BlockBeats News, December 16th, Bitcoin briefly dropped below $86,000, with a one-time 24-hour drop of over 3%. In the past 24 hours, a total of $594 million was liquidated across the entire network, with long liquidations accounting for $497 million. Globally, 178,874 people were liquidated.
The Bank of Japan plans to announce its interest rate decision on December 19th (Friday), with the market expecting a 25 basis point rate hike in December. Several macro analysts believe that if the Bank of Japan raises rates as expected on December 19th, Bitcoin may further pull back to the $70,000 level. Analyst AndrewBTC stated that based on historical data, each rate hike by the Bank of Japan since 2024 has been accompanied by a more than 20% drop in the price of Bitcoin. For example, in March 2024, the price dropped by about 23%, in July 2024 by about 26%, and in January 2025 by about 31%. If the Bank of Japan raises rates next week, similar downside risks may reappear.
Additionally, former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh has surpassed Hassett in the probability of becoming the next Federal Reserve Chair, rising to first place. On the prediction market Polymarket, Warsh’s probability of being nominated as Federal Reserve Chair by Trump has increased from 7% to 48%, while the nomination probability of Kevin Hassett, the Director of the U.S. National Economic Council, has dropped from a peak of 85% to 42%. Wintermute stated that risk assets are showing some fatigue and noted that stocks and digital tokens are both “digesting macro uncertainty rather than entering a sustained risk-off phase.”
De Maere stated that a key factor putting pressure on the market is last week’s Fed interest rate meeting. Despite the meeting cutting rates by 25 basis points as widely expected by the market, the forward guidance has notably shifted to a cautious tone: the Fed’s latest forecast indicates only one rate cut expected for the entire 2026, a pace significantly slower than the pricing expectations of many investors prior. The market is currently betting on nearly three rate cuts next year, creating a clear discrepancy between investor expectations and the policy signals released by the central bank.
