The crypto market is experiencing a general downturn, with new coins and star project coins facing a heavy sell-off.

On December 18, ChainInfo reported that a crypto whale spent just 37.8 ETH (roughly $13,700) in 2020 to acquire 1.03 quadrillion SHIB tokens—representing 17.4% of the total supply at the time. Forty-five minutes ago, the whale transferred 464.3 billion SHIB tokens (valued at approximately $3.48 million) to OKX. As of now, the whale still holds 962.2 trillion SHIB tokens (worth around $718 million), accounting for 16.3% of the total SHIB supply.

On Thursday, December 18, the Bank of England announced a rate cut, with the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voting closely on the decision. The central bank also signaled that its current, already gradual pace of rate cuts could slow further. Data released this week showed a sharp drop in inflation. After Bank of England staff predicted economic growth would stagnate by the end of 2025, five MPC members voted to lower the UK’s benchmark rate from 4.0% to 3.75%—marking the fourth rate cut since 2025. The other four members opted to hold rates steady, citing concerns that UK inflation may still remain too high. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey shifted his stance to support the cut, reversing the committee’s prior voting dynamic. In a statement, Bailey said: “We still expect rates to be reduced gradually. However, it has become increasingly hard to gauge how much further we can cut after each reduction.” (Source: FXStreet)

December 18 — The Bank of England cut its benchmark interest rate from 4.00% to 3.75%, matching market expectations. The central bank had earlier paused its quarterly rate cuts, which had been in effect since August 2024. (FXStreet)

On December 18, Derive founder Nick Forster told *The Block* that traders have shifted sharply toward defensive structural positioning. Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility has climbed to nearly 45%, while skew remains around -5%—and longer-term skew is anchored at that level through Q1 and Q2 of next year. Ahead of the upcoming expiry, market positions show clear polarization: call option open interest is still building at $100,000 and $120,000 strike prices, indicating some traders are still betting on a potential sharp Bitcoin rebound. However, overall fund flows signal heightened caution. Forster noted shorts are building a "significant amount of put option exposure" near the $85,000 strike to hedge against a short-term Bitcoin drop below this key level. He added that option-implied probabilities still reflect a challenging market: the market assigns Bitcoin only ~30% odds of hitting $100,000 and ~10% odds of reclaiming its all-time high.

On December 18, market sources report that Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O) will merge with TAE Technologies in an all-stock transaction. (Golden Finance)

On December 18, Binance Alpha announced via official sources that it will become the first platform to list TradeTide (TTD) on December 20. Eligible users can visit the Alpha activity page and claim the airdrop using Binance Alpha Points once Alpha trading goes live. Further details will be released separately.