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Ether Rises 8% Amid Slumping Bitcoin Dominance
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said bitcoin is competing against gold, not the U.S. dollar, in an appearance on Wednesday.
Dec 4, 2024, 8:25 p.m.
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What to know:
- Ether is benefiting from capital inflows reminiscent of 2021.
- Bitcoin and Solana are both losing dominance.
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell shared his thoughts on bitcoin and crypto at the DealBook Summit.
Having long lagged behind bitcoin (BTC) in terms of price action, ether (ETH) saw some solid gains on Wednesday, rising 8% to over $3,880 in the last 24 hours.
The second largest cryptocurrency’s price benefitted from $800 million worth of shorts closing their positions, according to Tom Dunleavy, a partner at venture studio Master Global. But it’s also profiting from a capital influx reminiscent of the 2021 bull market, CoinDesk Senior Analyst James Van Straten pointed out.
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Bitcoin’s dominance peaked on Nov. 21 at 61.85% and has since slumped to 54.84%, Van Straten noted. Solana’s dominance has also tanked. “BTC has stayed flat, so ETH is playing catch up,” Van Straten said.
That also explains why so many coins in the CoinDesk 20 — an index of the top 20 cryptocurrencies, excluding stablecoins, memecoins, and exchange coins — are performing so well. While the index itself is only up 1.83% today (weighed down by bitcoin’s lackluster 1.52% gain), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Filecoin (IOU), Polkadot (DOT) and Uniswap (UNI) have surged 22%, 18%, 17% and 16% respectively over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin did not strongly react to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit. Powell only briefly touched on inflation, stating that the U.S. central bank can afford to act cautiously in its search for fiscal neutrality, before CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked him whether bitcoin’s rise was due to investor fears about the fate of the U.S. dollar.
“People use bitcoin as a speculative asset,” Powell said. “It’s like gold, only it’s virtual, it’s digital. People aren’t using it as a form of payment or as a store of value. It’s highly volatile. It’s not a competitor for the dollar, it’s really a competitor for gold.”
Powell further stated that when it came to the integration of crypto in the financial system, the priority was to safeguard the health and stability of the banking system, alongside consumer protection.
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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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