Bitget Daily Digest | $PENGU sparks heated discussions, U.S. BTC spot ETFs surpass gold (December 18)      

Market highlights

1. $PENGU began airdrop claims and was listed on major exchanges. However, its market cap on a leading exchange experienced a drastic tenfold drop. On-chain data indicates ongoing sell-offs from wallets linked to the $PENGU project team. The airdrop claim progress currently stands at 33.6%. In parallel, the floor price of Pudgy Penguin has been cut by 50%.

2. The $HYPE token and its broader ecosystem are seeing significant gains, with capital influx pushing $HYPE's market cap above that of projects like Aptos, placing it in the top 30. Assets within the ecosystem, including $PURR, $HFUN, and $JEFF, are contributing significantly to wealth creation. Dutch auctions are also gaining traction as a market trend.

3. Fuel has launched its FUEL genesis airdrop, with the eligibility check page now live. Claims are set to begin on December 19. As Bitget's first LaunchX project, FUEL saw an oversubscription rate of 48 times. The ZK verification layer—the Aligned Layer—is also conducting airdrops to holders of STRK, MINA, ZK, POL, and SCR tokens at discounted prices.

4. Ohio lawmakers have proposed a Bitcoin Reserve Act, incorporating Bitcoin into the state treasury. This marks the third U.S. state to implement such a policy in just 30 days. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is reportedly planning to allocate around $200 billion from the Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) through an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs have now surpassed gold ETFs in the net asset scale.

Market overview

1. After reaching a new all-time high, BTC saw a short-term pullback, approaching the $110,000 mark, which triggered a broader market correction. Newly listed $PENGU continued its downward trend post-launch.

 2. The Nasdaq retreated from record highs, and the Dow Jones saw its first nine-day losing streak since 1978. The Canadian dollar also hit a four-year low. 

3. Currently at 106,077 USDT, Bitcoin is approaching a potential liquidation zone. A 1000-point drop to around 105,077 USDT could trigger over $103 million in cumulative long-position liquidations. Conversely, a rise to 107,077 USDT could lead to more than $80 million in cumulative short-position liquidations. Given the similar liquidation risks, it's advised to manage leverage wisely to avoid large-scale liquidations during market fluctuations.

4. In the past 24 hours, the BTC spot market saw inflows of $24.9 billion and outflows of $24.3 billion, resulting in a net outflow of $600 million.

5. In the past 24 hours, $ETH, $XRP, $SOL, $DOGE, and $LINK have led in net outflows in futures trading, signaling potential trading opportunities. 

Highlights on X

1. 0xWizard: AI agent market consolidation and outlook

The next 2–3 months are expected to be a consolidation phase following the initial surge in the AI agent market. During this period, the accumulation of ACT on Binance and GOAT on OKX will be key. Once accumulation completes and upward momentum begins, it could trigger broader fluctuations in on-chain assets, potentially leading to new asset launches and growth in blue-chip assets. Additionally, Solana's AI Hackathon showcased innovative ideas blending platforms, applications, and emerging sectors. While these ideas require time to mature, they could lay a strong foundation for future breakthroughs, with the potential for impactful projects to emerge.

X post: https://x.com/0xcryptowizard/status/1868847863679287592

2. Colin Wu: Investment strategy post-Bitcoin $100K breakthrough

Following Bitcoin's breakthrough above $100,000, investment strategies should focus on "U.S.-linked tokens." Projects closely tied to the U.S. tend to benefit from shifts in U.S. policies, particularly those previously impacted by regulatory challenges, such as XRP and BNB. This rally is driven by changes in the U.S. policy environment, with involvement from the Trump family and leading U.S. VC firm Polychain, indicating strong backing for native projects. Polychain-backed projects like LINK, AAVE, ENA, and ONDO represent compelling investment opportunities.

X post: https://x.com/WutalkWu/status/1868461568205443411

3. Michael_Liu93: Why retail investors shouldn't blindly buy "VC tokens"—market maker insights

Market makers in the secondary market leverage a borrowing model to profit from the price difference between selling at highs and buying back at lows. Project owners lend tokens to market makers, who in return provide liquidity and assist with sell-offs but primarily serve as "value extractors" for project teams, profiting at the expense of retail investors. Market makers may deliberately set high opening prices to offload tokens, only to later drive prices down to repurchase cheaply, maximizing their returns. As a result, the price of new "VC tokens" in the secondary market is often manipulated by projects and market makers rather than determined organically. Retail investors are at risk of being misled or exploited in this process.

X post: https://x.com/Michael_Liu93/status/1868882556101493177

4. Pentoshi: ETH poised to outperform BTC in the short term

In the short term, ETH is likely to continue to outperform BTC. ETH/BTC has rebounded by about 20% from its lows, while USD valuations are also climbing. While each 1% dip in ETH often triggers panic, trends don’t happen overnight—they start small. Without clear reversal signals, ETH’s steady upward trend supports maintaining a bullish outlook.

X post: https://x.com/Pentosh1/status/1868754773060866448

 

Institutional insights

1.Dragonfly Capital: The timing of the TGE is irrelevant. Projects need to focus on long-term value.

X post: https://x.com/hosseeb/status/1868848492938248310

2.QCP Capital: Bitcoin has become a more preferred store of value.

Article: https://decrypt.co/297010/bitcoin-to-gold-ratio-hits-historic-peak-as-year-end-rally-soars

3.Interactive Brokers: Potential Bitcoin crash could lead to a stock market decline in 2025

Article: https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/bitcoin-crash-2025-big-risk-for-stock-market-thomas-peterffy-2024-12

4.Greeks.live: BTC likely to test the $110,000 mark this week amid positive macro market sentiment

X post: https://x.com/BTC__options/status/1868999505934459180

 

News updates

1. U.S. shuts down a North Korean crypto money laundering network

2. The Bitcoin Policy Institute in the U.S. drafts an executive order to designate Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.

3. India tax regulator: Pre-2022 crypto gains are subject to capital gains tax

4. Hong Kong commits to implementing the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), with plans to complete necessary local legislative amendments by 2026.

 

Project updates

1. Wormhole is working with Nuffle Labs on a solution to expand EigenLayer's restaking functionality beyond the Ethereum ecosystem.

2. Coinbase delists wBTC due to unacceptable risks posed by Justin Sun.

3. BONK holders and stakers can receive a PENGU airdrop.

4. Pyth Network proposes to provide real-time oil price data on blockchains.

5. Fuel Network's airdrop checker is live, with claims to open on December 19.

6. ENS Labs' upcoming L2 network Namechain to be built on Linea technology

7. Lido announces the launch of the Community Staking Tribes (LCST) Initiative to promote Ethereum staking.

8. Lido plans to gradually discontinue Polygon's on-chain staking services.

9. Bitget Wallet launches GetGas to simplify multi-chain gas fee payments.

10. Babylon ends Cap-3 mainnet staking with over $6 billion worth of BTC staked.

 

Token unlocks

EigenLayer (EIGEN): Unlocking 1.29 million tokens valued at $5.91 million, accounting for 0.6% of the circulating supply.

QuantixAl (QAI): Unlocking 230,000 tokens valued at $21.72 million, accounting for 5.2% of the circulating supply.

Ethena (ENA): Unlocking 12.87 million tokens valued at $12.57 million, accounting for 0.4% of the circulating supply.

 

Recommended reads

CoinShares 2025 crypto outlook: The industry's most transformative era is here.

CoinShares analyzes key trends, including the impact of U.S. political changes on Bitcoin mining, the development of Solana and Ethereum, and the potential of Bitcoin as a global trading tool. The report also highlights the success of Bitcoin ETFs, corporate adoption of Bitcoin, and technological innovations such as the Lightning Network and parallelization that are driving the industry forward.

Read the full article here: https://www.bitgetapps.com/zh-CN/news/detail/12560604428160

 

Grayscale: We are in the mid-stage of a crypto bull market; rally could extend beyond 2025

Grayscale Research believes the market is currently in the mid-stage of a new crypto cycle. As long as fundamentals — like application adoption and macroeconomic conditions — remain strong, the bull market could continue into 2025 and beyond.

Read the full article here: https://www.bitgetapp.com/zh-CN/news/detail/12560604428158