TL;DR

• BTC dropped by 1.10% within 24 hours, reaching a high of $102,503 and currently trading at $99,994.
• Grayscale launched two new trust funds for Optimism and Lido.
• U.S. PPI and initial jobless claims data exceeded expectations, with a 96.7% probability of a Federal Reserve 25-basis-point rate cut in December.
• A Texas Republican lawmaker in the U.S. proposed a bill to establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve.
• The Trump family’s cryptocurrency project expands its DeFi presence, increasing holdings in ETH, AAVE, and LINK.
• The Avalanche Foundation secured $250 million for its blockchain platform through a private token sale.

Market Analysis

According to Gate.io Market Data (as of December 13, 4:00 UTC+0)[1]：

• BTC —— BTC price dropped 1.10% in the past 24 hours to $99,994, with a 24-hour high of $102,503 and a low of $99,307. The market is watching whether the previous resistance level of $99,000 can turn into a pullback support level. If BTC remains above this zone, it may sustain its upward trend. [2]

• ETH —— ETH price increased 1.32% in the past 24 hours to $3,882, with a 24-hour high of $3,986 and a low of $3,796. $3,800 is a short-term price support level. If it breaks below, ETH may see further decline. Conversely, a breakout above $4,000 could trigger a new upward cycle. [3]

• Altcoins —— The RWA, Oracle, and Lending/Borrowing Protocols sectors rose by 18.3%, 17.6%, and 10.7%, respectively. [4]
• US Stock Market Indices —— The S&P 500 Index fell 0.54%, the Nasdaq Index dropped 0.66%, and the Dow Jones Index declined 0.53%. [5]
• Spot Gold —— Spot gold prices reached $2,685 per ounce, up 0.14% on the day. [6]
• Fear and Greed Index —— The Fear and Greed Index dropped from 83 yesterday to 76, indicating the market remains in an “extreme greed” state, though greed sentiment has slightly weakened. [7]

Top Performers

According to Gate.io market data [Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price], based on the past 24 hours’ trading volume and price performance, the following are the top-performing altcoins:

AVA —— Daily gain of approximately 261.8%, with a market cap of $145 million.
AVA is the core token of Travala.com, supporting booking payments, special discounts, and reward redemption to enhance user loyalty and token liquidity.

Recently, Travala.com announced that its annual revenue surpassed $100 million and introduced a treasury reserve strategy involving $AVA and $BTC, drawing significant market attention.

Additionally, a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency space retweeted a post yesterday highlighting their early investment and long-term support for Travala, further boosting investor confidence.

These positive developments have significantly increased market enthusiasm. [9]

BLUE —— Daily gain of approximately 39.5%, with a market cap of $58.89 million.
Bluefin is a decentralized spot and derivatives trading platform built on the Sui blockchain, backed by major institutions like Polychain, SIG, and Brevan Howard.

As the largest protocol on Sui by trading volume, Bluefin has processed over $39 billion in transactions since its launch in September 2023. On December 11, it successfully completed the TGE (Token Generation Event) for its BLUE token.

Yesterday, Bluefin introduced staking for BLUE tokens, further improving on-chain trading capabilities and user engagement.

The platform also reached a new milestone, with total trading volume exceeding $40 billion, garnering widespread market attention.

Supportive tweets from partners like Pyth Network and Flow Traders further boosted investor confidence, driving substantial price increases, with cumulative gains since the opening approaching twofold. [10]

VIRTUAL —— Daily gain of approximately 48.0%, with a market cap of $2.11 billion.
Virtuals Protocol is an AI protocol designed to create intelligent agents for virtual worlds such as games and online spaces. These agents can interact via text, voice, and actions, decentralizing the creation and monetization of AI characters for various virtual interactions.

Virtuals Protocol recently announced the launch of Agent Sandbox, a simulation platform for AI agents.

The platform allows developers to fully customize agents’ personalities and goals, enhancing their functionality with tailor-made features.

AI agents can now perform tasks like executing on-chain transactions, generating memes, and even controlling physical robots, simplifying configuration for developers.

These developments have significantly increased market attention, contributing to the strong price surge. [11]

Data Highlights

Weighted Funding Rates, Long/Short Ratio, and Liquidation Volume
As of 4:00 UTC on December 13, data from CoinGlass shows that the weighted funding rate for Bitcoin (BTC) open positions stands at 0.0103%[12], while Ethereum (ETH) has a weighted funding rate of 0.0099%[13]. Both assets exhibit a strong bearish inclination in their contract market long/short ratios, indicating that market participants remain cautious or bearish about short-term price movements. These relatively low funding rates suggest that the market is currently in a balanced state, with no significant shifts in liquidity between long and short positions. [14]

Over the past 24 hours, the total liquidation volume across all markets reached approximately $319 million, with long positions accounting for over $201 million of the liquidations. Bitcoin experienced the highest liquidation volume, amounting to $74 million USDT, followed by Ethereum at $58.51 million USDT. [15]

U.S. PPI and Initial Jobless Claims Data Exceed Expectations, Gold and Silver Prices Plunge, 96.7% Probability of a 25-basis-point Rate Cut in December
Following the release of higher-than-expected U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) and initial jobless claims data, gold and silver prices continued to decline, with silver experiencing a sharper drop of over 2% in spot prices. The components of Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data showed widespread weakness, and combined with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures released yesterday, core PCE is projected to increase by only 0.03% month-on-month. As a result, the Federal Reserve is likely to proceed with a 25-basis-point rate cut next week.

Additionally, initial jobless claims increased by 17,000 last week, reaching the highest level since October of last year, contrary to economists’ expectations of a 4,000 decrease to 220,000 claims. According to CME’s “FedWatch” tool, the probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut in December stands at a staggering 96.7%. [16]

Aave Protocol’s TVL Hits an All-Time High, But Token Price Remains 50% Below Its ATH
The total value locked (TVL) in the Aave protocol recently surpassed $38.6 billion, setting a new all-time high and exceeding levels seen during the bull market of October 2021. This growth is primarily attributed to a surge in deposit interest rates, with estimated annual revenue reaching $117 million. However, despite the strong TVL performance, Aave’s token price remains 50% below its all-time high. [17]

BTC and ETH Options Expiry on December 13 Indicates Market Adjustments, Increasing Short-term Trading Opportunities
The options expiration data for December 13 shows that Bitcoin (BTC) options have an open interest of 21,000 contracts, with a Put-Call Ratio of 0.83, a max pain point of $98,000, and a nominal value of $2.1 billion. Ethereum (ETH) options have an open interest of 164,000 contracts, with a Put-Call Ratio of 0.68, a max pain point of $3,700, and a nominal value of $640 million. This week’s market trend is primarily characterized by corrections, but unlike last week, Bitcoin’s correction has been relatively minor, while altcoins have experienced more significant adjustments. As Christmas and the end-of-year settlements approach, market makers are adjusting their positions, with large-scale bullish options accounting for over 30% of recent transactions. The options market indicates that market makers are becoming more cautious during this period. Intense volatility has led to a slight increase in the implied volatility (IV) of major maturities, making options a cost-effective choice for short-term strategies. [18]

Spotlight Analysis

Grayscale Launches Optimism and Lido Trust Funds
Grayscale Investments has introduced two new trust products: Grayscale® Lido DAO Trust and Grayscale® Optimism Trust, focusing on the governance tokens of Lido DAO (LDO) and the Optimism protocol (OP), respectively. These products provide investors with opportunities to gain exposure to key Ethereum ecosystem protocols. Lido DAO enhances Ethereum network security through liquid staking, while Optimism reduces network congestion and transaction costs via Layer 2 scaling technology.

This launch highlights the crypto market’s attention to Ethereum’s scalability and the prospects of decentralized finance (DeFi). By offering new investment tools, Grayscale further enhances the appeal of the Ethereum ecosystem. The key difference between trusts and ETFs lies in their trading mechanisms and fees. Trusts are purchased over-the-counter, have lower liquidity, and typically higher fees than ETFs, which are exchange-listed, enabling real-time trading with higher liquidity and transparency. Given the volatility of the crypto market, investors are advised to approach these high-risk products with caution.[19]

Texas Republican Representative Proposes Bill to Establish Bitcoin Strategic Reserve
On December 12, the Texas House of Representatives introduced a bill proposing the establishment of a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve within the state treasury. The bill allows the state government to accept Bitcoin payments for taxes, fees, and donations and mandates that these Bitcoin holdings be stored for at least five years. This initiative aims to bolster fiscal stability and position Texas as a leader in Bitcoin innovation.

Proponents of the bill, including Bitcoin advocacy groups, argue that investing in Bitcoin could help hedge against inflation and provide the state government with a new form of asset reserve.

The proposal has sparked widespread discussion and could serve as a litmus test for future national-level Bitcoin reserves in the U.S. Although Texas has become one of the largest Bitcoin mining hubs in the country, the bill does not initially include plans for direct Bitcoin purchases. The move is being closely watched by both the Bitcoin market and other state governments, several of which are exploring similar legislation. While the practical impact of this strategic reserve remains to be seen, it undoubtedly provides fresh perspectives on future cryptocurrency policies and could further stimulate innovation and market activity in the crypto industry.[20]

Trump Family Crypto Project Expands DeFi Investments, Increases Holdings in ETH, AAVE, and LINK
According to data from Arkham, the Trump family’s crypto project, World Liberty, has significantly increased its cryptocurrency holdings over the past 48 hours, signaling confidence in the crypto market. The project acquired 2,631 ETH, valued at approximately $10 million, along with 4,043 AAVE and 78,387 LINK, worth $1.2467 million and $2 million, respectively.

Currently, World Liberty holds approximately $56 million worth of ETH, $2.27 million worth of LINK, and $1.49 million worth of AAVE on the Ethereum blockchain, solidifying its position in the crypto market. These transactions underscore World Liberty’s active expansion of its crypto asset portfolio. As governance and liquidity-providing tokens within the DeFi ecosystem, AAVE and LINK’s growth reflect sustained market interest in decentralized finance.

World Liberty’s investment strategy signals confidence in these areas, which could attract more investor attention and capital inflows to DeFi and ETH-related assets, potentially driving further price appreciation.[21]

Funding News

According to RootData, six projects announced funding within the past 24 hours, with the highest funding amounting to $250 million. The total funding exceeded $279.6 million, spanning Layer 1, Payments, DeFi, and RWA (Real World Assets) sectors. Below are the top three projects by funding scale:[22]

Avalanche —— The Avalanche Foundation secured $250 million through a private token sale to support its blockchain platform. The funding round saw participation from Galaxy Digital, Dragonfly, ParaFi Capital, and over 40 other firms. Avalanche, created by Ava Labs, is a platform designed to support the creation of customized blockchain networks and decentralized applications (DApps). It boasts remarkable scalability with up to 4,500 TPS (transactions per second). Key features include its innovative consensus protocol, subnet infrastructure, and the HyperSDK toolkit, which allows Web3 developers to easily launch robust and tailored blockchain solutions.

Waterfall Network —— Waterfall Network secured $11.6 million in funding, with participation from Alpha Token Capital, EnFlux, and others. Waterfall is a Layer 1 blockchain aimed at addressing speed, security, and scalability challenges while providing a genuinely decentralized governance platform. The network uses a directed acyclic graph (DAG) architecture, enabling validator nodes to run on any device, including low-cost laptops and smartphones. Fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), Waterfall supports the portability of decentralized applications (DApps) and imposes minimal hardware requirements for participants to become validators.

Sphere —— Sphere completed a $5 million strategic funding round, with Coinbase Ventures, Kraken Ventures, and others participating. Sphere provides payment infrastructure aimed at merchants in underserved and emerging markets, enabling cost-effective, secure, and near-instant cross-border payments through stablecoins. Using an intuitive and accessible graphical user interface (GUI), Sphere integrates blockchain technology, custodial infrastructure, and financial service providers to facilitate stablecoin payments seamlessly.

AgriDex —— AgriDex raised $4 million in a strategic funding round led by Portal Ventures, with additional participation from Endeavour Ventures and Hawkwood Capital. Built on Solana, AgriDex is an RWA marketplace focused on transforming the global agriculture industry. It offers a transparent, unified market for agricultural participants, featuring its own internal economy. AgriDex leverages on-chain fiat currency, smart contracts, and participatory audits to provide a fully compliant and streamlined solution for managing agricultural supply chains.

Airdrop Opportunities

Moonveil is a Web3 gaming company established by a core team formerly from Riot Games. The company is focused on building a gaming blockchain and ecosystem powered by Polygon zkEVM technology. In August 2024, Moonveil raised $9 million across two funding rounds led by Spartan and Gumi. Its first game, AstrArk, has already attracted over 870,000 users for testing and showcases strong potential for sustainable growth.

Participation Method 1:

1. Visit the official website of the Moonveil Loyalty Program.[23]
2. Connect your wallet, complete social tasks, and pre-register for AstrArk.
3. Click Claim to receive the Moonveil badge.
4. Complete Regular Tasks and Event Tasks to earn additional points.
5. Wait for the next phase of AstrArk game testing, join PVP or PVE battles, and earn points and rewards.

Participation Method 2:

1. Go to the official website: https://moonveil.gg?invite_code=MNFV9FY8
2. Click on the GAME section.
3. Select Pre-Registration.
4. Claim the Amethyst.

Continue with social tasks:

1. Navigate to GAMES.
2. Click Alpha Test Tasks.
3. Complete tasks under REGULAR TASKS.

Notes:
Airdrop plans and participation methods are subject to change. It is recommended to follow Moonveil’s official channels for the latest updates. Users should also proceed with caution, be mindful of risks, and conduct thorough research before participating. Gate.io does not guarantee the issuance of future airdrop rewards.


Reference：

1. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price
2. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price/bitcoin-btc
3. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price/ethereum-eth
4. Coingecko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
5. Investing, https://investing.com/indices/usa-indices
6. Investing, https://investing.com/currencies/xau-usd
7. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/bigdata/homeindex
8. Gate.io, https://www.gate.io/price
9. X, https://x.com/cz_binance/status/1867235258615074863
10. X, https://x.com/bluefinapp/status/1867079456080228504
11. X, https://www.gate.io/post/status/8157210?ref=BFJABlBb&ref_type=105
12. CoinGlass, https://www.coinglass.com/pro/AvgFunding/BTC
13. CoinGlass, https://www.coinglass.com/pro/AvgFunding/ETH
14. CoinGlass, https://www.coinglass.com/LongShortRatio
15. CoinGlass, https://www.coinglass.com/LiquidationData
16. CEM, https://www.cmegroup.com/cn-s/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html
17. DeFiLllama, https://defillama.com/protocol/aave
18. Greeks, https://greeks.live/#/
19. X, https://x.com/Grayscale/status/1867214822066332108
20. CNCB, https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/12/texas-house-introduces-bill-to-establish-a-strategic-bitcoin-reserve.html
21. ARKM, https://intel.arkm.com/explorer/entity/worldlibertyfi
22. Rootdata, https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
23. Moonveil, https://moonveil.gg/LoyaltyProgram/event?id=6becf936-fdf6-4807-876f-552d723b3c4a

Gate Research
Gate Research is a comprehensive blockchain and crypto research platform, providing readers with in-depth content, including technical analysis, hot insights, market reviews, industry research, trend forecasts, and macroeconomic policy analysis.

Click the Link to learn more

Disclaimer
Investing in the cryptocurrency market involves high risk, and it is recommended that users conduct independent research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products they are purchasing before making any investment decisions. Gate.io is not responsible for any losses or damages caused by such investment decisions.