Crypto Market Alert: Top 11 Events to Watch This Week

Economic and crypto events can have a major impact on market movements. Staying updated on what’s coming is key to understanding what might happen next.

Here’s a look at the important economic and crypto events to watch this week.

Key Economic Events to Keep an Eye On

Federal Reserve Rate Cut Expected

The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to announce a 0.25 basis point rate cut on Wednesday, December 18. This decision will likely influence financial markets, including cryptocurrencies.

US GDP Growth Rate
On Thursday, the U.S. GDP Growth Rate (QoQ Final) will be released. In the first quarter, it was 1.6%, rose to 3% in the second quarter, and dropped to 2.8% in the third quarter. This time, analysts expect the index to stay at 2.8%.

S&P Global US Services PMI
The S&P Global US Services PMI index, which tracks key economic factors like prices, sales, inventories, and employment, will be released today. It rose from 55 to 56.1 in November, and any changes this month could provide insight into the health of the service sector.

US Retail Sales Index
The US Retail Sales Index, which measures the total sales of goods and services, will be released on Tuesday. In October, the year-on-year retail sales grew to 2.8% from 2%. However, the month-on-month figure dropped to 0.4% from 0.8%.

Existing Home Sales: A Look at the Housing Market
The US Existing Home Sales index will be published on Thursday. Existing home sales, which are recorded when mortgages close, hit a 14-year low in September at 3.83 million but bounced back to 3.96 million in October.

Friday’s Key Economic Indicators
On Friday, three major reports will be released: the US Core PCE Price Index, US Personal Income, and US Personal Spending indexes. In October, the Core PCE MoM index stayed at 0.3%. Personal Income grew from 0.3% to 0.6%, while Personal Spending dropped from 0.6% to 0.4%.

Important Crypto Events This Week

Sonic Layer-1 Blockchain Launch
Sonic Labs is set to launch its Layer-1 blockchain this week. Over the past seven days, Sonic has seen a 10.2% growth, with a 15% surge in the last 24 hours.

Avalanche9000 Upgrade
Avalanche is preparing one of its biggest upgrades ever, called Avalanche9000. This update will improve subnets, introduce a subscription fee model, and enhance cross-chain communication. The price of AVAX has increased by 1.9% in the last 24 hours.

Stacks Launches sBTC for DeFi
Stacks is set to release a new BTC-backed asset for decentralized finance (DeFi) called sBTC. The price of Stacks has jumped by 12.6% in the last 24 hours, showing growing investor interest before the launch.

Cosmos Announces Big Developments
A DeFi investor on X has hinted at three significant announcements from Cosmos this week, including news about the role of ATOM. ATOM’s price has risen by 1.3% in the past 24 hours, suggesting positive news ahead.

LayerZero’s New Fee Proposal
LayerZero, a blockchain interoperability protocol, is scheduled for a key vote on Thursday about a new fee switch mechanism. If approved, it would allow LayerZero to charge fees for verifying and executing cross-chain messages. The price of ZRO has increased by 9.7% over the past week, and it’s up around 10.6% in the past 24 hours.

With so many pivotal events lined up, this week could set the stage for major market moves—keep an eye on how it all unfolds.