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The recent sharp decline in Bitcoin's price has been attributed to forced liquidations of long positions in the futures market. According to XWIN Research Japan, a contributor to CryptoQuant, the timing of the price drop aligns perfectly with a surge in long position liquidations, indicating that the sell-off was driven by these events. The analysis explains that when the price falls below a key support level, long positions fail to meet margin requirements and are automatically liquidated. This process triggers market sell orders, which in turn intensifies selling pressure and causes further declines. XWIN Research Japan emphasized that liquidations are not merely a result of the price drop but a factor that amplifies it, noting that even a small initial dip can trigger a cascade of further liquidations. In this context, the current price movement should be seen as a structural deleveraging event rather than a collapse in demand. The contributor added that the price will gradually stabilize once most high-leverage positions are cleared. The next step for the market to watch is the scale of the leverage that has already been unwound and whether the market has returned to a more balanced state.

Investors holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC have accumulated an additional 54,000 BTC over the past seven days, bringing their total holdings to 3.575 million BTC, Cointelegraph reported, citing data from Glassnode. The report suggests that mid-sized investors and institutions are buying the dip as BTC has fallen approximately 30% from its peak. However, Cointelegraph also assessed that short-term downside risk remains due to continued selling pressure from long-term whales holding more than 10,000 BTC.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao advised on X that anyone who envies investors for buying cryptocurrencies at the bottom and holding through an entire market cycle should remember what those individuals did during such volatile moments. He has repeatedly emphasized the importance of a long-term perspective and patience, particularly in phases of expanding market volatility.

Cryptocurrency lending firm Nexo has signed a multi-year partnership with the Australian Open to become its official cryptocurrency partner, Decrypt reported. The deal will allow Nexo to advertise its brand in on-court coaching zones at major stadiums through the Nexo Coaches Pod.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated that a resolution to the war in Ukraine is imminent, the Tass news agency reported.

Bybit has announced the delisting of four spot trading pairs: FRAG/USDT, BOMB/USDT, ULTI/USDT, and TRVL/USDT. The delisting will take effect at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 23.

South Korean crypto exchange Upbit announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Injective (INJ) starting at 11:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 18 due to a network upgrade.

South Korean exchanges Bithumb and Upbit have announced the delisting of Groestlcoin (GRS), effective at 6:00 a.m. UTC on Jan. 16. The exchanges stated that the Groestlcoin foundation's explanation regarding its investment warning designation was insufficient to resolve the underlying issues. Following a comprehensive review of the project's disclosures, viability, and sustainability, both platforms concluded that GRS no longer meets their criteria for continued listing support.

Amid Bitcoin's decline, 75% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are now trading below their 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages, Coindesk reported. In contrast, only 29% of the top 100 stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index are exhibiting a similar bearish trend. Despite the deepening downturn, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicates that only eight of these cryptocurrencies have entered oversold territory: PI, APT, ALGO, FLARE, VET, JUP, IP, and KAIA. This suggests that the majority of cryptocurrencies may have further room to fall.

Bybit has announced that it will delist spot trading for PELL, PURSE, and TRC at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 23.

Two anonymous whale addresses, starting with 0x2802 and 0x4c0A, sold a combined 14,000 ETH ($40.82 million) over the past two hours, Lookonchain reported. One address sold 10,000 ETH ($29.16 million) on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) at an average price of $2,915.50. The other address sold 4,000 ETH ($11.66 million) across OKX, Binance, KuCoin, and Gate.io. According to CoinMarketCap, ETH is trading at $2,933.10, down 1.01% in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin staking protocol developer Babylon Labs has announced a partnership with DSRV, a global validator and Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP). The two companies plan to focus on creating a BTCFi 2.0 environment that institutional investors can use with confidence. Babylon Labs enables the use of Bitcoin within the Ethereum ecosystem without requiring a bridge. Its native BTC staking protocol currently has 62,000 BTC staked. DSRV is a global validator that provides secure, professional services for institutions, leveraging its capabilities in custody and infrastructure operations.

Probable, an on-chain prediction platform incubated by BNB Chain-based decentralized exchange PancakeSwap (CAKE) and EasyLabs, will soon launch on the BNB Chain, according to an official blog post. The platform will offer prediction products on topics such as cryptocurrency price movements and global events, and will implement a zero-fee policy for initial trades. Probable has integrated the UMA Oracle System, which allows users to deposit crypto that is automatically swapped to USDT for immediate betting on prediction products.

OKX announced it will list LIGHT/USDT perpetual futures at 8:00 a.m. UTC today. The listing will support up to 50x leverage.

Singaporean payments infrastructure firm StraitX plans to launch two new stablecoins on the Solana (SOL) blockchain, CoinDesk reported. The new assets are XSGD, pegged to the Singapore dollar, and XUSD, pegged to the U.S. dollar. Both stablecoins will utilize Solana's x402 payment standard.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation process on the comprehensive regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, Reuters reported. The consultation period will run until Feb. 12, 2026, with plans to finalize the regulatory framework by the end of that year. The move follows a draft proposal from the UK Treasury to place cryptocurrencies under the FCA's authority starting in 2027, regulating them as strictly as traditional financial products. The draft covers areas including crypto asset listings, prevention of insider trading and market manipulation, rules for exchanges and brokers, staking, lending, and corporate risk management.

Across the top three crypto futures exchanges by open interest, short positions hold a slight majority in BTC perpetual futures over the past 24 hours, with an overall ratio of 51.19% short to 48.81% long. The breakdown by exchange is: Binance (Long 47.9%, Short 52.1%), OKX (Long 48.63%, Short 51.37%), and Bybit (Long 47.82%, Short 52.18%).

South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans to convert its Virtual Asset Division from a temporary to a permanent organization, News1 reported. The Virtual Asset Inspection Division, housed within the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), will also be made a permanent entity. The FSC announced the move on Dec. 16 via a legislative notice in the official gazette, detailing a partial amendment to the enforcement rules for the commission and its affiliated agencies.

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest purchased shares in several crypto-related companies on Dec. 15, according to The Block. Through its ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF exchange-traded funds, the firm acquired $17 million worth of Bitmine (BMNR) stock, $16.26 million in Coinbase (COIN) shares, and $10.8 million in Circle (CRCL) shares. The purchases also included $5.94 million of Block stock, $5.2 million in Bullish (BLSH) shares, and a $1.24 million investment in its own Ark 21Shares Bitcoin Spot ETF.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb announced that it will list OpenEden (EDEN) for trading against the South Korean won at 8:00 a.m. UTC today.

Animoca Brands Japan, a subsidiary of NFT and blockchain game developer Animoca Brands, has partnered with multichain middleware platform Bifrost (BFC) to support publicly listed Japanese companies in holding and managing their Bitcoin. The initiative will provide support in several areas, including cryptocurrency custody, active management through staking, lending, and DeFi yield farming, and assistance for companies entering businesses that generate recurring fees.

Binance has announced on its official website that it will delist several margin trading pairs on Dec. 23 at 6:00 a.m. UTC. The affected cross margin pairs are DOT/FDUSD, ENA/FDUSD, SEI/FDUSD, FIL/FDUSD, BONK/FDUSD, ZK/FDUSD, ETC/FDUSD, WLD/FDUSD, OP/FDUSD, NEAR/FDUSD, WIF/FDUSD, APT/FDUSD, DYDX/FDUSD, TIA/FDUSD, and UNI/FDUSD. Additionally, the following isolated margin pairs will be delisted: DOT/FDUSD, ENA/FDUSD, SEI/FDUSD, FIL/FDUSD, BONK/FDUSD, ZK/FDUSD, ETC/FDUSD, WLD/FDUSD, OP/FDUSD, NEAR/FDUSD, WIF/FDUSD, DYDX/FDUSD, and TIA/FDUSD.

U.S. spot Ethereum (ETH) ETFs saw a total net outflow of $224.94 million on Dec. 15, marking the third consecutive day of net outflows, according to data compiled by TraderT. No ETFs recorded any net inflows. The outflows included $139.26 million from BlackRock's ETHA, $35.10 million from Grayscale's ETHE, $20.18 million from Grayscale's Mini ETH, $13.01 million from Bitwise's ETHW, $10.96 million from Fidelity's FETH, and $6.43 million from VanEck's ETHV.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a total net outflow of $351.69 million on Dec. 15, reversing course after just one day of net inflows, according to data compiled by TraderT. Fidelity's FBTC led the outflows with $230 million. Other funds seeing outflows included Bitwise's BITB with $44.32 million, Ark Invest's ARKB with $34.49 million, Grayscale's GBTC with $27.51 million, and VanEck's HODL with $21.25 million. BlackRock's IBIT recorded zero net flows, while Valkyrie's BRRR was the only fund with a net inflow, attracting $6 million.

NFT marketplace Magic Eden announced via X that it has launched a buyback program. The company will use 15% of its Ordinals trading fees to purchase Ordinals for its own collection.