Japanese Central Bank Governor: Short-Term Interest Rate at 30-Year High Has No Special Meaning

**Goldman Sachs: 2026 to End Global Oil Supply Volatility, Gold Seen Hitting $4,900** In its latest 2025-2026 Commodities Outlook report, Goldman Sachs said 2026 will mark the final year of global oil supply volatility. The market is poised for an average daily oversupply of 2 million barrels, driving Brent crude to an annual average of $56 per barrel in 2026 and hitting a mid-year bottom. Additionally, the bank reiterated its forecast that gold will reach $4,900 in 2026. It identified global central bank gold purchases and Federal Reserve rate cuts as the key dual drivers behind the rally. Analysis notes geopolitical risks and economic uncertainties are spurring emerging market central banks to accelerate gold holdings, while potential private investor inflows could further push prices higher. Goldman Sachs expects global central banks to maintain monthly gold purchases at roughly 70 tons in 2026, with each 1-basis-point increase in private investor allocations seen lifting gold

December 19th — According to Coinglass data, following market fluctuations from early this morning through now, funding rates across major centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges still point to an overall bearish market sentiment. However, some trading pairs (primarily Bitcoin [BTC]-based on Binance) have seen funding rates return to neutral. Specific funding rates for major coins are shown in the attached image. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by crypto trading platforms to keep contract prices aligned with underlying asset prices, typically for perpetual contracts. They facilitate fund exchanges between long and short traders—exchanges do not charge this fee. The mechanism adjusts the cost or profit of traders holding contracts to keep contract prices close to underlying asset values. Rate Interpretation: A 0.01% funding rate is the baseline. Rates above 0.01% signal bullish sentiment, while rates below 0.005% indicate bearishness.

December 19th — per monitoring from The Data Nerd — a newly created wallet withdrew more than $12 million in cryptocurrency from Binance and Bybit exchanges 2 hours ago. The withdrawal included: - 3,500 ETH (≈$10.23 million) - 2,135 BNB (≈$1.79 million) - 3.74 million USDT

On December 19, Japanese crypto firm Metaplanet’s American Depositary Receipt (ADR) will launch trading in the U.S. under the ticker symbol MPJPY, per official sources. An ADR is a U.S. bank-issued financial instrument that represents shares of a foreign company (e.g., Japanese or European firms). Investors can trade these foreign stocks on U.S. exchanges via ADRs without having to transact directly on overseas markets.

**December 19th — Per Onchain Lens data, the whale previously engaged in "buying the dip and hedging" has continued purchasing 2,249 ETH (worth ~$6.54 million) across the HyperLiquid and Lighter platforms. Concurrently, the whale boosted its ETH short positions with 20x leverage on both exchanges.** **In the past 24 hours alone, the whale has amassed 4,599 ETH total, with a combined value of roughly $13.2 million.**

**December 19 – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told an afternoon monetary policy press conference today that Japan’s economy is showing mild weakness but remains in a modest recovery. The BOJ will keep raising its policy rate if the economy and prices improve as expected.** **The latest hike pushes Japan’s benchmark interest rate from 0.50% to 0.75% — the highest level since 1995, ending the country’s 30-year era of ultra-low rates. Kuroda noted the 30-year short-term rate high has no special meaning, adding the BOJ will closely track the latest rate change’s impact.** **For future moves, Kuroda said the pace of monetary adjustment depends on economic, price and financial outlooks. There’s still a gap from the lower end of the neutral interest rate range, and the BOJ hasn’t seen the strong tightening effect seen in prior hikes. The central bank will decide on further hikes after evaluating how the 0.75% rate affects the economy and prices; a hike is possible if wage gains