Bitcoin and ether dropped sharply during U.S. trading hours, with major crypto firms and miners posting significant losses amid broader market weakness.
Bitcoin fell to $86,800 and ether to $3,000 on Dec. 15, continuing a clear trend of weaker performance during U.S. trading hours. Bespoke Investment noted IBIT ETF’s after-hours gains of 222% contrast with a 40.5% intraday loss. Crypto stocks saw notable declines, with MicroStrategy and Circle down 7%, Coinbase off 5%, Gemini falling 10%, and miners including CleanSpark, Cipher Mining, Hut 8, and TeraWulf losing over 10%. Macro events on tap include U.S. employment reports, expected Bank of Japan rate hike, and monetary policy meetings at the Bank of England and ECB. CME Group launched Spot-Quoted futures for XRP and Solana, along with TAS options for these and micro futures.