Major Market Moves and Policy Shifts: What Traders Need to Know from December 21-22

Precious Metals Hit Records, Crypto Tax Framework Takes Shape

The commodity markets delivered stunning performances this week. Shanghai silver futures surged through the 16,000 yuan/kg threshold, marking a historic breakthrough with a single-day rally exceeding 5%. Year-to-date, the metal has accumulated gains surpassing 114%, demonstrating robust demand. Meanwhile, spot gold shattered previous records, piercing through the $4,381.4 per ounce barrier and establishing fresh all-time highs. These moves underscore growing investor appetite for hard assets amid broader economic uncertainties.

On the regulatory front, a significant development emerged from Washington. Bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Ohio Republican Representative Max Miller and Nevada Democratic Representative Steven Horsford, are collaborating on a comprehensive cryptocurrency tax framework. The initiative aims to establish safe harbor protections for regulated stablecoins trading within tight band ranges ($0.99-$1.01), exempting such transactions from capital gains tax. The proposal also extends favorable treatment to staking and mining rewards, aligning digital assets with existing securities and commodity tax structures. Foreign investors and securities lenders participating in digital asset transactions would enjoy the same protections currently afforded to traditional markets.

Central Bank Launches Credit Repair Initiative

China’s People’s Bank of China rolled out a one-time credit restoration program targeting pandemic-era defaults. Individuals with single overdue payments not exceeding 10,000 yuan between January 2020 and December 2025, who have since repaid obligations by March 31, 2026, will have those records expunged from credit reporting systems. The initiative processes automatically without individual applications, rolling out in batches starting 2026. Additionally, qualified individuals gain two supplementary free credit inquiries annually through mid-2026, beyond the standard two annual complimentary checks.

Whale Activity Dominates Chain Analytics

Large player moves continued to shape market microstructure. A major holder executed a massive AAVE liquidation over a three-hour window, offloading 230,350 tokens for approximately 5,869 stETH and 227.8 WBTC—totaling roughly $37.6 million in yuan profit terms. This substantial unwinding triggered a 10% price correction in AAVE (currently trading near $164.82). The broader liquidation cascade saw approximately $30 million in perpetual futures contracts wiped across major platforms, with LIGHT and BEAT leading liquidation rankings by volume.

Market volatility extended to emerging tokens: LIGHT experienced catastrophic drawdown, plummeting roughly 80% from $4.60 to below $0.80 in early morning trading, while BEAT displayed severe price swings during the same period.

Bitcoin Tracker and Strategic Accumulation Signals

Michael Saylor, chairman of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), posted fresh Bitcoin Tracker data on social media. Historical patterns suggest formal position updates typically follow such posts within 24 hours, likely disclosing additional accumulation details. Meanwhile, on-chain monitoring detected substantial institutional interest: fresh wallets withdrew 104,503 LINK tokens—worth approximately $1.32 million at current $13.21 pricing—from major exchange platforms, signaling renewed accumulation pressure on Chainlink.

“Brother Machi,” a notable on-chain trader, has demonstrated aggressive directional positioning. He currently maintains a 10x leveraged long position in ZEC (worth ~$390,000) and simultaneously holds a 25x leveraged Ethereum position spanning 5,200 ETH, carrying $266,000 in floating profits against a liquidation level near $2,789.

Token Unlock Calendar Signals Dilution Risks

Next week presents significant vesting events across multiple projects. Humanity (H) will release 105 million tokens (4.79% circulating) valued near $14.8 million on December 25. Plasma (XPL) follows with 88.89 million token unlock (4.5% float) worth approximately $11.7 million. SOON discharges 21.88 million tokens (5.97% circulating supply) around $8 million on December 23. MBG Multibank Group distributes 15.84 million tokens (8.42% float) worth ~$8.1 million, while Undeads Games (UDS) releases 2.15 million tokens valued near $5.2 million—all representing potential selling pressure windows.

Market Sentiment and Macro Considerations

Federal Reserve official Hamak suggested underlying inflation may run hotter than headline readings indicate, citing October shutdown data collection distortions. While November CPI printed 2.7% year-over-year, adjusted estimates approached 2.9-3.0%—her primary concern centers on neutral interest rates residing higher than consensus assumptions, underpinning economic resilience assumptions for 2025.

Industry analysis from 10x Research indicated cryptocurrency equities severely underperformed this session. Mining companies faced headwinds: Bitdeer confronts litigation pressure, CleanSpark missed earnings amid insider selling, and TeraWulf’s equity dilution overwhelmed financing gains. Even Coinbase’s product innovations failed offsetting sector-wide weakness.

A sophisticated trader completed four Ethereum swing cycles over eleven months, extracting $1.506 million in realized gains across the first three cycles. The address recently initiated its fourth rotation, accumulating 2,000 ETH (worth $5.98 million at $2,991.65 withdrawal pricing) from exchange liquidity, positioning for potential upside movement from current $3.10K Ethereum levels.