Gate Daily (December 19): "CLARITY Act" to be submitted to the Senate in January; XRP ETF asset size exceeds 1.1 billion

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced intense volatility and a sharp decline, temporarily reporting around $85,400 on December 19, with CPI data distortion raising doubts. US AI and cryptocurrency czar David Sacks stated that the Crypto Market Structure Bill, the “CLARITY Bill,” is expected to be submitted to the Senate for review in January next year. Funds continue to flow into altcoins on Wall Street, with XRP ETF assets reaching $1.14 billion.

Macro Events & Crypto Hotspots

1. Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) in November rose 2.7% year-over-year, significantly lower than the 3.1% expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg, and below September’s 3.0%. Senior economist Michael Hanson of JPMorgan said that the lower-than-expected inflation data may indicate that the BLS, when unable to collect prices in October, assumed some prices remained unchanged, leading to a “substantial downward bias” in the current data, which could be corrected in the coming months as complete data is restored.

2. US AI and crypto czar David Sacks said that the Crypto Market Structure Bill, the “CLARITY Bill,” is closer to formal legislation, with Senate review and amendments expected in January. Sacks posted on X platform on Thursday that Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman have confirmed that this bipartisan-supported crypto bill will be finalized in the Senate next month.

3. Since Canary Capital launched the first XRP ETF—XRPC—on November 13, funds have continued to flow daily into funds like Bitwise, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, and 21Shares, totaling over $1.03 billion. Despite weakening crypto prices, XRP price remains around $1.88, but sustained demand has pushed its net assets to $1.14 billion. Industry insiders are paying attention to capital inflow charts and bullish patterns, while also noting short-term price declines and slowing ecosystem growth outside of stablecoins.

4. Representatives from the non-profit Bitcoin advocacy organization Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) warned that US legislators have not provided minimum tax exemptions for Bitcoin transactions below a certain threshold. BPI Strategy Director Conner Brown said, “Minimum tax legislation may only apply to stablecoins, while daily Bitcoin transactions will not be exempt.” He added that excluding Bitcoin is a “serious mistake.” Bitcoin supporters argue that allowing tax-free small Bitcoin transactions will increase Bitcoin’s use as a medium of exchange rather than just a store of value, helping to establish a new financial system based on Bitcoin standards.

5. The Federal Reserve withdrew its restrictive guidance on December 17 regarding how banks regulated by the Fed (including uninsured banks) participate in cryptocurrency trading, citing that the guidance was outdated, as “the financial system and the Fed’s understanding of innovative products and services have evolved.” The new guidelines state that uninsured banks must follow the same rules as federally insured institutions, with similar activities posing similar risks and thus requiring the same regulation. The Fed issued new guidance on the same day, establishing formal pathways for Fed-regulated insured and uninsured banks to engage in “innovative activities,” such as cryptocurrencies, provided they meet risk management expectations.

News Highlights

1. CF Benchmarks considers Bitcoin a core asset in investment portfolios, predicting its price will reach $1.4 million by 2035.

2. A whale with nine consecutive wins holds short positions in BTC and ETH with unrealized gains exceeding $1 million; total profits have surpassed $14 million.

3. Bitwise has submitted a registration statement for the Bitwise SUI ETF to the US SEC.

4. The Crypto Market Structure Bill, the “CLARITY Bill,” is expected to be submitted to the Senate for review in January.

5. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of NYSE, is in talks to invest in crypto payment company MoonPay, with an estimated valuation of about $5 billion.

6. Analysis: About $23 billion worth of Bitcoin options will expire next Friday, potentially intensifying the already high volatility.

7. Huang Licheng took short-term long positions on BTC, ZEC, and HYPE for profit, then closed positions; his ETH long position again resulted in a loss of $359,000.

8. Near Protocol’s NEAR token has now cross-chained to the Solana network.

9. DePIN project DAWN completed a $13 million Series B funding round, led by Polychain.

Market Trends

1. Latest Bitcoin news: $BTC experienced intense volatility and a sharp decline, temporarily reporting around $85,400, with $182 million liquidated in the past 24 hours, mainly long positions.

2. Major US stock indexes rebounded on December 18, with data showing US inflation cooling rapidly, boosting market bets on further Fed rate cuts in 2026, and strong earnings from chip manufacturer Micron indicating robust AI demand. Dow Jones Industrial rose 65.88 points, up 0.14%, to 47,951.85; S&P 500 increased 53.33 points, up 0.79%, to 6,774.76; Nasdaq gained 313.04 points, up 1.38%, to 23,006.36. All three indexes rebounded from three-week lows, with the Russell 2000 small-cap index rising 0.8%.

(Source: Gate)

3. Gate BTC/USDT liquidation map shows that at the current level of $85,300.30 USDT, a decline to around $84,348 will liquidate over $99 million in long positions; an increase to around $89,692 will liquidate over $796 million in short positions. Short liquidations are significantly higher than longs, suggesting traders should control leverage ratios to avoid large-scale liquidations during market swings.

(Source: Coinglass)

4. In the past 24 hours, spot inflow of $2.7 billion and outflow of $2.76 billion, net outflow of $0.06 billion.

(Source: Coinglass)

5. In the past 24 hours, net outflows in contracts trading for $BTC, $SOL, $DOGE, $BNB, $XRP , indicating trading opportunities.

Top KOL Insights

Phyrex Ni (@Phyrex_Ni): “It’s already the fourth day, with three days where BTC has surged past or is about to surpass $90,000, then returned near $85,000. Especially today, US stocks performed quite well, with the S&P and Nasdaq nearly recovering yesterday’s losses, but Bitcoin still oscillates around $85,000. Investors’ sentiment is really poor.”

“If yesterday’s decline was driven by Oracle’s impact on tech stocks, which dragged Bitcoin down, then today’s decline seems to be purely due to investor sentiment. At least from ETF data, more investors are shifting from crypto to US stocks. However, I still believe that in the big trend, BTC and tech stocks will diverge, even if there’s a short-term positive deviation.”

“Friday is Japan’s rate hike day. US stocks show no signs of safe-haven behavior. As I said before, investors have fully priced in this rate hike, so the actual impact on the market should be minimal. Not sure if US traders are more worried, or if the market is just reacting to Japan’s rate hike and the Christmas rally. Low liquidity during Christmas is like a holiday—just don’t cause trouble.”

“Looking at Bitcoin data, turnover continues to decline. Investors are gradually getting used to BTC falling to this price, indicating that panic selling by price-sensitive investors has mostly subsided. Short-term investors are also decreasing significantly. If this continues steadily, it will officially enter the ‘garbage time.’”

“‘Garbage time’ means BTC is just fluctuating slightly every day. Although volatility increases occasionally, it still stays within a range, with volume shrinking significantly. This has happened in 2023 and 2024, too.”

“From what we see now, it looks like a prelude to bottom-building before garbage time. It seems to be between $83,000 and $88,000. But unlike previous garbage times, current high-position investors remain very calm, with losses over $20,000, yet they are not selling off. The chip structure remains very panicked.”

Today’s Preview

1. Germany November Producer Price Index (MoM), previous 0.1%

2. UK November Seasonally Adjusted Retail Sales (MoM), previous -1.1%

3. Canada October Retail Sales (MoM), previous -0.7%

4. US October Personal Consumption Expenditures (billion USD), previous 651

5. US Q3 Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (annualized QoQ), previous 2.5%

6. US December University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Final, previous 53.3

7. US November PCE Price Index (MoM), previous 0.3%

8. US November NAR Seasonally Adjusted Existing Home Sales (annualized MoM), previous 1.2%

9. Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Haruhiko holds a monetary policy press conference

10. Bank of Japan announces interest rate decision