Governance votes and technical signals shape the cryptocurrency markets - Gold dominates while Bitcoin weakens

Cryptocurrency markets are showing a mixed picture these days. While traditional safe havens like gold and precious metals are experiencing an impressive rally, key technical indicators are simultaneously sending conflicting signals. Particularly interesting: upcoming governance votes for several major projects could influence the next market direction.

Contrary to usual logic, Bitcoin is weakening despite a falling US dollar index. The DXY has fallen below 98.00 points and is approaching its lowest level since early October. Normally a bullish sign for risk assets like cryptocurrencies — but this time, a clear risk aversion is dominating the market activity. Gold is gaining and approaching the $4,500 mark per ounce, while the yen has significantly strengthened against the dollar.

Market Movements: Risk Aversion as a Dominant Signal for Price Declines

Bitcoin dropped to $78,600 — a decline of about 5.5% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum fell even more sharply, with a decrease of approximately 8.8% to just under $2,410. The CoinDesk 20 Index lost over 2% in the same period, while all 16 indices on the financial portal turned at least into the red.

“That’s remarkable given the strong rally in precious metals and dollar weakness,” explained Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro. “This underscores a significant change in risk appetite in the market, also confirmed by the global bond sell-off.” Kuptsikevich warned: “In the coming weeks, a more pronounced downward movement in cryptocurrencies is expected.”

Sentiment remains tense ahead of the anticipated US economic report, which will be released later today. Investors are waiting for the preliminary estimate of Q3 GDP. Most economists forecast an annualized growth rate of around 3.2%, some expect up to 3.5% — still a slowdown compared to Q2 (3.8%), but well above the average since late 2021 (2.6%).

December Governance Votes — Yearn, GMX, and Aave Lead Decisive Votes

Several major DeFi projects are conducting critical governance votes during this period, which could have far-reaching consequences for their ecosystems. These votes could serve as important signals for the stability and credibility of these platforms.

Yearn DAO is voting on the rotation of multisig signers and the implementation of a yETH recovery plan (YIP-89 and YIP-90). This plan relies on yields from government bonds, a 10% revenue reroute, and recovered funds to compensate affected users. The vote ends on December 23.

GMX DAO is deciding on funding the new GMX-Solana rollout with 400,000 USDC. Half of this amount will be used to acquire GMX tokens to create a balanced initial liquidity pool. This vote also ends on December 23.

Aave DAO is voting to regain full ownership of brand assets — including domains, social media handles, and trademarks — from service providers like Aave Labs. These will then be transferred to a DAO-controlled entity to prevent private misuse. The vote runs until December 26.

Technical Signals on Solana — Wyckoff Pattern Indicates Potential Trend Reversal

Technical analysis on Solana (currently at $105.51) reveals a classic Wyckoff spring pattern, signaling seller fatigue — often the first sign of an upcoming bullish reversal. The token recently broke through a weeks-long sideways consolidation to the downside but was quickly rebounded, leaving aggressive sellers on the wrong side of the market.

A bullish confirmation of this signal would require a breakout above the upper boundary of the channel formation. As long as this breakout does not occur, declines remain the dominant negative signal for the medium-term outlook.

Bitcoin and Ether: Current Price Declines in a Broader Context

The current price movements of the two largest cryptocurrencies reflect overall market sentiment. Bitcoin failed to hold the psychologically important $90,000 level after being rejected there the previous day. Ether is losing even more, a classic sign of market fear, which causes faster sell-offs in smaller-capitalized assets.

On the traditional market, futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are nearly unchanged. Historically, these indices perform better in the last days of the year — but this year, gains have lost momentum. Liquidity during this “Christmas period” is thin, making price movements more volatile.

Mining Capitulation and Hashrate Decline — A Contrarian Bullish Signal?

The hashrate decline over the past 30 days marks the strongest drop since April 2024. According to VanEck, this is a classic contrarian signal: miner capitulation often occurs immediately before renewed upward movements. This could signal a reversal pattern if other factors turn back toward risk appetite.

Crypto Stocks and Treasury Companies Show Weakness

Coinbase Global (COIN) closed at $247.90, Circle Internet at $87, and Galaxy Digital at $24.61. Miner-focused stocks like Core Scientific ($15.79) and CleanSpark ($12.10) also show declines. Bitcoin treasurer MicroStrategy (MSTR) traded at $164.32, with moderate losses.

The CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) closed at $42.18 with a small gain of 2.63% — a rare sign of stability in a weak environment.

ETF Flows Data: Outflows from Spot Bitcoin ETFs

Spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced daily net outflows of $142.2 million. Cumulative inflows since inception amount to $57.25 billion USD, with total holdings of about 1.31 million BTC.

In contrast, spot Ethereum ETFs show daily inflows of $84.6 million, with cumulative inflows of $12.55 billion and total holdings of approximately 6.09 million ETH. This divergent signal between Bitcoin and Ethereum indicates a differentiated market strategy.

Outlook: Increasing Signals, but Market Consensus Remains Uncertain

The coming weeks will reveal whether the contrarian signals of miner exodus and Wyckoff technical patterns will prevail. The governance votes of major DeFi protocols could stabilize confidence in the sector or further undermine it — an important signal for the entire industry. The balance between risk aversion (gold rally) and risk appetite (potential miner reversal signals) will determine market direction in the coming weeks.