SOL climbed to $131.32 amid cautious trading across altcoins. The broader crypto market capitalization fell below $3 trillion for the third time in a month, reflecting subdued risk appetite and lack of fresh catalysts to drive momentum.
Fed Uncertainty and Mixed Jobs Data Keep Crypto Markets Range-Bound
Delayed November payrolls showed 64,000 jobs added and unemployment rising to 4.6%, complicating the Fed's rate outlook. Markets remain uncertain about the pace of future rate cuts, weighing on risk-sensitive assets like cryptocurrencies ahead of Thursday's inflation data.
Strategy Stock Under Pressure as Bitcoin Premium Compresses to 1.2x
MicroStrategy's enterprise value relative to Bitcoin holdings fell to below 1.2x from above 1.4x earlier, as S&P noted the stock's decline from over $400 to below $190. Concerns over dilution from ongoing share issuance to fund Bitcoin purchases continue to weigh on sentiment.
Bitcoin Tests Critical 100-Week Moving Average as Downtrend Stalls
BTC is trading near the 100-week moving average, a key technical support level that has historically acted as a safety net. A sustained break below could signal deeper correction, though some analysts view extreme fear readings as potential contrarian buying opportunities.
Altcoins underperform as correlated risk-off move hits ETH, XRP, and SOL
Kitco data show ETH (~$2,920), XRP (~$1.87), and SOL (~$126) all down roughly 4%–6% over 24 hours and 6%–10% over the week, echoing Monday’s Bloomberg report that Ether, Dogecoin, and XRP fell about 5% as crypto equities sold off. Analysts tie the weakness to broad de‑risking in global equities and hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan, with leverage unwinds in majors spilling over into the wider altcoin complex.
Crypto-equity complex sees heavy damage, with miners hit hardest but selective dip-buying emerging
Yahoo Finance highlights steep losses in bitcoin miners like Hut 8, while CoinDesk notes a 47% slide in IREN that B. Riley now frames as a buying opportunity, citing strong funding and GPU ramp optionality. Separately, ARK Invest has been adding to Coinbase and other listed crypto names into this drawdown, suggesting some institutional investors view the equity selloff as overextended relative to underlying network activity.
Macro backdrop favors hard assets like gold and copper over digital risk assets for now
TradingEconomics reports gold near $4,300/oz, up ~6% on the month and over 60% year‑on‑year, as multiple Fed cuts, expectations of further easing, and safe‑haven demand drive ETF inflows and central-bank buying. Copper has also climbed to around $5.3/lb, near a 19‑week high on short covering and the longer‑term energy‑transition story, underscoring how capital is rotating toward real‑asset inflation hedges while crypto trades more like a high‑beta risk asset in the current risk‑off tape.
Bitcoin hovers in high-$80Ks as liquidity thins and sentiment slips back to ‘extreme fear’
Coindesk and Investing.com report BTC drifting around $88K–$90K with low leverage and fading post-Fed demand, even as corporate treasuries quietly resume accumulation. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index has slid back into extreme fear, and ETF outflows plus thin year-end liquidity are amplifying each downward move.
Crypto majors extend post-Fed pullback as macro risk keeps pressure on risk assets
Bitcoin (~$85.9K, -2.5%) and Ethereum (~$2.95K, -3.6%) are falling for a fourth straight session, continuing the retreat that began after last week’s Fed rate cut and amid renewed anxiety over 2026 policy paths. Reuters and Yahoo Finance note that traders are de-risking ahead of a ‘data dump’ of delayed U.S. jobs, retail sales and inflation figures that could shift rate-cut expectations.
Risk-off tone and central bank week pressure Eth and majors
ETH is around $2,940, off about 4%, with CoinDesk noting fading post-Fed demand and low leverage as traders de-risk into a packed week of U.S. releases plus BoJ, BoE and ECB decisions that could tighten global liquidity, a key driver for crypto valuations.