📉 Hawkish Powell Drives Bitcoin Lower
Plus a Stephen Colbert bit about FARTCOIN drives the memecoin to new ATH.
TylerD's Market Summary
GM!
Today's top news:
Crypto majors dip after Powell's hawkish comments
Solana daily transactions hit ATH on back of PENGU
Jupiter launches Jupiterz with gasless swaps & 0 slippage
ARC team shares plans for Rust-based AI agent launchpad
Stephen Colbert does FARTCOIN segment, sends it to $1.10
📉 Powell's Hawkish Comments Drive Markets, Bitcoin Lower
The Santa Rally hopes are on hold.
At least for a day.
Thanks to Jerome Powell and the FOMC pumping the brakes on rate cuts in 2025.
What Happened?
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve implemented a 25 basis point rate cut, a move widely anticipated by markets.
However, the Fed’s messaging took a hawkish turn, signaling that future rate cuts may be limited.
Its updated "dot plot" now projects only two additional cuts in 2025—down from three in its previous forecast.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged inflation progress but emphasized that it remains "somewhat elevated", suggesting a cautious stance on further easing.
The primary driver is uncertainty headed into the Trump presidency, with factors like Tariffs, government cuts, etc., all still major unknowns.
Impact on Markets:
Crypto and Equities Decline: Bitcoin dropped 5% to just above $100,000, while major stock indices like the Nasdaq, Dow, and S&P 500 fell sharply (down 3.6%, 2.6%, and nearly 3%, respectively).
Short-Term Market Reaction: The hawkish tone sparked fears of sustained high rates, affecting risk assets like crypto and stocks, which have benefited from easing inflation and economic stabilization.
Analysts’ Perspectives:
Ryan McMillin (Merkle Tree Capital): Stressed that 20% corrections are normal in bull markets, describing the dip as a buying opportunity.
Pratik Kala (Apollo Crypto): Called the reaction a “short-term puke” and predicted recovery within a week.
Pav Hundal (Swyftx): Believes the hawkish Fed stance won’t derail the bull market, citing strong tailwinds from President-elect Trump’s pro-crypto policies and broader economic support for risk assets.
Why It Matters
The Fed’s cautious approach may temper the pace of the ongoing bull market but is unlikely to halt it, according to analysts.
Crypto continues to gain traction, bolstered by a favorable regulatory outlook and institutional support.
With Trump’s upcoming pro-crypto administration and new ETF opportunities, the long-term outlook for Bitcoin and other risk assets remains optimistic despite near-term volatility.
So just a short-term blip on the road to $1M.
Remember, dips are gifts...
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $41M on the day; Solana was next with $4M and then Bitcoin with $3.4M
ETH NFT leaders were mostly green; Punks -1% at 40.2 ETH, Pudgy +2% at 18.3, BAYC +2% at 18.4 ETH, Azuki +6% at 10.15 ETH
Oh Ottie (+110%), Regulars (+110%) & HV-MTL (+80%) led notable top movers
BTC NFT leaders were mostly red; Bitcoin Puppets -5%, NodeMonkes -1%, OMB -3%, Quantum Cats -2%
The Runes leaders were very red; DOG -10% at $750M mc, PUPS -13% at $135M, BDC -10% at $66M, GIZMO -15% at $20M
New 9dcc Black Boxes sold out in minutes and instantly doubled on the secondary market to 0.12 ETH
A Gold Claynosaurz sold for 500 SOL on Wednesday ($104,000)
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
Jupiter launched Jupiterz as a new model enabling gasless swaps and 0% slippage via a toggle
Trump's World Liberty Fi has entered a strategic partnership with Ethena Labs
MoonPay announced MOG can be purchased directly in app via traditional payment rails
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
Overall market cap is fell 15% to $9.8B, with most leaders down 10-20%
Stephen Colbert did a segment on FARTCOIN with the tagline "Silent but wealthy" which helped propel it to $1.10
ARC was the top mover, jumping 46% to $200M after they did a spaces talking about their Rust-based AI agent launchpad based in $ARC token
FARTCOIN, AIXBT and VIRTUAL see biggest mindshare growth
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
Crypto majors are red this morning after Powell's hawkish comments; BTC -3% at $102,000, ETH -5% at $3,700, SOL -4% at $208, XRP -6% at $2.38
Bitcoin's down move was largely driven by Jerome Powell's comments at the FOMC, where rates were cut as expected but future cuts seem less likely given Powell's hawkish tone
Memecoin majors are more red than majors; DOGE -5%, SHIBA -6%, PEPE -9%, WIF -10%, BONK -10%, MOG -8%, PENGU -9%
Solana's daily transactions hit a new ATH on Wednesday on the back of the PENGU launch
Coinbase was approved to delist Wrapped Bitcoin by the judge in their case against Bit Global
The new US government Stopgap bill meant to avoid a shutdown has a crypto impact via the Deploying American Blockchains Act which requires the Dept of Commerce to advise the President on crypto matters
🚀 Memecoin Movers
$LI (+10,000% to $10M market cap, SOL)
$MEMEAGENT (+5800% to $13M market cap, SOL)
$UFD (+500% to $250M market cap, SOL)
$andy70b (+250% to $29M market cap, SOL)
$ARC (+46% to $184M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
Garbage Friends (160%, 0.07 ETH Floor)
Regulars (110%, 0.04 ETH Floor)
HV-MTL (80%, 0.06 ETH)
The Doge Pound (60%, 0.17 ETH)
Khuga (60%, 0.08 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
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