Current Crypto Market Trends and Price Movement Explained Today

The total crypto market capitalization has surged by 3.2% over the last 24 hours to rest at $3.71 trillion on December 16. The overall trading volume has also jumped 27% on the day to $162 billion, reinforcing the intensity of demand-side pressure.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Prices Rise

• Bitcoin (BTC): The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has risen 3.5% over the last 24 hours to trade at $81,587, just below the all-time high of $106,488 set during the early Asian trading hours on December 16.
• Ethereum (ETH): The second-largest crypto has climbed 3.25% to trade around $3,976 at the time of publication.

Factors Driving Crypto Market Upward

Prospects of Bitcoin Becoming US Reserve Asset

One of the factors contributing to the bullishness in the crypto market today is US President-elect Donald Trump’s recent comment about his intentions to build a strategic Bitcoin reserve and do ‘something great’ with crypto.

• Trump’s Comment: Trump could issue an executive order on ‘day one’ of his second term to designate Bitcoin a reserve asset status, according to Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of Strike.
• Potential Impact: This move would not be the size and scale of 1 million coins but would still be a significant position.

Institutional Demand for Spot ETFs Remains High

The crypto market’s ongoing gains align with huge capital flows into the spot exchange-traded (ETF) funds. According to Farside Investors, approximately $2.16 billion flowed into US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs over the Dec. 9 to Dec. 13 week.

• Spot Bitcoin ETF Flows: Approximately $0.6 billion entered these investment products on Nov. 12 alone.
• Spot Ethereum ETF Cumulative Flows: Spot Ethereum ETFs have also experienced two weeks of continuous inflows, with a total capital inflow of $1.4 worth over the last 14 days.

US Federal Reserve’s Interest Rate Reduction

The US Federal Reserve is expected to reduce the benchmark borrowing cost by 25 basis points to the 4.25% to 4.5% range, marking a total of 1% interest rate reduction since Sept. 18.

• Market Expectations: Market participants expect the latest core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index reading this week, which is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation.
• Inflation Rebound: This reading will reveal whether the recent upticks in consumer price inflation are coincidences or signs of a genuine inflation rebound.

Seasonal Trends Favor Cryptocurrencies

The season is quite bullish for cryptocurrencies, and with President-elect Trump expected to foster a crypto-friendly environment, prices are expected to move even higher toward the end of the year.

Institutional Demand Drives Crypto Market Gains

Institutional demand for spot ETFs remains high, with significant capital inflows into US-based spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. This signals heightened institutional and retail interest in Ether.

• MicroStrategy’s Continued Buying: MicroStrategy has continued buying Bitcoin, which now has a reserve worth over $44 billion.
• Riot Platforms’ Acquisition: Bitcoin mining giant Riot Platforms announced the acquisition of 5,117 Bitcoin at an average price of around $99,669 per BTC.

Crypto Market Cap Nears $4 Trillion

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that TOTAL—the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies—has rallied more than 34% since Nov. 11. This price action has recorded a series of higher highs, indicating a strong uptrend.

• Chart Pattern: The price must hold above the immediate support provided by the lower boundary of the channel at $3.57 trillion to sustain the uptrend.
• Potential Breakout: If this happens, TOTAL may move first toward the middle boundary of the channel at £3.73 trillion and later to the upper boundary at $3.9.

Risks Involved

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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