Daily News | Altcoin Season in Full Bloom, Hippo MOODENG Surges Over 100% Intraday

Crypto Daily Digest: $350M Large Inflow into BTC ETFs, Altcoins Broadly Rising.

According to Farside Investor data, U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded a net inflow of $353M yesterday. Among these, BlackRock’s IBIT led with $338M, while Fidelity’s FBTC saw an inflow of $25.1M.

On Sunday, U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs saw an inflow of $24.2M. BlackRock’s ETHA gained $5.59M, Fidelity’s FETH gained $1.99M, while Grayscale’s ETHE had an outflow of $4.44M.

LTC’s Recent Surge Puts Nearly 80% of Holders in Profit

According to Gate.io market data, LTC has risen more than 27% in the past week, significantly increasing the number of profitable addresses.

IntoTheBlock data shows that in mid-November, about 60% of LTC holders were in profit. By December 2, this figure had risen to nearly 80%, with over 6.37M LTC addresses (about 79.37%) now in profit, as shown by the inflow/outflow metrics.

Perspective: Korea’s Crypto Market Retail Volume Surges; Altcoins in Focus

According to the latest report by 10X Research, since Trump’s election, significant changes in trading activity have occurred. While his inauguration is still seven weeks away, early appointments indicate a significant shift towards crypto-friendly policies in the U.S. government. This trend is expected to continue, potentially expanding trading opportunities.

Governments in other countries, particularly South Korea, are also adopting more crypto-friendly stances. As the U.S. leads in setting crypto regulatory trends (or easing regulations), it is expected that a global wave of crypto-friendly policies will follow. Smaller crypto tokens, including alpha tokens, may continue to grow.

In the past 24 hours, retail trading volume in South Korea’s crypto market surged to $18B, marking the second-highest trading volume this year, surpassing the $14B trading volume of the local stock market. Ripple (XRP) led with $6.3B in volume, followed by DOGE ($1.6B), XLM ($1.3B), ENS ($900M), HBAR ($800M), and SHIB ($600M). These high-volatility cryptocurrencies are primarily driven by retail traders, leveraging and strengthening momentum-based trends.

BTC funding rates remain relatively mild, annualized at 15%, while retail trading volume in South Korea has soared to $18B—a historic difference. Clearly, the market’s current focus is on altcoins.

Fed Hawk Waller: Inclined to Support a Rate Cut in December

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated that he is inclined to support a rate cut at the Fed’s meeting later this month. However, he also noted he remains open to maintaining rates.

In a prepared speech for Monday’s Washington conference, Waller said: “Policy remains sufficiently restrictive. A further rate cut at the next meeting will not significantly change the stance of monetary policy and leaves ample room to slow the pace of cuts if necessary to stay on the path toward the inflation target.”
Waller expressed concerns about inflation data being slightly higher than expected over the past two months. He likened himself to a mixed martial artist “choking inflation, waiting for it to tap out, but it always slips out at the last moment.” He emphasized that the Fed will not let inflation accelerate again. “Surrender is inevitable; inflation hasn’t escaped the octagon yet,” he said. Despite recent stubbornness in inflation, economic data and forecasts suggest inflation will return to the Fed’s 2% target.

Market Analysis: MOODENG Soars Over 100% Intraday; Oracle Leader LINK Rises 40%

Market Highlights:

-MOODENG, a meme token, surged over 100% intraday, climbing from $0.295 to $0.68 last night. MOODENG, inspired by Thailand’s hippo meme, currently has a circulating market cap of $620M, ranking 211 globally, with significant growth potential.

-LINK, the leading oracle protocol, jumped over 40%, crossing the $15B market cap threshold and ranking 24th globally. As an indispensable protocol for DeFi projects, LINK’s price recovery in this rally could signal a potential resurgence in the DeFi sector.

Overall Market Trends:

-BTC: Dropped briefly below $94,500 early this morning but recovered to above $96,000. BTCD continues to decline, and BTC may consolidate for a while.

-ETH: Followed BTC with slight pullbacks, but ETH eco and DeFi projects are rallying.

-Altcoins: Broadly rising as funds flow into the sector, with meme tokens and DeFi projects leading the way.

Macro News: Mixed U.S. Stock Market Performance; Divided Opinions on Fed’s Rate Policy

The U.S. The stock market showed mixed performance:

-S&P 500 rose 0.24% to 6047.15 points.

-Dow fell 0.29% to 44782.00 points.

-Nasdaq gained 0.97% to 19403.95 points.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.19%, while the 2-year yield, which is more sensitive to Fed policy rates, stood at 4.17%.

The Fed’s 25-basis-point rate cut in November brought the benchmark rate to 4.5%-4.75%. However, the latest meeting minutes dampened market sentiment, suggesting that the rate-cutting path might soon pause.

This second rate cut of the year totals 75 basis points, returning the benchmark rate to its February 2023 level. There is significant market disagreement over whether the Fed will continue to cut rates in December.

Nick Timiraos, the “Fed Whisperer,” noted that officials discussed options to slow or pause rate cuts. Hawkish representative Kashkari argued that a 25-basis-point cut in December would be reasonable but stressed concerns about inflation. Dovish representative Goolsbee expects the Fed to continue cutting rates unless evidence of economic overheating emerges.