U.S. CPI: +2.9% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +2.9%); U.S. CORE CPI: +3.2% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +3.3%)

On December 8, Philippine digital bank GoTyme—serving 6.5 million customers—has partnered with U.S. fintech firm Alpaca to launch cryptocurrency services in the Philippines. Now, users can buy and store 11 different cryptocurrencies via GoTyme’s banking app, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, SOL, DOT and other altcoins, with automatic conversion from Philippine pesos to U.S. dollars (USD).

On December 8, Onchain School monitoring data shows that a wallet address linked to the BEAT team transferred tokens worth roughly $1.2 million to Gate approximately 17 hours prior. As of now, these tokens remain in the exchange’s deposit address and have not been further transferred or traded. However, analysis reveals that some of the BEAT team’s holding wallets have already executed small-scale transactions, suggesting potential future profit-taking moves.

This week, on Wednesday, December 8, the Federal Reserve will release its December interest rate decision. Currently, Polymarket pegs the probability of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in December at 93% — marking a high level of market consensus for a cut this month. Additionally, the Fed will announce its January interest rate decision on January 28 next year. As of press time, the chance of **no rate cut** in January has risen to 68%, while the probability of a cut stands at just 27%.

As of Dec. 8, per HyperInsight monitoring, two addresses linked to Abraxas Capital (0x5b5, 0xb83) have consistently closed ~$10.26M worth of ETH short positions over the past two days. ### Key Position Details: - Current size: ~$51.57M - Average entry price: $3,522 - Unrealized profit: $6.68M (130% return) - Realized profits from funding rate settlements: $13.61M Per ongoing tracking, Abraxas Capital has been cutting its ETH short position since early November—shrinking from $267M to $51.57M, totaling $217M in closures. A portion of the proceeds was used to boost HYPE spot holdings, with the current position standing at ~$53.84M. Additionally, the two addresses have closed most of their 22 prior short positions, now holding only 3 positions above $200k: ETH shorts, HYPE shorts, and FARTCOIN shorts. Previously, they were Hyperliquid’s largest short whale.

On December 8, the election for the 8th Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) concluded, with Legislative Council member John Wu securing re-election with 1,311 votes. Wu noted, “This election was highly competitive, and I’m deeply honored to be re-elected. Over the next four years, I’ll continue advancing my policy agenda, driving growth in Hong Kong’s finance and technology sectors—especially Web3, artificial intelligence, and related industries—to create new economic growth engines for the region.”