Crypto Market Sentiment Plunges to "Extreme Fear," Fear Greed Index Currently at 11

On December 16, Morgan Stanley released an analysis noting that gold is poised to sustain macro-level support as interest rate cut expectations persist and the U.S. Dollar Index weakens, with the potential to rise to $4,800 per ounce by the fourth quarter of 2026. “We believe gold faces upside risks due to central banks ramping up gold purchases, global growth concerns, and stablecoin companies increasing their gold holdings,” the firm stated. For silver, investment demand is likely to remain dominant, and low inventory levels could trigger a physical squeeze, according to Oriental Wealth.

On Dec. 16, Li Huayi, founder of Liquid Capital (formerly LD Capital), said in a social media post: “While Ethereum (ETH) fundamentals remain solid, market liquidity has dropped sharply since the Oct. 11 flash crash, with the futures market now dominating the spot market. Current volatility is within normal ranges, especially as we approach the 4-year cycle resonance and Christmas. For spot investors, however, it’s not about buying at the absolute bottom—but rather at the most appropriate investment price range. From a medium-to-long-term investment perspective, especially in the new era of on-chain finance, ETH is a core asset, with allocations to projects like WLFI as core holdings. Our investment and data logic remains consistent with our prior research reports.”

On December 16, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a consultation on proposed cryptocurrency regulatory rules for the UK. The rules cover areas including entry requirements, disclosure obligations, market manipulation, crypto trading platforms, intermediaries, custody services, lending, decentralized finance (DeFi), and prudential standards. The consultation deadline is February 12, 2026. David Geale, the FCA’s Head of Payments and Digital Currencies, said: “Our goal is to create a framework that protects consumers, supports innovation, and builds trust. We’ve made significant progress rolling out our crypto regulation plan—helping firms meet our standards and complete registration—while also waiting for additional legislation.”

U.S. crypto-related stocks showed mixed pre-market moves on December 16, with key names trading as follows: - MicroStrategy (MSTR): +0.07% - Coinbase (COIN): -0.09% - Robinhood Markets (HOOD): -0.39% - Sports Betting & Gaming (SBET): -0.21% - Bit Mining (BMNR): +0.32% - Circle Internet Financial (CRCL): -0.48%

On December 16, data from Coinglass shows that over the past 24 hours, the total net outflow of ETH from centralized exchanges (CEXs) hit 36,000 ETH. The top three exchanges by ETH outflow are: - Binance: 40,000 ETH out - Bybit: 30,700 ETH out - Bitfinex: 4,586.21 ETH out Additionally, OKX led the inflow list with 22,300 ETH flowing in.

On December 16, Predictive Market Space announced it has closed a $3 million seed and strategic financing round. Participants include Morningstar Ventures, Arctic Digital, Echo, IMPOSSIBLE and other investors. The new capital will go toward building the first prediction market on Solana that supports 10x leverage.