Gate Research Institute: Rate Cuts Trigger Severe Market Fluctuations | Large Banks Accelerate Bitcoin Collateralization Strategies

Summary

• The market sentiment has warmed as BTC and ETH strengthen, with weekly gains predicted to reach 18%–35% across sectors like Market, GambleFi, and ZK.
• Institutional Bitcoin holdings have surged significantly, and capital allocation structures continue to deepen.
• Major banks are accelerating Bitcoin collateral business deployment, with institutional-level funding acceptance steadily increasing.
• Rate cuts have triggered intense market volatility, with Ethereum and Bitcoin experiencing significant fluctuations in response to macro signals.
• Digital Asset completed a $50 million financing round led by DRW Venture.
• CONX, APT, and ARB will unlock approximately $21.83 million, $19.68 million, and $19.58 million of tokens respectively within the next 7 days.

Market Analysis

Market Commentary

• BTC — The recent one-day trend shows a “small decline after volatility” pattern. The price repeatedly faced resistance above $92,000, with a continuous decline near $91,000, indicating a clear short-term weakening momentum. Technically, MA5 and MA10 have turned downward and fallen below MA30, with all three moving averages converging, suggesting the short-term trend has shifted from bullish to neutral or slightly weak. If MA10 cannot be quickly recaptured, rebound strength will be limited. MACD shows the fast and slow lines forming a death cross at high levels and continuing to decline, with the red histograms shrinking and turning green, indicating diminishing bullish momentum. Support levels are around $90,500–$90,800; if this zone holds, there’s potential for a rebound near the moving averages. Otherwise, a break below could see a further dip to $89,000–$88,500, entering a deeper correction phase.
• ETH — After reaching a high near $3,440, ETH quickly pulled back, showing “resistance-encountered rebound correction.” Short-term price fell below MA5 and oscillated around MA10, slowing the previous bullish structure. Although MA5, MA10, and MA30 still exhibit bullish order, the convergence of these lines suggests weakening bullish advantage. MACD also shows a death cross at high levels, with shrinking red histograms and increasing divergence in momentum, indicating insufficient short-term buying. If ETH remains above MA10 and consolidates, the overall structure remains healthy, with potential to challenge the $3,420–$3,450 zone again. If it drops below $3,260–$3,280, it may extend to MA30 and previous support levels, forming a more complete correction wave.
• Altcoins — The market sentiment has improved driven by BTC consolidation and ETH strength, with capital starting to flow into the Ethereum ecosystem. Weekly gains across sectors like Market, GambleFi, ZK, and LRT are predicted at 18%–35%, reflecting a revaluation of high-beta ETH-related sectors.
• Stablecoins — The total market cap of stablecoins is currently $311.7 billion, up $4.125 billion in the past week, a 1.34% increase.
• Gas Fees — Ethereum network gas fees have generally remained below 1 Gwei over the past week, with peak hourly values reaching 2.62 Gwei. As of December 11, the average gas fee for the day was 0.167 Gwei.

Top Tokens

In the past 24 hours, the market has shown a downward trend with cautious sentiment still prevailing. The fear index remains at 29, indicating continued low risk appetite among investors. BTC and ETH both declined approximately 1.3%, mainly dragging down the market. Mainstream assets like XRP, SOL, etc., dropped between 1%–3%, with most sectors showing a broad weakness, reflecting ongoing capital contraction and cautiousness.

NIGHT Midnight (+61.18%, Market Cap $1.077 billion)

According to Gate market data, NIGHT token is currently priced at $0.06512, up over 61.18% in 24 hours. Midnight (NIGHT) is the latest privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain, led by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, designed to offer efficient privacy computing without sacrificing compliance.

NIGHT’s price surge was driven by multiple catalysts. First, the NIGHT/USDT trading pair was listed on Gate and other exchanges, boosting its exposure and liquidity. Meanwhile, Midnight Foundation officially opened GlacierDrop and Scavenger Mine token redemption portals, allowing early participants to claim allocations, increasing community engagement. Additionally, Blockchain.com publicly announced support for Midnight and released in-depth interviews, strengthening project narrative and market recognition.

BEAT Audiera (+40.63%, Market Cap $237 million)

According to Gate market data, BEAT is currently priced at $1.6787, up over 40.63% in 24 hours. Audiera (BEAT) is an AI-driven music platform that enables creators, musicians, and dancers to earn through on-chain interactions and content production. Its core mechanics combine AI content generation, on-chain creator incentives, and community participation, making content creation and distribution more engaging.

The recent rally was mainly supported by positive events. The project announced that BEAT’s total circulating market value surpassed $1.5 billion, marking an important milestone and boosting market confidence. The team also held small token giveaways to enhance community activity. Furthermore, Audiera and Greedy World announced a strategic partnership, combining “GameFi + music interaction” to expand user base and narrative scope.

LUNA Terra (+41.87%, Market Cap $135 million)

According to Gate data, LUNA is currently at $0.20018, up over 41.87% in 24 hours. LUNA is the native asset of the Terra blockchain ecosystem, mainly used for governance, staking validation, and maintaining Terra’s application layer. Despite ecosystem contraction after the stablecoin mechanism collapse, on-chain applications persist, and the community continues to push governance improvements and protocol maintenance, including staking node operation and infrastructure upgrades to sustain minimal network activity.

This rally appears to be a typical “bottom rebound.” After a long downtrend, the price found support at previous lows and experienced a volume breakout after consolidation, triggering a technical rebound. The price has re-crossed short-term moving averages, and momentum indicators are also turning upward, forming a short-term reversal pattern. Overall, this surge mainly reflects technical recovery at the lows rather than fundamental changes.

Key Data Points

Major Banks Accelerate Bitcoin Collateral Business, Institutional Funding Acceptance Continues to Grow

Strategy founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor stated that several large banks have started offering Bitcoin-backed credit services, including BNY Mellon, Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab, J.P. Morgan, and Citigroup. These institutions play key roles in traditional finance, and their moves indicate digital assets are gradually becoming part of mainstream financial infrastructure. The recognition of Bitcoin’s high liquidity and collateral attributes in institutional settings is becoming more formalized. Opening relevant credit services signifies maturity in risk assessment and internal compliance, as banks begin to incorporate digital assets into broader asset-liability management frameworks.

Saylor emphasized that Bitcoin is increasingly regarded as an institutional-grade collateral with strong anti-inflation and high liquidity characteristics. The willingness of banks to offer related credit services at this stage reflects a more mature understanding of digital asset risk and return profiles. As more financial institutions advance in custody, clearing, and lending infrastructure, the integration of traditional finance and crypto markets will accelerate, potentially leading to more structured products, financing solutions, and capital management strategies, opening new avenues for institutional asset allocation and capital efficiency.

Institutional Bitcoin Holdings Surge Significantly, Capital Allocation Structure Continues to Deepen

According to Glassnode data, since January 2023, institutional Bitcoin holdings have increased from approximately 197,000 BTC to 1.08 million BTC, a total growth of about 448%. This rapid expansion indicates Bitcoin is moving from a substitute asset to a core component of institutional portfolios, with capital recognizing its long-term value and anti-inflation properties.

The change in holdings structure reflects shifting institutional strategies: more funds are using Bitcoin as a hedge against macro uncertainties and as a long-term investment tool with better growth prospects than traditional assets. As more financial institutions improve custody, trading, and risk management mechanisms, institutional participation is expected to continue rising, making the market structure more mature and stable.

Tempo Testnet Officially Launched, Payment-Oriented Public Chain Targets Instant Settlement Scenarios

Supported by Stripe and Paradigm, Tempo announced the launch of its testnet, positioning as a public chain architecture focused on payments, aiming to achieve instant settlement and predictable fee transactions. The project’s goal is to enhance on-chain payment efficiency, emphasizing stability and transparency in cost structure under high concurrency, meeting the demands for speed and reliability in daily payments.

With the testnet open, Tempo plans to validate its performance in settlement speed, network stability, and fee consistency, and gradually expand its ecosystem collaborations. The team believes that if performance is proven during testing, Tempo could become a foundational infrastructure for large-scale payment scenarios, providing a more competitive environment for on-chain transactions, merchant payments, and new applications.

Focus for Next Week

Token Unlocks

According to Tokenomist data, in the next 7 days (2025.12.12 - 2025.12.18), several significant token unlocks will occur. The top three unlocks are as follows:

• CONX will unlock approximately $21.83 million worth of tokens, accounting for 71.3% of circulating supply.
• APT will unlock approximately $19.68 million, representing 1.5% of circulating supply.
• ARB will unlock approximately $19.58 million, representing 1.6% of circulating supply.
  Sources

• Gate, [https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT]###https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT###
• Farside Investors, [https://farside.co.uk/btc/]###https://farside.co.uk/btc/###
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Gate, [https://www.gate.com/crypto-market-data]###https://www.gate.com/crypto-market-data###
• Coingecoko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/cryptocurrency-heatmap
• Coindesk, https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/12/10/dnp-spacex-s-usd300m-bitcoin-stack-puts-crypto-inside-the-world-s-biggest-planned-ipo
• Coindesk, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/12/10/stripe-acqui-hires-crypto-payments-startup-valora-venturing-further-into-stablecoins
• Rootdata, https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
• Tokenomist, https://tokenomist.ai/
• X, https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1998618750170394933?s=20

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