This week has been full of surprises and important shifts in both the US and cryptocurrency markets. From major economic updates to unexpected changes in market trends, staying up-to-date is more crucial than ever.
Want to know how these developments are shaping the markets? Keep reading as we break it down. Let’s dive in!
The S&P 500 index stood at $6,051.08 this week, slightly down from $6,091.35 on December 2. Investors are watching for a potential 25 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve, which is expected to be announced on December 18 following a two-day meeting.
Tech and Global Developments Spark Interest
Google’s breakthrough in quantum computing created a buzz in the market, while the continued growth in AI also generated excitement. In China, the politburo’s promise of economic stimulus further boosted market sentiment.
Several key US economic indicators were released this week. The US Core Inflation rate remained unchanged at 3.3%, while the Core Producer Price Index (PPI) stayed steady at 3.4%. Initial jobless claims saw a sharp rise, climbing to 242,000 from 224,000 the previous week. On the positive side, US Export Prices YoY increased from 0.1% to 0.8%, and Import Prices YoY rose from 0.6% to 1.3%.
US Dollar Shows Strength
The US dollar had a strong performance against major currencies this week. The Euro changed from 0.9461 EUR to 0.9519 EUR, the Chinese Yuan from 7.2695 CNY to 7.2751 CNY, the Japanese Yen from 149.955 JPY to 153.579 JPY, and the Indian Rupee from 84.64 INR to 84.76 INR.
The total cryptocurrency market cap declined from $3.62 trillion to $3.57 trillion this week, and the altcoin market cap dropped from $1.61 trillion to $1.55 trillion. Excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the market cap fell from $1.13 trillion to $1.08 trillion.
In the last seven days, Bitcoin has seen a rise of 2.1%. At the start of this week, the price was at $97,382.37. On December 11, it climbed to $101,034. On December 12, it witnessed a minor correction. Now, the price stands at $101,698.45.
In the last seven days, the Ethereum market has witnessed a fall of 2.2%. At the start of this week, the price was at $4,005.27. On December 10, it dropped to a low of $3,632.39. Now, the price standing at $3,916.22, the market has not yet recovered from the said correction.
Outside of Bitcoin and XRP, most of the top ten cryptocurrencies showed negative growth. Cardano fell by 8.5%, and Dogecoin dropped by 6.0%. XRP, however, rose by 2.2%, just ahead of Bitcoin’s 2.1% increase.
Anime-Themed, Impossible Finance Launchpad, Telegram Apps, Terminal of Truths, and Morpho Ecosystems are the top five trending categories of the week. Anime-Themed has displayed a massive growth of 217.9%.
Happy Cat, Velodrome Finance, Hyperliquid, Virtuals Protocol and MAD are the top trending cryptos this week. Happy Cat has recorded a gain of 50.8% in the last seven days.
In the last seven days, the Smart Contract Platform category has dropped by 0.5%, Meme Coin by 3.9%, Artificial Intelligence by 7.8%, DePIN by 12.2%, NFT by 9.3%, Layer 2 (L2) by 6.1%, Gaming (GameFi) by 7.9%, Layer 0 (L0) by 14.0%, Real World Assets by 4.9%, Metaverse by 10.1%, Internet of Things by 11.8%,
Meanwhile, the Layer 1 (L1) category has surged by 0.1%, Stablecoins by 2.8%, USD Stablecoins by 5.6%, Decentralised Finance by 1.3%, Decentralised Exchanges by 1.8%, Yield Farming by 1.7%, Lending/Borrowing Protocols by 9.6%, AI Agents by 5.2%, Perpetuals by 23.6%, AI Meme by 17.35, and Telegram Apps by 105.9%.
In conclusion, this week has been an eventful one for both the US market and the crypto market. With the FOMC rate cut expected to be announced on December 18, the next week could bring even more surprises.
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