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Bitcoin Retakes $50K on US Stimulus Progress; Uniswap’s UNI Cracks the Top 10
The top cryptocurrency is changing hands near $50,500 at press time, representing a 4% gain on the day.
Updated Dec 12, 2022, 12:56 p.m. Published Mar 7, 2021, 7:17 p.m.
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Bitcoin, a perceived store of value asset, traded higher on Sunday, with U.S. President Joe Biden on the verge of passing an historic $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus plan aimed at accelerating economic recovery.
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The top cryptocurrency is changing hands near $50,500 at press time, representing a 4% gain on the day, having clocked a high of $51,320 early today, according to CoinDesk 20 data.
The Senate approved Biden's stimulus plan on Saturday, paving the way for $1,400 checks and continued jobless aid. The bill heads back to the House of Representative where will be voted on Tuesday, according to media reports.
Improved prospects of fiscal spending look to have put a bid under bitcoin , waking it up from the two-day slumber in the range of $49,500 to $46,200. Fiscal spending is inflationary and often bodes well for the store of value assets such as bitcoin and gold.
Also adding wind to the cryptocurrency's sails was news that Hong Kong-listed Meitu, which makes image and video processing software, said it had purchased $22 million in ether and $17.9 million of BTC for its treasury.
Bitcoin's rise portends dollar weakness in the foreign exchange markets and improved risk sentiment in the stock markets on Monday. The cryptocurrency has largely moved in the opposite direction to the dollar and behaved more or less like stocks/risk assets since the March 2020 crash.
It remains to be seen if bitcoin can extend gains during the week ahead, as the stimulus approval could lifthttps://finance.yahoo.com/news/stimulus-fueled-risk-bounce-likely-135328718.html U.S. Treasury bond yields. The 10-year yield has been on a tear of late, pricing a strong rebound in the economic activity and high inflation and putting downward pressure on both bitcoin and stocks.
Aside from bitcoin's rise, the other important story of the weekend is the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Uniswap's UNI token's entry into the list of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. It's the first DeFi coin to achieve that feat.
UNI is currently trading near $32 – up nearly 14% on a 24-hour basis. With a market cap of $16.79 billion, the DeFi token is now the eighth-largest cryptocurrency and ranks higher than litecoin and chainlink, as per data source Messari.
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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.
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Gold tops $5,000 as bitcoin stalls near $87,000 in widening macro-crypto split: Asia Morning Briefing
Bitcoin’s onchain data points to supply overhang and weak participation, while gold’s breakout is priced by markets as a durable macro regime shift.
What to know:
- Gold’s surge above $5,000 an ounce is increasingly seen as a durable regime shift, with investors treating the metal as a persistent hedge against geopolitical risk, central bank demand and a weaker dollar.
- Bitcoin is stuck near $87,000 in a low-conviction market, as on-chain data show older holders selling into rallies, newer buyers absorbing losses and a heavy supply overhang capping moves toward $100,000.
- Derivatives and prediction markets point to continued consolidation in bitcoin and sustained strength in gold, with thin futures volumes, subdued leverage and weak demand for higher-beta crypto assets like ether reinforcing the cautious tone.
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