Gate Daily (December 8): Fed FOMC interest rate decision takes center stage; French banking giant BPCE launches cryptocurrency trading

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded from its deep weekend decline, temporarily trading around $90,515 on December 8. The Federal Reserve’s FOMC rate decision is set for this week, with market expectations that rates will be lowered to the 3.5% to 3.75% range. French banking giant BPCE will launch in-app cryptocurrency trading features. WisdomTree is tokenizing option income strategies, accelerating the integration of traditional and innovative finance.

Macro Events & Crypto Hot Topics

1. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will hold its last meeting of the year this Wednesday, and many market observers expect the Fed to cut rates for the third consecutive time. Investors anticipate rates to fall to the 3.5% to 3.75% range, although debate continues over whether the Fed should lower borrowing costs while inflation remains above its target. Due to delayed government economic reports from the shutdown, Fed officials will be making decisions without access to all economic data. The data delay means Fed officials won’t have the latest employment report, but concerns about the labor market are expected to prompt the central bank to cut rates again.

2. Asset management firm WisdomTree has launched a tokenized fund, bringing complex option income strategies on-chain and highlighting the growing integration between blockchain technology and traditional finance. The WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Digital Fund aims to track the price and yield performance of the Volos US Large Cap Target 2.5% PutWrite Index, a benchmark “put-writing” strategy commonly used to generate income and hedge market volatility. WisdomTree currently operates 15 tokenized funds, including its widely used government money market fund, which holds over $730 million in assets.

3. French banking giant BPCE is preparing to launch cryptocurrency trading services to millions of retail clients, making it one of the first major traditional European banks to offer digital assets. According to The Big Whale, the group will begin allowing users to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and USDC directly within its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne mobile apps starting Monday.

News Updates

1. Robinhood will enter the Indonesian market through the acquisition of brokerage and crypto trading platforms.

2. Bittensor will undergo its first halving on December 14, reducing TAO daily issuance to 3,600 coins.

3. ZKsync plans to phase out its early network, ZKsync Lite, by 2026.

4. The “1011 Flash Crash Short Whale” now holds $164 million in long positions, currently at a floating loss of $950,000.

5. Michael Saylor has again released a Bitcoin Tracker update, possibly revealing new purchase data next week.

6. Analysis: The current market is similar to the early stages of the 2022 bear market, but investor sentiment is starting to improve.

7. Data: USDT total supply has surpassed 190 billion, hitting another all-time high.

8. Data: Tokens such as APT, LINEA, and CHEEL are set for major unlocks next week, with APT unlocking about $19.3 million in value.

Market Trends

1. Latest Bitcoin news: $BTC rebounded from its weekend sell-off, temporarily trading around $90,515, with $102 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, mostly long positions.

2. US stock indexes closed slightly higher across the board on December 5, with the S&P approaching an all-time high; a series of recent economic data supports expectations for a Fed rate cut this week. Last week recap: Dow Jones up 0.5%, S&P up 0.31%, Nasdaq up 0.91%, and the SOX up 3.84%.

(Source: Gate)

3. According to the Gate BTC/USDT liquidation map, at the current price of 89,610.40 USDT, if it drops to around $88,428, cumulative long liquidations will exceed $312 million; if it rises to around $90,944, cumulative short liquidations will exceed $197 million. Short liquidation amounts are significantly lower than long, so it’s advised to manage leverage ratios prudently to avoid large-scale liquidations amid market swings.

(Source: Coinglass)

4. In the past 24 hours, BTC spot inflows were $1.31 billion, outflows were $1.37 billion, for a net outflow of $60 million.

(Source: Coinglass)

5. In the past 24 hours, contract trading net outflows led by $BTC, $ZEC, $PIEVERSE, $BEAT, $PHE , etc., present trading opportunities.

X KOL Selected Opinions

Phyrex Ni (@Phyrex_Ni): “Although Bitcoin’s price wasn’t great over the weekend and failed to climb above $90,000, sentiment over the past couple of days has been decent—at least there wasn’t a collapse at the lowest liquidity. Right now, investors are most concerned about the Fed’s December 11 monetary policy decision, and there’s a very high probability of another rate cut this December, which even Powell can’t stop.”

“This reminds me of the end of 2024, around Christmas. The market sentiment was supposed to be good due to a December rate cut and Trump’s election win, so I was ready to celebrate. But then Powell’s comments sent the market into a downturn—mainly due to expectations for 2025 rate cuts. The expectation was for two cuts, but there ended up being four that year. I don’t know what Powell will say next, but I believe that once the new Fed chair takes office, even if we don’t see rapid rate cuts, it’s highly likely their thinking aligns with Trump’s, and we’ll enter an actual rate-cut cycle. Still, the December meeting and dot plot will be a headache.”

“Looking at Bitcoin data, turnover rate has finally dropped—maybe due to the weekend, but the decrease helps ease market anxiety. Honestly, the market isn’t much different from last week: there are no negative data points, the main expectation is still a December rate cut from the Fed, but the market’s decline is mainly due to lowered expectations for various data. Another factor is the less optimistic outlook for a January rate cut, but as I said before, in 2024 only two cuts were expected, but there were actually four. The dot plot now can’t predict future trends. Facing an unoptimistic economy, will the Fed choose to preserve inflation or the economy? The former will likely trigger a recession, but if it’s the latter, there’s still hope for 2026.”

Today’s Outlook

1. China November trade balance (billion USD), previous value: 90.07

2. China November foreign exchange reserves at month-end (billion USD), previous value: 3,343.00

3. China November trade balance (billion RMB), previous value: 640.49