Good morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:
Welcome to the Asia Morning Briefing, a daily overview of top stories in US hours and an overview of market movements and analysis. For a detailed overview of US markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.
Bitcoin’s rally above $114,000 this week reflects a measured reset rather than a breakout. Glassnode data shows that since mid-October, about 62,000 BTC have been moved out of long-term inactive wallets, about 0.4% of the total illiquid base.
Loading…
The shift marks the first notable decline in the supply of illiquids this cycle, signaling that some long-held coins are returning to more liquid hands.
However, whales have quietly absorbed that current, data from Glassnode shows.
Wallets that have large balances have added to their positions over the past 30 days and have not sold meaningfully since October 15th. In contrast, smaller holders between 0.1 and 10 BTC, around $10,000 to $1 million, have been steady sellers since late 2024. The result is a redistribution phase: risk of accumulating hands that crop larger hands.
In derivatives, leverage has remained balanced. Hyperliquid leaderboard data shows about $4.1 billion in open interest split almost equally between longs and shorts, with a slight tilt toward the latter.
Coinglass tracked about $413 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, of which about $337 million were shorts. It’s a moderate flush, not a full short squeeze, enough to clean up overdue bets but not to reset positioning or force panic buying.
Taken together, these dynamics may help explain the quiet recovery in bitcoin’s price. BTC’s move from $110K to $114.9K was driven by a mix of mild short covering and steady spot absorption rather than momentum chasing. Glassnode data shows that the market is now sitting in a neutral zone: illiquid supplies are diminishing, whales are holding and leverage is balanced.
For now, Bitcoin will likely fluctuate between $113K and $116K until the next catalyst appears. With a dovish Fed already widely expected, the question is what will it be?
Market movement:
BTC: Bitcoin’s rise from $110,000 to around $114.9K reflects a modest recovery fueled by whale hoarding and mild short-covering, not the kind of broad-based demand that signals a new uptrend.
ETH: Ether rose to $4,186, up about 6% in 24 hours, outperforming Bitcoin as traders rotated into higher beta assets following BTC’s stabilization, although on-chain and derivatives data suggest the move remains largely momentum-driven rather than supported by strong new inflows
Gold: JPMorgan expects gold to rise to $5,055 per ounce in late 2026 and $6,000 in 2028, calling the latest pullback a healthy consolidation within a broader uptrend driven by Fed rate cuts, fears of stagflation and rising demand from central banks and investors diversifying away from the dollar.
Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose above 50,000 for the first time as optimism over US-China trade talks and hopes of expanding domestic demand under Prime Minister Takaichi lifted sentiment.
Elsewhere in Crypto:
- Betting scandals are rocking sports. Will Prediction Markets Help or Hurt? (Decrypt)
- Could China ‘militarize’ cryptocurrencies to overcome economic sanctions? (SCMP)
- Tether Eyes Fresh Investments to Push USAT Stablecoin to 100 Million Americans at December Launch (CoinDesk)
