Focus of the crypto market this week: Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meeting and digital assets continue to attract investment

Macroeconomic Environment

This week's focus in the crypto market is on the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meeting. The meeting on Wednesday will announce interest rate decisions and quarterly economic forecasts on Thursday. Although the market generally expects a 25 basis point rate cut in December, investors are more concerned about the future direction of Fed policy. The pace of rate cuts next year is expected to be more cautious.

It is worth noting that up to 25 central banks will hold interest rate meetings simultaneously this week, including the central banks of Japan, the UK, and Sweden. These important decisions may trigger market volatility. However, industry experts believe that since the market has already priced in the Fed's interest rate cut expectations, the direct impact of this policy adjustment on cryptocurrency prices may be limited.

Digital asset investment continues to grow

Data shows that as of December 16, digital asset investment products have achieved net inflows for 10 consecutive weeks, with a total inflow of 3.2 billion USD last week. So far this year, the total inflow of digital assets has reached 44.5 billion USD.

The performance of Bitcoin investment products is particularly outstanding, with total inflows reaching $2 billion. Since the U.S. elections, the total inflow of Bitcoin products has reached $11.5 billion. Ethereum is also not to be outdone, gaining inflows for 7 consecutive weeks, totaling $1 billion, with a cumulative inflow of $3.7 billion over the 7 weeks.

Other cryptocurrencies such as XRP, Polkadot, and Litecoin have also attracted considerable investments. XRP received $145 million in inflows due to market expectations for a U.S.-listed ETF, while Polkadot and Litecoin attracted $3.7 million and $2.2 million in funding, respectively.

From a regional perspective, the United States, Switzerland, Germany, and Brazil have all shown a positive trend in capital inflows, recording total inflows of $3.1 billion, $36 million, $33 million, and $25 million respectively. This phenomenon reflects the widespread optimistic sentiment in the market towards digital assets.

U.S. States Advance Bitcoin Reserve Legislation

According to industry insiders, the United States will have a third state officially launch "strategic Bitcoin reserve" legislation this week. Although which state it is has not been disclosed, it is expected that at least 10 states will introduce similar Bitcoin reserve bills in the future. This trend reflects the increasing importance that states place on encryption currencies, especially Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Hits All-Time High

On December 16th, the price of Bitcoin surpassed $106,500, setting a new all-time high. At the same time, the ratio of Bitcoin to gold also reached an all-time high, further solidifying its position as "digital gold."

It is worth noting that even with the skyrocketing price of Bitcoin, some institutional investors are still actively increasing their holdings. For example, the CEO of a well-known technology company stated that even if the spot price of Bitcoin exceeds $100,000, the company still plans to continue purchasing. This attitude may trigger more passive funds to flow into related stocks, making it easier for the company to raise funds for buying Bitcoin.

Although the central bank meeting this week may have limited direct impact on the crypto market, Bitcoin's trend is still primarily driven by market sentiment. If the Fed adopts an extremely accommodative stance, it may provide further upward momentum for Bitcoin.

NFT Market Rebounds

The NFT market has recently shown significant signs of recovery. Data indicates that the total market value of the top NFT series across the network has surpassed $10 billion, reaching $10,450,232,468, with a 24-hour increase of 10.2%. Meanwhile, the trading volume of NFT series across the network has reached $71,146,166 in the past 24 hours, with an increase of as much as 87.5%.

Among them, the Pudgy Penguins NFT series has performed particularly well, with its floor price continuously rising and currently approaching $140,000. This is closely related to the upcoming issuance of the PENGU token. According to market data, the over-the-counter price of the PENGU token is $0.053, with a total supply of 88.888 billion tokens, bringing its market capitalization to $4.711 billion.

In addition, the L2 network under the parent company of Pudgy Penguins announced that it will launch its mainnet in January next year, with expectations for a token issuance. These factors have collectively driven the enthusiasm in the NFT market, making crypto players full of anticipation for the future performance of the PENGU token.