethereum deal worth $7 million.
Despite these setbacks, optimism among cryptocurrency traders remains remarkably strong. The cryptocurrency fear and greed index is now at 75, indicating a strong positive outlook amidst market volatility. This opinion demonstrates the enduring attractiveness of cryptocurrencies as an investment, especially during stressful times.
This confidence was reinforced by significant inflows into Bitcoin-related investment instruments. The iShares Bitcoin Trust by BlackRock, for example, received $359.6 million in fresh investments on Wednesday alone. Meanwhile, the total inflow for all spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs hit $275.3 million.
These events, which represent a cautious Federal Reserve and an enthusiastic crypto market, highlight the intricate relationship between macroeconomic policy and cryptocurrency markets. Investors appear to be hedging against economic uncertainty by increasing their holdings in digital assets, which, despite their inherent volatility, are regarded as a credible method for portfolio diversification.
The latest market action demonstrates the impact of US monetary policy on the cryptocurrency sector. As the Federal Reserve navigates inflationary problems, the cryptocurrency market’s response remains rapid and pronounced.
California court permits Coinbase to delist Wrapped Bitcoin amid legal battle with BiT Global
Coinbase has successfully fended off a restraining order filed by BiT Global, with a California judge ruling in favor of the exchange’s decision to delist Wrapped Bitcoin.
The Hong Kong-based company BiT Global is apparently linked to crypto entrepreneur and Tron creator Justin Sun, who had requested an order prohibiting Coinbase from deleting Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), claiming it would cause “irreparable” harm to its business. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín’s order allows for the anticipated delisting. The court also stated that “self-inflicted wounds are not irreparable injury,” implying that BiT Global’s alleged injury was caused by its own acts and decisions rather than Coinbase’s delisting.
As previously reported, the American cryptocurrency exchange firm Coinbase announced on November 19 that it will delist wBTC from its platform on December 19. The decision was made as part of Coinbase’s normal review procedure, which BiT Global said was biased. The company then launched a lawsuit for competition breaches and libel, saying that the exchange harmed wBTC’s reputation by advertising its own tokenized Bitcoin product, cbBTC. Coinbase’s legal counsel described the lawsuit as baseless and urged that penalties be levied against both BiT Global and its attorney. They cited a lack of evidence to back assertions that Coinbase’s activities prompted users to abandon wBTC.
Coinbase, a privately held firm, defended its choice and noted. A spokesperson for the exchange denied the charges, stating that they have the authority to list or delist a token. The business also refuted claims of monopolistic behavior, claiming it accounted for less than one percent of all wBTC trading activity. cbBTC, on the other hand, has skyrocketed since its September inception, with a market capitalization reaching $2.11 billion.
BiT Global also claimed that Justin Sun, the firm’s advisor, had been wrongfully implicated in the affair. Nonetheless, Coinbase cited Sun’s past allegations of financial malfeasance and said that his departure from wBTC was a strategic move. BiT Global also stated that wBTC is critical to the crypto economy, defending their position by blaming Coinbase of biased listing practices and listing meme currencies like Mogcoin and Pepe (PEPE), which serve no use.
So in a court filing today, @Coinbase gave their reason why they delisted wBTC, and it’s basically just they don’t like Justin Sun.
That’s really just it.
They don’t give any technical or legal arguments about why wBTC can’t be listed. It’s just guilt by association pic.twitter.com/bJmMnAue7x
— Pledditor (@Pledditor) December 17, 2024
However, many crypto fans are siding with BiT Global, claiming that Coinbase’s decision to delist wBTC was motivated by a dislike for Justin Sun. Critics also suggested that wBTC is preferable to cbBTC since it does not require evidence of reserves, unlike its competitor. A token requires proof of reserves to demonstrate that the issuer has sufficient assets to back the token and to increase transparency and confidence. Wrapped tokens, such as wBTC or cbBTC, demonstrate that each token is directly backed by the underlying asset, in this case Bitcoin (BTC). In contrast, the absence of proof of reserves increases each user’s risk of insolvency, fraud, or mismanagement by the issuer.
Shiba Inu price at inflection point, why to buy SHIB now despite selloff by whales?
Shiba Inu price is near important support level after selloff by SHIB whales, making it a strong ‘buy-the-dip’ chance before rallying to $0.00009.
Shiba Inu prices decreased more than 10% today and 22% in a week, with some early SHIB whales profiting from meme currencies such as Shiba Inu. As warned last week, the price dropped below $0.000024. However, the SHIB technical team is preparing for a Santa Claus rally, as the meme coin may not fall much farther than the $0.0000234 low.
Shiba Inu coin whales sell-off
On-chain data platforms were notified to a Shiba Inu coin selloff of millions by whales. This caused panic selling by SHIB holders, leading the Shiba Inu price to plunge by double digits on December 19.
Lookonchain stated that a whale sold 250 billion SHIB tokens for $6.05 million. Notably, the whale paid $3.8K buying 15.28 trillion tokens in August 2020.
Furthermore, Spot On Chain discovered that the same whale dumped another 150 million SHIB tokens on the Gemini cryptocurrency platform. In November, the early whale ‘0xd6b’ sold 100 billion SHIBs.
According to Etherscan, it still possesses 2 trillion Shiba Inu coins worth $48.38 million. Furthermore, this has resulted in a combined profit of almost $108 million.
Community reacts amid Shiba Inu price falling
Shiba Inu traders and investors liquidated their assets following a selloff by whales and broader crypto market instability. According to Coinglass statistics, traders liquidated about $5 million worth of SHIB, 1000SHIB, and SHIB1000 long positions in the previous 24 hours.
It predicted a Shiba Inu (SHIB) price decline to $0.000024, the 0.382 Fib retracement level. The drop in SHIB burn rate and addresses indicated at a possible collapse. The dog-themed meme currency is currently trading at an inflection point.
The Shiba Inu currency community has responded to the sudden decrease, with some expressing concern about the low SHIB burn rate. However, the community is optimistic about price recovery owing to the mood surrounding the SHIFU and TREAT tokens. The Shibburn portal shows that the weekly SHIB burn rate has decreased by 70%.
GM Friends ☕️☀️
The dump was unexpected and brutal, I hope market will go up soon. pic.twitter.com/MeJI5VquDb
— $SHIB KNIGHT (@army_shiba) December 19, 2024
Shiba Inu price prepares for parabolic rally
The intraday low and high for the Shiba Inu (SHIB) price are $0.000023 and $0.000026, respectively. The price is presently trading at $0.0000241, having recovered from the 0.5 Fib retracement level. Buying activity has been seen on certain exchanges, including Cryptocom and CoinEx, in recent hours.
However, investors should keep a watch on the probable low of $0.0000234. The on-chain and technical indicators are improving. Shiba Inu prices might peak at $0.0000998 if the bull market continues next year.
Analysts have identified $0.000037 as the next obstacle for SHIB’s breakthrough. Expect considerable volatility around Donald Trump’s inauguration in mid-January.
