Bitcoin Rallies Back Over $90,000 as Alts See Modest Gains

Markets showed tentative signs of relief on Wednesday morning, Dec. 17, after several sessions of losses, with Bitcoin and all of the top-20 crypto assets trading slightly higher. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at about $3.12 trillion, up 1.4% over the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied sharply this morning, gaining over 3% on the day to briefly break back above $90,000, though the largest cryptocurrency is still down 2.5% on the weekly timeframe. BTC is currently trading just below the $90,000 mark at press time.

Among the top-10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Ethereum (ETH) is also up about 3% to regain $3,000, though it’s leading large-caps in weekly losses, down 9% over the past seven days.

Solana (SOL) gained the most among large-caps, up 4% to trade over $133. XRP is also up a solid 3%, while BNB is flat today, trading near $874.

Conditions Stabilize

Analysts at glassnode said in an X post on Dec. 16 that recent market conditions suggest a transition away from the unusually subdued volatility seen earlier this year.

“More recently, market conditions have stabilized, and expectations for extreme moves have moderated,” Glassnode analysts said. However, they added that implied volatility remains “elevated” compared with the prior six-month low-volatility regime, “suggesting a shift toward a more active volatility environment.”

As of Wednesday morning, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index shows investors are in “extreme fear” for the third day straight, with the market still struggling to find a clear direction.

Big Movers and Liquidations

Looking at the top-100 assets by market cap, Midnight (NIGHT) led gainers on the day, rising about 19%.On the downside, three trading platform-related tokens — Bitfinex-linked Leo Token (LEO), pumpfun’s PUMP, and Aster’s ASTER — slipped the most, with LEO leading losses, down 23%, and the others down just 4% today.

Crypto liquidations eased compared with earlier this week. Total liquidations over the past 24 hours reached about $265 million, according to Coinglass data, with short positions making up the majority as spot prices rise. Bitcoin accounted for roughly $111 million in liquidations today, followed by Ethereum at about $65 million.

ETFs and Macro Conditions

On Tuesday, Dec. 16, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded another day of large net outflows, more than $277 million, bringing total net assets to around $114.3 billion, according to SoSoValue.

Spot Ethereum ETFs also posted net outflows of $224.3 million, almost the same sum as Monday, with total net assets standing at $18.17 billion. Meanwhile, other altcoin ETFs in the U.S., including for XRP, SOL and LINK, saw net inflows for the second day in a row.

On the macro front, U.S. Treasury yields are slightly higher today as investors digested the latest jobs report and looked ahead to November’s inflation data, CNBC reports. The 10-year Treasury yield rose a little to 4.165%, the 2-year yield moved up to 3.495%, and the 30-year yield ticked up to 4.835%.