On Christmas Eve, US stocks hit a high, while Bitcoin is consolidating in a narrow range.

In a narrow upward trend led by technology stocks, the S&P 500 index rose for the fourth consecutive trading day, reaching a new historical high. While gold continues to hit new highs, Bitcoin remains sluggish, consolidating in the narrow range of 86K~88K yesterday.

The US third quarter GDP exceeded expectations, and the S&P reached a high on Christmas Eve.

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that the economic growth rate for the third quarter of the United States is 4.3%, far exceeding economists' previous forecast of 3.2%. This report was originally scheduled for release on October 30, but was postponed due to the U.S. government shutdown.

Jose Torres of Interactive Brokers stated:

“The strongest economic growth rate in two years has strengthened people's confidence that corporate profits will continue to grow strongly in 2026.”

Another set of data released on Tuesday showed that U.S. business equipment orders fell more than expected in October. However, the shipment volume of non-defense capital goods, including aircraft, which directly contributes to the equipment investment portion of GDP, was stronger than expected, indicating that there will be some growth momentum in the fourth quarter.

Eric Teal of Comerica Wealth Management stated:

“The U.S. economy is showing a Goldilocks scenario: economic growth is above potential levels, inflation rates have declined but remain high, and the labor market appears slightly weak, prompting the Federal Reserve to possibly maintain a dovish stance.”

The New York Stock Exchange will close early at 1 PM Eastern Time on Christmas Eve (12/24) and will be closed on Christmas Day (12/25).

Bitcoin is consolidating in a narrow range, and the expiration of a large number of options on Friday may exacerbate volatility.

In the past 24 hours, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization has fallen by 1.42% to $2.95 trillion.

While gold continues to hit new highs, Bitcoin remains sluggish, consolidating in a narrow range of 86K~88K yesterday. Deribit options data shows that approximately 23 billion dollars of contracts will expire on Friday (12/26), which could exacerbate the already high volatility. However, the current implied volatility is in a compressed state, with the DVOL index hovering around 43. Historically, when such a large volume of contracts expires, volatility tends to rise due to position rollovers, hedge adjustments, and reduced liquidity during holiday periods.

( Short positions gather 85K! Bitcoin's year-end options expiry may trigger downward pressure )

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