- Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies are experiencing modest gains, with XRP leading the top ten by market capitalisation at nearly 8% growth.
- Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes believes the market has bottomed, citing improved dollar liquidity from the Fed’s quantitative tightening ending 1 December and increased bank lending in November.
- Hayes suggests Bitcoin may dip to the low US$80,000s but should hold that floor, with potential recovery accelerating into the new year rather than immediate sharp gains.
- Market conditions are supported by a slowing but stable US economy, easing labour market, and improved dollar funding liquidity, while regulatory clarity and institutional repositioning are increasingly shaping crypto direction.
Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader crypto market are finally seeing some green. The largest cryptocurrency has made modest gains over the past few hours (+0.77%) and is currently trading at US$88,635 (AU$137,136).
Ethereum (ETH) has gained 4% over the past 24 hours and is eyeing the US$3k (AU$4.6k) barrier, while Solana (SOL) is up almost 5% over the same period, currently trading at around US$139 (AU$215).
However, the biggest gains in the top ten by market cap came from XRP, which has jumped almost 8% over the past day and is currently trading at about US$2.24 (AU$3.46). The price gains come as several XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) start trading in the US.
Bloomberg analysts expect several other altcoin-ETFs to launch over the coming months.
Related: UK Billion-Pound Crypto Laundry Busted Tied to Russian War Financing
Is the Bottom In?
So, has the market bottomed? Yes, according to Arthur Hayes, former CEO of crypto exchange BitMEX. Hayes argues that dollar liquidity has seen small but positive shifts.
With the Fed’s quantitative tightening set to end on 1 December – making this Wednesday likely the last reduction in its balance sheet – and US banks having expanded lending in November, he sees conditions becoming slightly more supportive.
[W]e chop below $90k, maybe one more stab down into low $80k’s but [I] think $80k holds. [M]ight start nibbling, but leave the bazooka until the new year.
Arthur HayesNo Rate Cuts? No Worries!
Hayes also isn’t too worried about further rate cuts in 2025, arguing that “[quantity] of credit is more important than the price” and that there could be new all-time highs “with Fed funds at 10% if the Fed did unlimited [quantitative easing] at the same time”.
Bitfinex analysts wrote in their latest report that recent US data point to a slowing but still orderly economy, with a labour market that’s easing, households turning more cautious, and housing activity stuck in a deep slump.
“With no fresh inflation data available ahead of the December 9–10 FOMC meeting”, they argue this backdrop supports keeping rates unchanged, while only modestly easier conditions in dollar funding echo Hayes’ view that liquidity has improved at the margin rather than decisively turned.
At the same time, they highlight that tightening oversight in the US, El Salvador’s renewed Bitcoin accumulation, and shifting corporate strategies show how regulation, sovereign moves, and institutional repositioning are increasingly steering the crypto market’s direction.
Related: Bitwise CIO Says Token Value Capture Set to Supercharge Crypto Prices by 2026
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