Crypto markets are on thin ice. (Mark Timberlake/Unsplash modified by CoinDesk)
What to know:
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By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)
The crypto market mood remains somber, with bearish analyst projections circulating amid price weakness. Bitcoin’s BTC$88,792.71 bounce from Monday's dip below $84,000 stalled near $87,000, while major altcoins including XRP, ETH, SOL and DOGE continue to press near their Monday lows.
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The CoinDesk 20 and CoinDesk 80 Indices have added less than 1% in the past 24 hours.
“This is a dangerous lull following downward momentum, with the risk of reverting to a sell-off at any moment," said Alex Kuptsikevich, the chief market analyst at FXPro, who noted that the market cap is just below $3 trillion. "All attention is now focused on whether the bulls in the crypto market will be able to defend the late November lows near $2.83 trillion,” he said in an email to CoinDesk.
One bright spot: The ETF dumping has paused. The 11 U.S.-listed spot ETFs saw inflows of $8.48 million on Monday, extending a three-day streak, according to SoSoValue. However, the combined four-day figure of $229 million is still a far cry from the billions in outflows since early October and will need to grow significantly to lift valuations.
Meanwhile, some observers called for reassessment of panic over prospects of higher interest rates in Japan and their destabilizing impact on cryptocurrencies and the wider financial market.
“If the Japanese government allows interest costs as a percentage of GDP to rise, widening the budget deficit while potential GDP growth is near zero, it will be forced to give up on the welfare state," Blokland Smart Multi-Asset Fund founder Jeroen Blokland said on X. "In a society that is among the oldest in the world. That just isn’t going to happen. Yield Curve Control will become part of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy again.”
In other key news, KAS, the native token of the layer-1, proof-of-work Kaspa blockchain, which employs the blockDAG structure and GHOSTDAG protocol to achieve high throughput, showed weakness.
The token rose 8% last month, bucking the broader market weakness, as investors cheered verified programmability (vProgs), which brings native, lightweight programmability directly on Kaspa’s layer 1 without compromising speed, security or decentralization.
In traditional markets, Treasury yields remain elevated, putting a floor under the dollar index. Stay alert!
Read more: For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today
What to Watch
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead."
Crypto
Dec. 2: Grayscale Chainlink Trust ETF (GLNK) is expected to begin trading on NYSE Arca, converting the existing chainlink LINK$12.11 trust into a spot chainlink ETF.
Dec. 2: VeChain (VET) Hayabusa hard fork upgrade activates on mainnet at block 23,414,400.
Macro
Dec. 2, 10 a.m.: Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman speech. Watch live.
Dec. 2, 10 a.m.: U.S. SEC Chair Paul Atkins delivers a speech titled “Revitalizing America’s Markets at 250” at the New York Stock Exchange after ringing the opening bell at 9:15 a.m.
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead."
Governance votes and calls
Decentraland DAO is voting on a proposal to commission an independent audit of Regenesis Labs by community member Maryana to address concerns over fund usage and transparency. Voting ends Dec. 2.
Unlocks
ENA$0.1738 to unlock $50.4 million worth of tokens, representing 2.8% of supply.
Bitcoin Traders Bet on Sub-$80K New Year: Derive (CoinDesk): Derive’s Nick Forster says short-dated bitcoin puts at $84K and $80K are stacking up ahead of year-end, signaling rising fears of a drop below $80K in early 2026.
XRP, Bitcoin on the Edge; Will Santa Abandon Nasdaq? (CoinDesk): XRP is clinging to $2 while bitcoin tests support near $87,000, with a bearish pattern in Nasdaq’s monthly chart casting doubt on the chances of a year-end rebound.
Why Kevin Hassett Is Winning the Fed Chair Race Before It Has Ended (The Wall Street Journal): Hassett’s long-standing ties to Trump, credibility with conservatives and the dovish market reaction to his candidacy have vaulted him ahead of rivals even before final interviews begin this week.
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
You are viewing Crypto Daybook Americas, your morning briefing on what happened in the crypto markets overnight and what's expected during the coming day. Crypto Daybook Americas will kickstart your morning with comprehensive insights. If you're not already subscribed to the email, click here. You won't want to start your day without it.