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 5, ETF issuer 21Shares launched the first U.S. ETF tracking the price of SUI, adding to the rising number of cryptocurrency ETFs rolled out this year. The 21Shares 2x Long SUI ETF (ticker: TXXS) has been approved for trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that leveraged cryptocurrency ETFs are relatively rare. TXXS marks the 74th crypto ETF launched in 202X (note: original didn’t specify year, keep as is if no context) and the 128th overall. “We expect another 80 cryptocurrency ETFs to launch over the next 12 months,” he added.

December 5 — A JPMorgan analyst says MicroStrategy (stock ticker MSTR) resilience matters more than miner activity for Bitcoin’s recent price trend. While the world’s largest Bitcoin holder hasn’t started selling, miners are facing growing selling pressure. In a Wednesday report, JPMorgan Managing Director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou and his team noted Bitcoin’s recent sustained price pressure stems from two factors: the recent drop in the Bitcoin network’s hash rate and mining difficulty, and latest developments around MicroStrategy. The analyst explained the hash rate and difficulty decline reflects two forces: China reaffirming its Bitcoin mining ban after a surge in private mining activity, and falling Bitcoin prices plus high energy costs squeezing profits—pushing high-cost miners outside China to exit the market. “While a hash rate drop typically boosts miners’ revenue, Bitcoin’s price is still hovering below its production cost,” the analyst said, adding this has created se

**Meta to Slash VR Resources, Eye Up to 30% Metaverse Budget Cuts** (December 5) — Meta Platforms is poised to cut resources for its virtual reality project, Bloomberg reports. Mark Zuckerberg had framed the initiative as Meta’s future—spurring its 2021 rebrand from Facebook. The executive team is weighing up to 30% budget cuts for the metaverse business unit next year, which encompasses Meta Horizon Worlds (its virtual world product) and Quest VR headsets. The significant cuts are likely to trigger layoffs as early as January. Zuckerberg’s metaverse strategy has long faced investor scrutiny over concerns it has drained excessive resources. It has also faced regulatory pushback, including allegations of child privacy and safety lapses in the virtual world. Wall Street cheered the retreat: Meta’s stock jumped as much as 5.7% after the NYSE opened—its largest intraday gain since July 31—before closing up 3.4%.

December 5th — Per Onchain Lens monitoring, a BlackRock-linked address received 153.83 BTC (valued at $14.22 million) from Coinbase 5 hours ago, along with 16,930 ETH (valued at $53.26 million), totaling $67.48 million in inflows.

December 5th: Per Onchain Lens monitoring, a whale currently holds a 20x leveraged long position on 537.83 BTC, valued at $49.1 million. The position has been in unrealized loss territory for 24 days, with a current unrealized loss of $4.49 million. Three days prior, its unrealized loss peaked at $9.5 million, and is now gradually narrowing.

Per Onchain Lens monitoring, a 2-year dormant whale withdrew 1,320 ETH (valued at ~$4.24 million) from Kraken on December 5th. The whale now holds a total of 3,500 ETH (worth ~$11.14 million).