Market Pulse: Peace Talks Fuel Macro Rally While Bitcoin Consolidates Near 90K Resistance

Geopolitical Shift Reshapes Asset Flows

The Trump-Zelensky diplomatic meeting on the weekend marked a significant turning point, with both sides confirming willingness to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict in its “final stage.” This development triggered a risk-on sentiment across global markets. U.S. equities posted weekly gains exceeding 1% despite Friday’s pullback on lighter holiday trading. More notably, precious metals rallied aggressively—gold surged to an all-time high of USD 4,550, while silver, copper, and platinum all reached record territory.

Bitcoin Struggles to Break Through 90K Ceiling

Bitcoin faced headwinds on Friday, failing to sustain above the 90,000 level. As U.S. equities retreated, BTC briefly tumbled to 86,700 before recovering, eventually settling into a range-bound pattern through the weekend. The current price of Bitcoin stands at $92.64K with a 24-hour gain of +1.51%, reflecting cautious bullish momentum heading into the new year. However, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index remains stuck at 24 (Extreme Fear), indicating that despite upside moves, risk appetite hasn’t fundamentally shifted. Altcoin market-cap share and trading volumes did rebound on thin weekend activity, but this appears largely technical.

Institutional Capital: Tax-Loss Harvesting Reversal and Strategic Accumulation

A critical dynamic unfolding in recent weeks involves tax-loss harvesting. During Christmas week, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced cumulative net outflows of approximately USD 782 million as investors strategically sold underwater positions to offset 2025 capital gains. However, this temporary tax-driven pressure masks a deeper institutional narrative. Michael Saylor’s repeated release of Bitcoin Tracker updates signals continued BTC accumulation by his firm, which now holds over 670,000 Bitcoin. Simultaneously, Strategy has strategically built a USD 2.2 billion cash reserve, balancing aggressive accumulation with defensive preparedness for macro uncertainty.

Japanese corporations are joining the institutional Bitcoin adoption wave. KLab launched a “Dual Gold Financial Strategy,” allocating 3.6 billion yen between Bitcoin and gold at a 6:4 ratio, directly citing concerns over the yen’s purchasing power. This normalizes Bitcoin as a hedge asset alongside precious metals for publicly-listed firms.

DeFi Derivatives Momentum Accelerates

Hyperliquid delivered stellar 2025 performance, recording net inflows of USD 3.87 billion with annual trading volume approaching USD 3 trillion. The platform’s Total Value Locked stabilizing above USD 4 billion reflects traders’ migration from centralized exchanges to high-performance decentralized platforms. Currently trading at $25.95, HYPE’s success validates application-specific chains for high-frequency derivatives trading.

Token Burns and Protocol Economics

Uniswap executed a historic burn of 100 million UNI tokens (approximately USD 596 million), slashing circulating supply by roughly 16%. This deflationary mechanism marks Uniswap’s shift toward a “fee-driven” model with genuine value capture—a critical departure from criticism that UNI functioned as pure governance token. UNI currently trades at $5.81, down 1.59% in 24 hours.

LayerZero’s community governance proposal to activate protocol fees and convert them into ZRO tokens for burning failed to pass due to insufficient quorum on December 27. The rejection reflects community skepticism that premature fee implementation might compromise competitive positioning. ZRO currently prices at $1.38, reflecting this governance setback.

Canton Network’s Privacy Advancement and Regulatory Progress

Canton Network released the CIP-56 privacy token standard, driving CC up 22%. Meanwhile, Bitmine reached a staking milestone with 154,176 ETH cumulative staking (valued at approximately USD 451 million), reinforcing the shift from traditional mining to liquid staking tokens as Ethereum’s PoS ecosystem matures.

Ethereum remains at $3.15K, while CC trades at $0.15 (-0.41% in 24h), and Lighter’s LIT token stands at $2.83 as the team signals a potential app launch within weeks.

Global Policy Crackdown and Crypto Finance Evolution

Regulatory landscapes are crystallizing globally. Russia’s largest bank piloted crypto-collateralized loans, while Pakistan’s police dismantled a cryptocurrency investment fraud ring involving USD 60 million—underscoring that despite growing cryptocurrency adoption and debates around cryptocurrency price in Pakistan and emerging markets, illicit schemes persist. Japan announced separate taxation for crypto assets, Lithuania will enforce strict licensing requirements starting 2026, and JPMorgan froze multiple stablecoin startup accounts linked to high-risk Venezuelan markets.

ABN AMRO’s German subsidiary obtained MiCAR (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) authorization, completing its first blockchain-based “Smart Derivatives Contract” with DZ BANK. This signals traditional European banking’s accelerated integration with on-chain derivatives infrastructure.

Market Outlook

The geopolitical thaw, coupled with institutional Bitcoin accumulation strategies and DeFi’s continued growth, supports cautiously bullish conditions. However, extreme fear sentiment and ETF outflows suggest retail participation remains muted. The next catalyst will likely depend on whether Bitcoin can sustain above current levels while macroeconomic data influences risk appetite into Q1 2026.